The Crimes of H H Holmes

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Who was H H Holmes, the Beast of Chicago?

H. H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, was an serial killer who operated in the late 19th century in various parts of the United States. He is widely accepted as one of America's first confirmed serial killers. Holmes is known for constructing a hotel in Chicago, which was designed as a labyrinth containing trapdoors, secret passages, and hidden rooms. The hotel, which he referred to "Murder Castle," was used to lure in and kill an unknown number of guests. These guests included women and children. Some estimates argue that their may be over 200 victims, but the exact number has never been confirmed. Holmes was eventually caught, soon after confessing to 27 murders. He was hanged for his only confirmed murder, that of his business partner Benjamin Pitezel, in 1896.

The Early life of Herman Webster Mudgett

Herman Webster Mudgett, who later adopted the alias H. H. Holmes, was born on May 16, 1861, in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. He was the middle of five children, having two older siblings, and two younger ones. Levi Horton Mudgett and Theodate Page Price, H.H. Holmes parents, were devout Methodists. They instilled in their children a strong moral and religious foundation. H.H. Holmes was obsessed with the concept of death and medical science, even despite his intense religious background.

Early on, H. H. Holmes developed a strange fascination with the anatomy of the human body. He spent countless time dissecting animals and also experimenting with chemicals. This fascination led him to the pursuit of a medical degree. He enrolled in the University of Michigan's School of Medicine when he turned 18.

While at the University, H. H. Holmes involved himself in in the black market of grave robbing. After digging up corpses and removing them from local cemeteries, he would sell them to medical schools for use in anatomy classes. His illegal activity kept the money rolling in steadily, but it also may have been a dark precursor to his later activity as one of America's first serial killers.

In 1884, upon completing his medical degree, H. H. Holmes relocated to Chicago, thereby finding work as a pharmacist. It didn't take long for Holmes to blend as a respected member of the community, even acquiring a report as a trustworthy businessman. However, underneath this social facade, H. H. Holmes had already been planning something ominous.

H. H. Holmes purchased a drugstore in 1886. It was located in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, soon after setting to work to transform it into something dark and macabre. The store became a labyrinthine maze containing secret passageways, soundproofed rooms, and even gas chambers. This structure became known as "Murder Castle," and it would become the scene of some of the most heinous crimes that Holmes would be associated.

The Chicago World Fair and the Infamous Murder Castle

Holmes constructed his murder castle at the corner of 63rd and Wallace streets in Chicago in 1886. The castle was a three-story building with a basement. The basement was designed as what's been referred to as a "death chamber," complete with gas jets and a dissecting table. Holmes allegedly used these tables to carry out autopsies on his victims. The first floor housed various stores, while the upper floors were designed as a hotel with over 100 rooms, all of which were soundproof.

Even more bizarre was the labyrinth of hallways and rooms, many having been equipped with secret trapdoors that would drop the victim into the basement. The basement was also stocked with a large stove, acid vats, and pits. It is believed that these were installed for the purpose of getting rid of the bodies when he had finished with them.

Holmes' modus operandi involved luring his victims into the castle, trapping them, and subjecting them to different methods of torture before finally killing them. Some of his victims were women seeking temporary jobs at the World's Fair, which was actively taking place in chicago.

It's nearly impossible to surmise how many people potentially lost their lives in H. H. Holmes murder castle, but the general consensus is that he may have been responsible for as many as 200 deaths. 

Eventually, the murder castle of H H Holmes was demolished, and the site was used for various purposes from then on. In 2017,  archaeologists discovered human remains and various items that were likely used by Holmes to commit the murders while conducting a dig at the site. 

The Murder Castle still remains as one of America's most historically notorious buildings.

The Other suspected Murders of H H Holmes

After H H Holmes was captured by police, he admitted to somewhere around 27 murders. Some of these people were confirmed dead or missing under mysterious circumstances.

On the other hand, some of them were confirmed dead under different time frames and circumstances than what Holmes described. Others that he claimed to have been responsible for their deaths were found to still be alive and well.

Smythe and Pearl

One of Holmes's earliest suspected murders was a woman named Julia Smythe and her daughter Pearl. Smythe was the wife of one of Holmes's employees at his pharmacy.

Smythe was having an affair with H H Holmes. When her husband found out what was going on, he quit his job, moved away, and left Smythe and their daughter behind.

On Christmas Eve of 1891, Smythe and Pearl went missing. Holmes later claimed that Smythe died while undergoing an abortion.

Despite Holmes's medical knowledge, he wouldn't have been qualified to perform such a procedure. Abortion mortality rates were also quite high at the time.

Holmes later admitted to poisoning pearl as well, perhaps as a way of covering up the circumstances of her mother's death.

