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I Was Born With the Devil In Me

An Account of the Infamous H.H. Holmes

By Riley davidsonPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Born Herman Webster Mudgett in a small town in New Hampshire, it was thought that this young man would turn his intelligence into a passionate career as a medical doctor. For Herman Mudgett was impassioned regarding the medical field, even rumored to have assisted the local doctor in his birth town as a young man. Mudgett enrolled initially at the University of Vermont at the age of eighteen but left after being dissatisfied with his first-year studies. He transferred his studies to the University of Michigan, focusing on surgical procedures. Mudgett completed his studies at the University of Michigan Medical School in the year 1884, however, a widowed woman making claims about his proposal to a baseless marriage nearly thwarted his graduation.

After graduation, Mudgett traveled to Chicago where he became a pharmacist. He changed his name from Herman Webster Mudgett to Henry Howard (H.H.) Holmes. He quickly became successful as women flocked to this new, handsome, charismatic pharmacist. Although, some of his wealth and success was not the result of just being a successful business owner. He began killing individuals and taking charge of their properties, running scams, and amassing wealth for his next project.

Shortly after his success as a drugstore owner, Holmes decided to open a hotel. A hotel in which he could utilize to conceal his predilection for murder. Throughout the construction of the massive structure, Holmes was known to have hired and fired numerous contractors. Doing this ensured that the contractors didn’t know more than what Holmes wished for them to know.

The hotel was filled with horrors. It was a massive structure, with approximately 60 rooms. Yet the structure was unlike any other hotel in the world, due to the upgrades that Holmes implemented. This included false doors, gas pipes, asbestos filled walls, windowless rooms, and even chutes that allowed the bodies to drop into the basement.

The basement was another level of horror – complete with a large oven – it served as sort of a makeshift laboratory for Holmes. It was where he had the privacy to dissect his victims and dispose of them either in the quick lye pit or in his oven. However, researchers doubt that the oven installed in the basement could have disposed of the bodies throughout the years of operation, therefore, several other theories have been discussed.

H.H. Holmes finished the hotel of horrors right before the 1893 World Fair held in Chicago. It was one of the largest events ever seen in the United States at that time. It officially opened to the public on May 1st, 1893, to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ founding of the New World. The fair was almost 700 acres of exhibits, expositions, and sights that encompassed numerous sights from around the world.

Therefore, this six-month stint saw an estimated 27 million visitors to the Chicago World Fair. This meant that individuals flocked to the city, not only for purpose of seeing the spectacle of electricity and the grandeur, but for employment purposes. H.H. Holmes’ newly opened hotel meant that he had prey literally falling into his carefully spun web – more prey than he could have imagined.

For all that the city boasted of their spectacle, an evil lurked in the shadows – that of H.H. Holmes and his murdering spree. Numerous individuals went missing throughout this time, many never to be seen again. During the World Fair, it is estimated that Holmes might have been able to kill over 200 victims. He did run several predictable schemes with some of his victims.

One such scheme that Holmes ran was getting engaged to women, who would then disappear. They were drawn to the handsome, professional man that oozed charm. Holmes only killed them after he had control of their money and savings. He also mandated that his employees carry life insurance policies in which he was named beneficiary in case of their death. Of which, he was facilitated.

Holmes was arrested due to fraudulently setting fire to the Murder Castle in hopes of securing the insurance money. He was released but fled from Chicago knowing that his schemes would inevitably be found out. He took off with one of his associates, Ben Pitezel to Texas, due to a deed that he had forced his now-deceased fiancé Minnie Williams to sign over to Holmes.

It was here, in the Fort Worth area that Holmes began his schemes once again. He also envisioned the construction of a new murder castle. This castle was set into motion, though certain aspects were changed. Holmes had seen the errors of his most brilliant creation and endeavored to fix these for his future structure. One such change was a chute that went right into the sewers instead of the basement. The basement was what condemned H.H. Holmes after the police inspection had found numerous cadavers and skeletons ready to be shipped off to medical schools.

Holmes, along with Pitezel, traveled to see the progress of the Texas Murder Castle, only to be run out of town due to disgruntled contractors. Holmes had never paid any of them for the months of work they had put into this creation. If he had paid them, I expect that the legacy of H.H. Holmes might have turned out a little different. Instead, Holmes and Pitezel were chased out of town and forced to abandon their ideas.

Throughout their journey, it is reported that Holmes and Pitezel went on a crime spree across numerous states, including Missouri, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, and Tennessee. They spent their time committing various acts of fraud and in Holmes’ case, marrying women. At one point, H.H. Holmes returned to Missouri where he was arrested for fraud and jailed in St. Louis. It was here that H.H. Holmes made the worst mistake in his criminal career.

Imprisoned in the St. Louis jail, H.H. Holmes met another career criminal named, Marion Hedgepeth. Holmes still had the insurance claim on Pitezel, who was in Philadelphia scamming inventors by opening a fake patents office. He needed help in determining how to cash in the insurance claim without killing Pitezel. Hedgepeth, supposedly, offered to assist Holmes in his $10,000 dollar insurance scheme. Which was put into effect when Holmes was released from prison.

Holmes traveled to Philadelphia in order to cash in the best scheme of all. He told Pitezel and his wife that he would get a cadaver and burn it. Then it was up to them to “claim” the body as Pitezel’s and they would get the money. However, Holmes never anticipated for Pitezel to remain alive. He killed Pitezel and took all of the money. He told Pitezel’s widow that Pitezel was still alive and needed to lay low for a while. Holmes gave Catherine Pitezel $500 and took three of her children with him.

He took the children because Holmes was concerned, they or Catherine might talk. Along the way to where Pitezel was hiding, he killed all three of the children. Two of the children’s bodies, Alice and Nellie, were found in Toronto in the spring of 1895. The final child Howard was murdered by Holmes in Indianapolis. These are the last known victims of the infamous H.H. Holmes who was caught by the Pinkerton’s in November 1984.

H.H. Holmes confessed to at least 27 murders that he had committed, though some of the murders confessed were false. The supposed victims were still alive. Holmes was paid between $7,000 to $10,000 dollars for his confession. It was found to be mostly nonsense. However, experts estimate his actual victim count to be around 200 victims with his Murder Castle located close enough to the World Fair. He confessed to several true murders, and of these only 9 can be named as his victims. Holmes was hanged in May 7, 1896 for the atrocities he committed.

While H.H. Holmes was executed and laid to rest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his story lives on. Told through the intrigue and interest of true crime enthusiasts, or studied by behavioral analysts or forensic psychology, Holmes’ crimes will continue to haunt not only the cities of his victims, but also his descendants. Having lived a life of philandering, with countless mistress’ and wives, at least two known individuals are related. One, Jeff Mudgett, who has spent his life researching whether his ancestor was actually Jack the Ripper. The evidence is numerous and intriguing for any true crime enthusiast to entertain. Another descendant is someone that was named by Jeff Mudgett after creating a family tree is Megan Markle.

Therefore, H.H. Holmes was the horror that haunted the streets during the 1893 Chicago World Fair. He preyed upon the lives and savings of women who were caught in his web. Unfortunately, the cost to falling for his charms or appeal was often, murder. He left a legacy of destruction and has infamously been coined America's first serial killer. Some questions remain regarding H.H. Holmes, especially how many murders did he commit? Was there another place he utilized to be rid of these bodies? Did he haunt the streets of White Chapel during the Jack the Ripper murders? Without the use of modern day forensics, these crimes remain as shrouded in secrecy now, as they did over a hundred years ago.

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