A series of horrifying events in the late 1880s — better known as the Servant Girl Annihilator or Servant Girl Murders — that first left local citizens of Austin, Texas, paralyzed with fear.

The brutal killings in Austin occurred three years before Jack the Ripper terrorized London's East End (and there are some who believe the Servant Girl Annihilator and Jack the Ripper were the same person). Although these murders happened 75 years before the term serial killer was coined, it still sealed Austin's reputation as the first city in America to have a serial killer.