H.H. Holmes

Death of H.H. Holmes, America's First Serial Killer

7th May 1896

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"I was born with the devil in me.

I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing..."

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Born Herman Webster Mudgett, in Gilmanton, New Hampshire in 1861, few would have suspected him of being anything more than an ordinary child.

Herman was born into an affluent family, enjoyed a lovely childhood, and even exhibited a high level of intelligence from an early age.

As a child, Mudgett was terrified of the town doctor.

In response to his phobia, some local scoundrels decided to lock him in the doctor's office as a cruel prank, along with the doctor's display skeleton.

Bizarrely, this traumatic incident cured him of his fear, instead instilling in him the desire to pursue a medical career.

Meanwhile, Mudgett would satisfy his curiosity in a sinister way ~ by performing surgery on animals.

Upon finishing school at the age of 16, Mudgett knew that medical school was his next destination.

Mudgett then fell for a local girl named Clara Lovering.

Initially infatuated with her, he convinced both Clara and her family to consent to a marriage between the two lovebirds.

As soon as Clara became pregnant, Mudgett lost interest in her, soon abandoning his new wife as well as their infant son Robert for his next great adventure - a dangerous mix between an academic journey into medicine and fraud.

In 1882, Mudgett began his academic journey at the University of Michigan medical school.

Mudgett would occasionally steal corpses from the medical school, and use them to make false insurance claims.

On one occasion, his landlady smelled a foul odor coming from Mudgett's bedroom.

Noticing a dark object under his bed, she swept it out with a broom, only to discover that it was a baby's corpse.

Despite his appalling actions often coming to light, Mudgett did an excellent job at keeping up appearances.

Despite his dull reputation in the classroom, he sure had his way with the ladies.

During his studies, Mudgett began a relationship with a local widow.

After proposing to her, the couple consummated their relationship, only for the poor woman to discover that Mudgett was already married.

Infuriated, the widow sued him for “breach of promise"~ a serious offense at the time, that could have prevented him from graduating college.

Fortunately for Mudgett, many of his professors and peers felt that such lewd behavior was out of character for Mudgett, and successfully defended him in front of the school board to prevent his expulsion.

In 1885, Mudgett decided to move to Chicago.

Changing his name to Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, he began working in a drug store owned by one Elizabeth S. Holton.

Tragically for Mrs. Holton, her husband was dying from cancer in the apartment above the store.

Holmes mercilessly decided to prey on the Holtons' unfortunate situation, offering to purchase the pharmacy from Mrs. Holton while she and her husband would be permitted to continue living upstairs.

As soon as Holmes acquired ownership of the store, however, a rumor started circulating about Mrs. Holmes abruptly packing her bags and moving to California....

Still messing with the ladies, in 1887, he seduced and married Myrta Belknap - despite still being legally married to Clara Lovering under his former name!

Now that Mrs. Holton was no longer in the picture, the newlyweds decide to seize a golden opportunity by moving into her now-vacant apartment.

Having settled into their new marital home, Myrta began helping her husband run the drug store downstairs.

Myrta's jealousy began to boil, as she noticed plenty of young female customers entering the shop and flirting with her husband. Upon falling pregnant, Myrta moved back in with her parents. While Holmes would visit Myrta and their daughter regularly, he enjoyed having his own space - particularly since he had some other business to attend to - business he wouldn't exactly want other eyes to see.

Holmes decided to purchase an empty lot across the street from the drug store, where he would soon begin construction on a three-story building according to his own design.

There was a drug store on the first floor, a hotel on the second, and apartments for rent on the top floor.

Once the building was opened for business, it soon became apparent that Holmes operated his new establishment in a disreputable way.

Men would often be turned away from the hotel for unexplained reasons, while young women were welcomed with open arms.

As soon as one of his unsuspecting patrons was unable to pay off their debts to Dr. Holmes, he would apparently "forgive" her of her debts, only for the woman to "suddenly leave town".

This was highly unlikely, especially since these patrons' belongings still remained in the hotel.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that Holmes's new building was used for more than just drug sales and accommodation.

An elaborate maze consisting of trap doors, sliding walls, and airless vaults, the construction project was clearly built with an ulterior motive in mind.

The room included a soundproof vault, that was connected to the building's gas line.

The basement was fitted with a kiln, that Holmes said was for glass-bending.

While it certainly appeared too small to be used for this function, it was not too small for burning bodies.

Other sinister objects that could be found within the depths of this Chicago house of horrors, included a stretching rack, a lynching parlor, dissecting tables, and a gas chamber.

Holmes used his medical expertise to dissect bodies to an extent that they were no longer recognizable.

Upon completion, he sold their skeletons to medical schools. Having discovered another crooked yet lucrative money-making scheme, Holmes was far from finished.