An excavation of H H Holmes's cellar revealed a partial skeleton, possibly of a child that would have been around Pearl's age at the time of her disappearance.

The bodies were not identified and Holmes was never charged with their murders.

Minnie and Annie

In 1893 Holmes employed a one-time actress by the name of Minnie Williams as a stenographer at his pharmacy. Whether H H Holmes knew Williams before she came to Chicago is heavily debated.

Holmes claimed that he met Minnie Williams in an employment office. At the time, rumors circulated that he may have met her years earlier in Boston.

Holmes convinced Williams to transfer the title for a property that she owned in Texas to a man named Alexander Bond. Alexander Bond was just one of Holmes's many aliases that he used when committing different types of fraud.

In April of 1893, Holmes transferred the deed for the house in texas, acting as the notary for the transaction. He then transferred the title again to a man named Benton T. Lyman, which was an alias of his associate Benjamin Pitezel.

The following month Holmes and Williams rented an apartment in Chicago's Lincoln Park, posing as Husband and Wife. Shortly thereafter, Minnie's sister Annie came to visit.

In July of 1893, Annie wrote home saying that she was going to accompany someone by the name of "brother Harry" to Europe. Neither Minnie nor Annie were seen alive after July 5th.

Other Suspected Victims

Emeline Cigrande was another person believed to be killed by H H Holmes. It is believed that she may have become pregnant by him.

It has been suggested that her death may have also been the result of one of Holmes's botched abortions. He was never charged with her murder either.

Overall, he was suspected of between 20 and 200 murders. Only one could be proven; the murder of his closest associate Benjamin Pitezel.

The Pitezel Murders

While in jail in St. Louis for selling mortgaged goods, H H Holmes convinced another inmate to fake his death in an effort to collect on a bogus insurance policy. After this plot was foiled and the insurance company refused to pay out, Holmes refined his strategy and decided to try again.

This time he would use his associate and business partner, Benjamin Pitezel. Pitezel was instructed to fake his death so his wife, Holmes, and a lawyer by the name of Jeptha Howe, who was also in on the scheme, could split the insurance money.

Pitezel was to set himself up as an inventor in Philadelphia under the name B. F. Perry. He would fake his death by being "killed and disfigured" in a lab explosion.

Holmes's part in it was to find a suitable cadaver that they could use in place of Pitezel. Instead, Holmes chloroformed Pitezel knocking him unconscious and then proceeded to light him on fire using benzene.

His plan worked, at first, and the insurance company paid out.

Soon after Pitezels death, Holmes began to manipulate Pitezels wife. He convinced her to place 3 of her 5 children in his custody.

Holmes began to slowly move the children out of the country and into Canada. He simultaneously led Mrs. Pitezel and her other two children on a parallel route.

He consistently lied to Mrs. Pitezel about her husband's death, claiming that he was hiding in London. He also lied to her about the whereabouts of her three missing children.

Holmes later confessed to forcing two of the three children into a chest. He then drilled a hole in the chest, inserted a tube, and attached the other end of the hose to a gas line to asphyxiate them.

Holmes buried the girls in the cellar of his rental property in Toronto.

He also rented a cottage in Indianapolis, where he visited a pharmacy to acquire the drugs used to kill the 3rd child, and a repair shop to sharpen the knives used to chop up the body before burning it. The boys' teeth and bits of bone were found in the fireplace of the rental cottage.

The only murder charge that he ever faced was that of Benjamin Pitezel. They couldn't prove any other charges against him.

The trial was a highly publicized event. It featured testimonies from a lot of witnesses who placed Holmes with his victims. Holmes tried to plead insanity in an attempt to beat the charges, but ultimately he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. Before being executed he had requested that he be cemented in to his coffin and buried at least 10 feet deep as he was afraid he would be grave robbed like he had done to so many others. He was executed in May of 1896, and his body was buried in an unmarked grave, but his macabre story will continue to fascinate and haunt our minds, possibly for ever.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many kills did H.H. Holmes have?

It is unknown how many people H. H. Holmes has killed. It is estimated to be between 9 and 200, but only one has been proven.

How did H.H. Holmes get caught?

H.H. Holmes was arrested for insurance fraud. He was later connected to the murder of his co-conspirator, Benjamin Pitezel when investigators found Pitezels also deceased children that had been known to be under the care of Holmes.

Is Sherlock Holmes inspired by H.H. Holmes?

Short answer, No. Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective, was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th century. H.H. Holmes was a real-life serial killer who lived during the same time period.

What did H.H. Holmes do in the hotel?

H.H. Holmes built a hotel in Chicago which he referred to as his murder castle. He would lure unsuspecting victims into the hotels soundproof rooms. The rooms were outfitted with trap doors that he would use to drop people into the basement, where he would torture, kill, and then experiment on them before using acid vates and large stoves to dispose of the bodies.