H.H.Holmes - America's First Serial Killer

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes

or

H.H.Holmes  ( b.May 16 1861 - d. May 7 1896 )

was probably America's first serial killer.

In the course of his murderous career ( 1888-1894 ), as many as 200 people may have been killed by him.

Holmes himself, would confess to murdering 27 people and was eventually convicted of 4 murders. His motives were usually insurance fraud, or robbery, but Holmes engaged in virtually every illegal act - from blackmail to horse theft,  in order to collect money.

.....

The following trailer for the movie:"The Devil in the White City" provides a glimpse into the era of which Holmes lived and nature of his crimes.

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Chicago 1889

With the backdrop of the upcoming Chicago World's Fair, Holmes begins construction of his own "Chicago Hotel" When completed, the structure would be a sprawling, 3 story, 100 room building, occupying an entire city block.

Soon to be known as Holmes's Murder Castle

Chicago World's Fair 1893  or World's Columbian Exposition 

"psst - I hear there are some cheap rooms over at the Chicago Hotel!"

• A short video on the subject:

 1893 World's Fair - History Fair Documentary

.....

and The Chicago Hotel is now open for business.

A sample floor:

While the bottom floor contained Holmes's own drug store and other shops, the upper two floors were filled with windowless rooms, secret passages, hallways to nowhere and so on.....everything necessary to assist Holmes with his diabolical schemes.

as illustrated below:



Deeper in the nightmarish labyrinth, down in it's basement, was a dissecting room, acid pits, lime pits and two huge furnaces to burn the bodies. ***

Eventually, it would be Holmes's own greed, that would lead to his undoing, and he was arrested November 17th 1894 and brought to trial.

He was tried and convicted and executed by hanging - May 7 1896

Watch this engrossing documentary detailing the tragic events surrounding this man.

and as a bonus, we follow a Chicago news crew as it explores the area beneath the streets, where Holmes's Chicago Hotel once stood.

 Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

*** The Chicago Hotel - Holmes's Murder Castle, would not long survive once the local residents learned of the great evil which had happened within it's walls. After his arrest, the structure was set on fire and would burn completely down....however, it is also very possible, that Holmes arranged for this to happen, in order to cover his tracks, before his trial.***

 The former location of the hotel, as it appears today

                                  

Thanks To:

• Best HD Walllpapers blogspot

• Fox32News (May 06 2013)

• Wikipedia

• Google Images

• Crime Library.com ( Haunted Places by Kristal Hawkins )