After all, he had new guests to "attend to".

While selling skeletons proved to be a profitable business, Holmes conceived yet another money-making scheme - he would lure women to his hotel with promises of wealth and marriage, using this as leverage to coerce them into signing life insurance policies.

Once their signature was obtained, these women would be savagely "disposed of".

The next guest to arrive on Holmes's doorstep was an attractive young lady by the name of Emeline Cigrand.

Holmes offered her double her existing salary to come work for him - an offer she couldn't refuse.

Yet again, Holmes's relationship with a woman turned intimate. Shortly prior to the Christmas of 1892, one of Holmes's tenants spoke with Emeline, who explained that she was thinking about leaving Chicago.

This was the last that anyone would see of her.

Now that Emeline was out of the picture, Holmes welcomed two new unsuspecting targets - sisters Minnie and Nannie Williams.

In addition to being orphans with a large inheritance, the sisters were in line to receive another fortune when their elderly guardian passed away.

While Minnie was described as "plain", Holmes no doubt viewed her as a prime target for his schemes, particularly since she was young, naive, and easily swayed with a compliment or two.

For his latest sinister plot, Holmes introduced himself as Howard Gordon.

Using his charm, he swept Minnie off her feet, managing to manipulate her to such an extent, that he was able to sign away some of her real estate holdings to himself.

Soon enough, however, Nannie Williams saw through his disguise.

While Nannie was living out in Alabama, she decided to reunite with her sister in Chicago after receiving letters about her marriage to a wealthy and handsome man.......

Upon Nannie's arrival, Holmes treated the sisters to a day at the World's Fair.

Noticing that he was not as attractive as her sister had described, Nannie was skeptical of Holmes.

Only once she spent more time with him did she realize that it was his treatment of her sister that won her affection.

In a spooky fashion, Nannie disappeared not long after meeting her sister's new husband.

Holmes and Minnie then drove out to Fort Worth, Texas to take possession of some lands left to her in her parents' will.

Minnie vanished not long after, also never to be seen again.

Holmes may not have realized that he was being constantly tracked by the Fidelity Mutual Insurance company, which no doubt wanted to know that its life insurance payout had indeed been the result of a legitimate claim.

Having clearly caught on to Holmes's criminal pursuits, the company was unable to chase him down once he entered Canada.

By the time he reentered the United States, however, the company knew that it could get the police, to hunt him down.

Sensing that his luck had come to an end, Holmes astonishingly returned to his hometown of Gilmanton, New Hampshire, where he reunited with his first wife Clara and their now 15-year-old son Robert.

Soon after the family reunion, Holmes departed for Boston, where he planned to conduct further business.

With the police hot on his tail, however, this would truly be the last time that he would ever set foot in New Hampshire.

On 17th Novembe 1894, the deadly serial killer was finally brought to justice.

He was arrested by the police in Boston, who initially charged him with a horse theft that he committed in Texas.

This charge soon elevated to insurance fraud, however, to which Holmes confessed.

Officers in Chicago began searching Holmes's "Murder Castle".

The police force raided Holmes's building, uncovering all forms of deeply disturbing objects, passageways, and rooms throughout the property.

Upon reaching the basement, the officers made their most harrowing discovery yet.

This included a vat of acid that contained eight ribs, a pile of charred high heel shoes, and a kiln that was worn from frequent use.

The officers then proceeded to dig up the basement's ground, where they made their most shocking discovery - a stockpile of human bones that had been preserved with quicklime.

Other evidence of Homes's violent sins, included a dissection table and a noose that was evidently used to hang victims in the dummy elevator shaft.

The police determined that the bones that were uncovered, belonged to Pearl Conner, while some of the possessions upstairs were believed to be the property of Minnie Williams.

After spending the better part of a year building up a case against Holmes, the prosecution had the argument it needed to hand this serial killer the ultimate sentence: death.

Holmes admitted to the murder of 27 people in writing, however, some of the people he named were still alive while other names had been misspelled.

He even claimed Satanic influence at one point, saying,

"I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing..."

On 7th May 1896, Holmes was hanged.

Due to his talent for deception, there is no telling how many people he killed both in and out of his infamous Chicago labyrinth.

Chillingly, some experts believed that nearly 200 people booked into Holmes's hotel.... and never left.

Bizarrely, the story doesnt totally end there.

H.H Holmes has also been linked to being the notorious Whitechapel killer, Jack the Ripper!

H.H. Holmes's memory has not completely vanished from the earth.

There is a possibility that one famous person is distantly related to him - wife of Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex!!

The claim comes from Holmes's great-great-grandson, American lawyer Jeff Mudgett, who recently discovered that he and Meghan are cousins 8x removed!!

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https://en.claireandjamie.com/view/...

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders