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Biography[]
Herman Webster Mudgett, better known by his alias H. H. Holmes, was an American serial killer and one of the most notorious figures in criminal history. Born on May 16, 1861, in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, Holmes gained infamy for his heinous acts during the late 19th century.
Holmes was a highly intelligent individual who attended the University of Michigan Medical School, where he displayed early signs of his criminal inclinations. After moving to Chicago, he built a hotel later dubbed the "Murder Castle," designed with hidden passages, trapdoors, and soundproof rooms. The hotel served as a macabre setting for Holmes's gruesome crimes.
Holmes' modus operandi involved luring guests, particularly young women, into his hotel, where he subjected them to torture and eventually murder. Some victims were asphyxiated with gas in specially designed rooms, while others met their demise through various grisly methods.
One of Holmes's most infamous schemes involved insurance fraud. He would take out life insurance policies on individuals, name himself as the beneficiary, and then orchestrate their deaths, often by presenting them as victims of accidents or illnesses. This allowed him to profit from their demise.
Holmes' true victim count remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from several dozen to over 200. His ability to manipulate and deceive, combined with the secretive design of his hotel, made it challenging for authorities to uncover the extent of his crimes.
In 1894, Holmes was finally apprehended and later stood trial for multiple counts of murder. During the trial, he confessed to 27 killings, though the actual number may have been higher. In 1896, H. H. Holmes was sentenced to death.
He was executed by hanging on May 7, 1896, at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia. He was 34 years old.
There is a popular urban legend that H.H. Holmes requested his coffin to be encased in cement to prevent grave robbers from stealing his body. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim, even though details about his burial arrangements vary. Some reports suggest that Holmes was buried in a grave filled with cement, while others claim he was interred in a standard grave. The exact circumstances surrounding his burial remain unclear, and the story of the cement-encased coffin may have been embellished over time.
Victims[]
Confirmed victims[]
Name | Age | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
---|---|---|---|
Julia Smythe | December 25, 1891 | Poisoning[note 1] | |
Pearl Conner | December 25, 1891 | Poisoning | |
Emily Van Tessel | 16 | June 1, 1892 | Poisoning |
Emeline Cigrand | 23-24 | December 6, 1892 | Suffocation[note 2] |
Anna "Annie" Williams | 23 | July 5, 1893 | Suffocation[note 2] |
Minnie R. Holmes | 25 | July 5, 1893 | Poisoning |
Benjamin Pitezel | September 2, 1894 | Burning[note 3] | |
Alice Pitezel | October 5, 1894 | Gas[note 4] | |
Nellie Pitezel | October 5, 1894 | Gas[note 4] | |
Howard Pitezel | 8 | October 25, 1894 | Poisoning |
Suspected victims[]
Based upon missing reports and the testimony of Holmes' neighbors, his actual body count is estimated to be above 200.
Name | Age | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
---|---|---|---|
Doctor Robert Leacock | 1886 | Poisoning[note 5] | |
Unnamed boy | 1886 | Unknown causes | |
Unnamed boy | 1886 | Poisoning | |
Elizabeth Holton | 1886 | Unknown causes | |
Doctor Russell[note 6] | Late 1887 | Unknown causes | |
Rodgers[note 6] | 1888 | Bludgeoning | |
Charles Cole | 1888 | Bludgeoning | |
"Lizzie"[note 7] | 1888 | Suffocation[note 2] | |
Sarah Cook | 1888 | Suffocation[note 2] | |
Mary Haracamp | 1888 | Suffocation[note 2] | |
Russell[note 8] | 1890 | Bludgeoning | |
Rasine Van Jassund | 1891 | Poisoning[note 9] | |
Robert Latimer | 1891 | Gassed or starved to death | |
Wade Warner | 1891 | Burning | |
Unnamed banker | 1891 | Poisoning[note 1] | |
Unnamed woman | 1891 | Poisoning[note 1] | |
Anna Betts | 24 | February 8, 1892 | Poisoning |
Eva Gertrud Conner | July 18, 1892 | Poisoning | |
Unnamed woman | 1893 | Poisoning[note 1] | |
Unnamed victim | May-October, 1893 | Unknown cause | |
Milford Cole | 1894 | Bludgeoning[note 10] | |
Baldwin H. Williams | 1894 | Shooting | |
Kate Durkee | Suffocation[note 2] | ||
Mr. Rogers[note 6] | Poisoning[note 1] |
Timeline[]
Bibliography[]
Literature[]
- Schechter, Harold (1994). Depraved: The Definitive True Story of H. H. Holmes, Whose Grotesque Crimes Shattered Turn-of-the-Century Chicago,. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 9780671025441
- Larson, Erik (2004). The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, Vintage. ISBN 978-0375725609
Articles[]
- Jack The Ripper And H.H. Holmes Were The Same Person, Suggests Ancestor. All That's Interesting (July 11, 2017).
- "H.H. Holmes". Biography (October 16, 2017). Archived from the original on March 21, 2022.
- Inside H. H. Holmes’ Hotel, The Murder Castle Of 1890s Chicago. All That's Interesting (December 29, 2021).
- Kerry (July 31, 2023). America’s first serial killer built a house of horrors, according to legend. Not much of which is true. Hungary Posts English.
Documentaries[]
Television[]
YouTube Documentaries[]
- H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer, Biographics on YouTube
Podcasts[]
- Herman Webster Mudgett - Part 1. Serial Killers with Greg Polcyn & Vanessa Richardson.
- Herman Webster Mudgett - Part 2. Serial Killers with Greg Polcyn & Vanessa Richardson.
- H.H. Holmes: Ladykiller and Child-Murderer, The Casual Criminalist
In popular culture[]
Film adaptation[]
Related Articles[]
See also[]
Links[]
- H. H. Holmes at Wikipedia
- H.H. Holmes on IMDb
- Herman Webster Mudgett. Radford University.
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Overdosed with chloroform
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Suffocated in the vault.
- ↑ Holmes's accomplice; rendered unconscious with chloroform and fatally burned alive.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Locked in a trunk and fatally gassed; burned and dismembered post-mortem.
- ↑ Overdosed with laudanum
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 First name unrevealed
- ↑ Pseudonym; name unrevealed
- ↑ Surname unrevealed
- ↑ Poisoned with cyanide
- ↑ Bludgeoned with a pipe by an unnamed accomplice
References[]
- ↑ Samuel Spencer. 'Devil in the White City' on Hulu Release Date, Cast, Plot. “Hulu hasn't given an exact release date just yet, but it has revealed that it's looking at 2024.”