H.H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett on May 16, 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, is widely regarded as one of America’s first serial killers. Among a multitude of insurance scams and frauds, Holmes constructed a three story “hotel” that essentially served as an intricate death maze with over 60 rooms and 51 doors placed in walls, ceilings, and even floors. This torturous creation came to be known infamously as the “Murder Castle.” It is estimated the number of murders committed by Holmes falls somewhere between 27 and upwards of 200.
Herman Mudgett was born into a very affluent family and lived a comfortable life as a child. He showed high, almost unusual, levels of intelligence from a very young age. Bullied as a child, Holmes recalled the turning point of his life to be when a group of bullies corralled him into a local doctor’s office and forced him to touch a human skeleton. “It was a wicked and dangerous thing to do to a child of tender years and health,” Holmes stated of the incident. He did, however, admit that the incident cured him of his fears and was the founding place of his desire to go into medicine. He began to capture small animals and perform surgeries on them—dead or alive. It is speculated that Holmes was responsible for the death of a childhood friend. Reaching adulthood, Holmes attended the University of Michigan Medical School. Here he stole corpses for experimental purposes as well as for monetary gains. Using the corpses, Holmes would make false insurance claims and collect the money.
Moving to Chicago in 1886, Holmes found work in a pharmacy where he instated his now infamous pseudonym, Dr. Henry H. Holmes. Eventually taking over the place of business for unclear reasons, Holmes built the three s...
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...han a quick snap of the neck.
Regarded as the first serial killer in American history, Henry H. Holmes may very well be the most prolific in American history, as well. Holmes, however, has been nearly completely forgotten about and unknown to present-day society. Although many researchers would relish the opportunity to study his brain, Holmes insured that opportunity would never be possible. Before death, he demanded his coffin be filled with concrete, his grave covered in concrete, and his grave unmarked. This anonymity has left him overlooked in forensic history and contemplation.
Works Cited
H.H. Holmes. (2014). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:10, Jan 26, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/hh-holmes-307622.
Herman Mudgett. (2014). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1245953/Herman-Mudgett
better known as H.H. Holmes, said this during a confession in 1896. Holmes is diligently studied and sometimes admired because, not only was he America’s first major serial killer, the depths of his intelligence for crime remain unchallenged. Herman Webster Mudgett was the most prolific killer in American history because of the elaborate design of his Murder Castle, ingenious ways of disposing of evidence, and finally the abundance of methods he uses to finance his lifestyle. Holmes’ Murder Castle shows
the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was
One of the first men to single handedly terrorize the nation was Herman Webster Mudgett, more commonly known as H.H. Holmes. As a rather successful businessman with a degree in medicine, few would suspect the horrible secrets he kept locked away in the hotel he had built as his own personal torture chamber. By the time he was arrested, Mudgett had already taken an upwards of one hundred lives in a way that would shock the world. Born on May 16, 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire to devout Methodist
Holmes was first charged with insurance fraud, and then the murder of Benjamin Pitezel (H.H. Holmes Biography, 2015). He was never charged with the deaths of any of his victims in Chicago due to the inability to positively identify any victims (H.H. Holmes, 2004). Holmes gave numerous stories to police about what happened in “The Murder Castle”, and admitted to at least 27 murders, but again, the exact number is not known. Holmes acted as his own lawyer in the case of murder and insurance fraud against
poet can help the inspiration to sing – I was born with the Evil One standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered in the world, and he has been with me since” (Troy, Taylor). This statement was a quoted confession from Dr. H. H. Holmes himself in 1896. Holmes was the first major serial killer in America, even though he came after many others in his time. Thomas Neil Cream, the Austin Axe Murderer, the Bloody Benders, and Jack the Ripper came before him. His name was originally Herman Webster
The Hotel of Horrors There was a man with a name of Herman Webster Mudgett, but most people know him by the name of H.H. Holmes(“H.H. Holmes”, 2017:Grey, 2016: Upton, 2014). I had first heard about this weird part of America’s history through one of my favorite television shows, Supernatural. He is known to be one of the most cruel serial killers in the United States, and no one really know the exact amount of people he has killed. But how did he kill so many people without getting caught sooner
research, I will attempt to explain in the case of the America’s first large-scale serial killer, H. H. Holmes, through the sociological strain theory, labeling theory, and maladaptive socialization. Background of H. H. Holmes Childhood
Herman Webster Mudgett, best known as H. H. Holmes, was a serial killer who resided in Chicago from 1886 until 1893. While there, Holmes murdered countless victims without so much as a question from Chicago Police. One question that plagues people today is how he managed to evade police for those seven years. That question has a variety of answers. Holmes was able to avoid capture by being clever, choosing victims near him, and because the police were occupied by the World’s Fair. Not only was the
part of the book, in Philadelphia 1895. This book follows two main plots, each pertaining its own main character. One plot follows Daniel Burnham, the architecture lead and main visionary of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The other plot follows H. H. Holmes, a serial killer, who became America’s first serial killer, paving the way for some to sadly follow, who was utterly and completely mad, being a killer and all. Using the Fair’s guests and young, vulnerable
to shame. There was a dilemma of where the fair would be built New York or Chicago, but votes were tallied up and the majority of the vote was Chicago. Among the many architects in Chicago, the main job of the designing the fair was given to Daniel H. Burnham. He needed a companion to help him with the design and other features of the fair, so he chose John Root, a very close friend of his and former associate. Because of the amount of time it took to decide where to build the fair, The White City
uses a personal weapon such as a knife or their own hands. This is done because in enables them to act out their desires to control and dominate another human making their victim subservient to their command all the way to death. (Holmes, R. M., Holmes, S. T., & Park, H. 2007). This type of killer will often rape their victim as well as it is another form of domination. In addition, in childhood they were either bullied or made to feel powerless through abuse, usually carried out by a family member
the Psychoanalytical approach, Freud might say that Holmes’s life long killing spree was caused by Holmes’s unconscious aggressive and sexual urges. When Holmes was a child, a mother who devoted herself to the Methodist church instead of her children raised him, and this could have some connection to why Holmes acted out the way he did. Holmes got pleasure from hurting others, and death did not scare him. This could’ve been caused because he never got the love and nurturing he needed from his mother
Deceitful, selfish, violent, and psychopathic. However, through closer examination, serial killers are much more complex. Dr. H. H. Holmes is considered America’s first serial killer and is unique compared to other serial killers. Holmes indulges in women and money and is an opportunist, taking every chance he gets to take advantage of his victims. Dr. H. H. Holmes manipulates and kills his victims in order to fulfill a psychological need for control. Serial killers have different things that
2015 Herman Webster Mudgett also acknowledged as H. H. Holmes was America’s first serial killer recorded. Holmes was predicted to have murdered over 200 men and women typically women. At a very young age Holmes was exceptionally clever. Holmes captured an interest for both human anatomy and medicine at a young age as well. During Holmes’s college career, he executed various insurance scams due to stealing dead bodies from the schools mortuary. Holmes later moved to Chicago where he owned a pharmacy;
Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H.H. Holmes, was convicted of the murders of 9 people. Holmes later confessed to 30 murders and may have been responsible for the death of as many as 200 people. Holmes’ legacy does not, however, come from the number of deaths he is responsible for but from the way in which he committed these heinous crimes. Holmes’ crime spree lasted 22 years. From 1872, when he was just 11 years old until he was apprehended at the very young age of 33 in 1894. Holmes was very sadistic