H.H. Holmes and the murder castles

H.H. Holmes, also known as Herman Webster Mudgett, was a notorious serial killer who operated in the late 19th century in the United States. He is believed to have killed between 9 and 200 people, though the actual number of his victims is uncertain due to the nature of his crimes and the fact that he often disposed of their bodies in a secretive manner.

Holmes was born on May 16, 1861, in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. He was the son of Levi Horton Mudgett and Theodate Page Price. His parents were devout Methodists, and his father was a farmer and town treasurer. Holmes showed an early aptitude for science and medicine, and after completing high school, he enrolled in the University of Vermont's medical program.

In 1884, Holmes moved to Chicago, where he continued his studies at the University of Michigan's medical school. It was during this time that he began his criminal activities. He started by stealing cadavers from the school's anatomy lab and selling them to medical schools and labs. He then moved on to insurance fraud, faking the death of a man named Benjamin Pitezel and collecting the insurance money.

In 1893, Holmes constructed a building in Chicago that he called the "World's Fair Hotel." It was later dubbed the "Murder Castle" due to the numerous hidden rooms, trap doors, and secret passageways that he had built into it. Holmes used the hotel to lure in young women who were visiting the World's Columbian Exposition, a world's fair that was held in Chicago that year.

Holmes would hire these women to work in the hotel, and then he would kill them. He would often asphyxiate them with gas in specially designed rooms, which he called "the secret hanging chamber" and "the air-tight chamber." He also used a variety of other methods to kill his victims, including poisoning, suffocation, and dismemberment.

After killing his victims, Holmes would dispose of their bodies in a variety of ways. He sometimes burned them in a furnace or used acid to dissolve them. He also buried them in the hotel's basement, which was equipped with quicklime and other chemicals to aid in the decomposition process.

Holmes was eventually caught in 1894 after police began investigating the disappearance of Benjamin Pitezel, whom Holmes had killed as part of his insurance fraud scheme. He was arrested in Boston and extradited to Philadelphia, where he was tried and convicted of the murder of Pitezel. He was later sentenced to death by hanging.

Holmes confessed to killing 27 people, though it is believed that the actual number of his victims is much higher. Some estimates put the number at over 200. After his death, Holmes' body was buried in a cement-encased grave to prevent anyone from stealing it and using it for medical experiments.

In the years since his death, H.H. Holmes has become a notorious figure in American history and true crime lore. His gruesome crimes have been the subject of numerous books, movies, and documentaries, and he is often cited as one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Despite the passage of over a century since his crimes were committed, the legend of H.H. Holmes continues to fascinate and horrify people to this day.