In October 1888, A Pittenweem boy aged 13 wrote menacing letters pretending to be Jack the Ripper (or his brother, “Rab the Beginner”) to local people saying they’d be murdered. Some took the threats seriously. The papers published the letters. He was fined £5.
The rough sketch of the pistol.
References
Fife News, 22nd December 1888, pg. 6.
Fife Herald, 19th December 1888, pg. 4.
Dundee Evening Telegraph, 15th December 1888, pg. 3.