Herman Mudgett, born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, in 1861, became the infamous H. H. Holmes. This con artist moved to Chicago and, posing as ‘Dr. Henry Howard Holmes,’ worked as a pharmacist. Capitalizing on the expected influx of 750,000 tourists for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Holmes hatched a sinister scheme.
Holmes constructed a hotel, later known as the ‘Murder Castle,’ which became the final destination for many victims. Every room in this hotel was a cleverly designed death trap. Though Holmes confessed to 27 murders, the actual number could be as high as 200, making him one of America’s first serial killers.
His chilling words, “I was born with the devil in me,” encapsulate the horror within those walls. Here are ten horrifying facts about H.H. Holmes’ hotel.
10. Holmes Acquired The Hotel Dishonestly
Holmes, an intelligent child, studied medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Despite his academic achievements, he faced bullying. An early memory involves bullies forcing him to embrace a skeleton, an experience that, instead of scaring him, oddly comforted him.
In 1885, Holmes relocated to Chicago, securing a pharmacy job in Englewood. After the owner’s death, Holmes manipulated the widow into ceding control of the business. Shortly after, the widow disappeared under suspicious circumstances, with Holmes claiming she moved to California.
With his own pharmacy, Holmes had the funds to purchase property across the street. He transformed it into a three-story hotel, setting the stage for his horrifying enterprise.
9. Only Holmes Himself Knew The Layout Of The Hotel
Holmes designed the hotel personally. Located on 63rd Street, the building occupied an entire block, drawing attention during its construction.
Originally slated for completion in six months, the project stretched three times longer due to Holmes’ constant firing of contractors. He routinely accused laborers of poor workmanship to avoid payment.
This tactic saved Holmes money and ensured that only he knew the hotel’s true layout. The labyrinthine corridors and illogical doors appeared to be design flaws, but they were intentional.
As the Chicago Tribune noted in 1937, the hotel was a “queer house…a reflex of the builder’s own distorted mind.” Its bizarre architecture was a key element of Holmes’ murderous design.
8. Each Room At The Hotel Was A Death Trap
By 1892, the ‘Castle’ was complete, featuring three floors and a cellar. The first floor’s shops were leased to merchants. Holmes prepared to welcome guests as tourists arrived for Chicago’s World Fair.
The narrow, dimly lit corridors had gas jets on the walls. Many dead ends and stairways led nowhere, with Holmes holding the keys to numerous doors. Across from his office was a bank vault with a gas pipe. From his closet, Holmes controlled the gas flow.
The seemingly ordinary bedrooms were airtight, soundproofed, and equipped with peepholes, allowing Holmes to watch his victims’ final moments. Alarms alerted him to any escape attempts.
Once his evil deeds were done, trapdoors and hidden panels in closets allowed bodies to be dropped down greased shafts into the cellar.
7. The Basement Of Horrors
Holmes personally handled the disposal of his victims. In the basement, he immersed bodies in acid vats and quicklime pits. He also had operating tables, surgical instruments, and a large kiln for cremation.
The centerpiece was a medieval rack, which Holmes termed an “elasticity determinator,” used to stretch bodies. Theories suggest this was part of a scientific experiment to create giants or to torture victims for financial details.
Detectives found a skull and ribs in the acid, remnants of Holmes’ gruesome activities.
6. The Chilling Footprint Of Emeline Cigrand
Emeline Cigrand moved to Chicago for a high-paying job as Holmes’ secretary. Soon after, Holmes acquired her $800 savings, promising investment. When Emeline told a neighbor she was returning home, she vanished.
A female footprint was discovered etched on the vault door. It’s believed Holmes lured Emeline into the vault, possibly shoeless, and locked her inside. In a desperate attempt to escape, she kicked the door.
Holmes likely poured acid on the floor, hastening oxygen depletion. Emeline’s footprint was a haunting reminder of the horrors within the hotel.
5. Cadavers For Cash
Holmes gained a reputation for not paying his creditors, furnishing the hotel without intending to cover the costs. He also encouraged employees to take out life insurance policies, then forged documents after their disappearances to claim the money.
As the body count rose, Holmes realized he could profit from the cadavers. Knowing medical schools valued skeletons, he stripped flesh, bleached bones, and sold them.
Corpses sold for $25-$45, while cleaned skeletons fetched up to $200 (about $20,000 today).
4. He Murdered His Only Accomplice
Holmes befriended Benjamin Pitezel, a carpenter with a criminal background. They became partners in crime, though the extent of Pitezel’s involvement in the murders is unclear. Eventually, Pitezel met a similar fate.
Pitezel agreed to fake his death for a $10,000 insurance payout. Holmes, however, knocked Pitezel unconscious with chloroform and set him on fire to make it appear a suicide.
Holmes then murdered Pitezel’s three children, locking them in a trunk and using gas to asphyxiate them.
An acquaintance, aware of Pitezel’s death and the insurance payment, informed the police, leading to Holmes’s murder investigation.
3. There Was Plans For A Second Hotel
In 1894, Holmes, using the alias ‘Harry Gordon,’ met railroad heiress Minnie Williams. After she moved to Chicago to be with him, he advised her to call him ‘Holmes,’ his business alias. He then ‘married’ Minnie in a likely fraudulent ceremony.
Holmes murdered Minnie and her sister Anna, inheriting property in Fort Worth, Texas. He claimed they had traveled to Europe.
Having failed to burn down his Chicago hotel for insurance money, Holmes planned to build a second hotel in Fort Worth, intending to continue his crimes.
Detectives caught up with Holmes before he could claim more lives.
2. The Hotel Is Destroyed By Fire
On November 17th, 1894, Holmes was arrested in Boston. In August 1895, a fire destroyed much of the hotel, sparking various theories.
Some believe Holmes paid someone to burn the hotel to destroy evidence. Others think local vigilantes set the fire to erase the building’s dark legacy.
After the fire, the upper floors were removed, and the street-level shops reopened. In 1937, the U.S. government bought the site, demolished the building, and opened the Englewood Post Office. Today, no reminders exist of the horrors once committed there.
1. Holmes Became The Final Victim Of The Hotel
Despite his impending execution, Holmes continued to profit. He sold his confession to the Hearst Corporation for $7,500 (worth $230,000 today), though much of it was fabricated.
On May 7th, 1896, Holmes was hanged at Moyamensing Prison at age 34. He requested a burial 10-feet deep with a cement-encased casket to prevent grave robbers from stealing his corpse.
During the hanging, his neck didn’t snap, and he died by strangulation. His heart beat for 15 minutes before he was declared dead.
Holmes became the final victim of his horrific legacy.
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