The strange case of H.H. Holmes shocked the city of Chicago and eventually the entire country. When the stories of his unique brand of horror spread, no one could quite believe that this ordinary man was capable of such horrifying behavior. Even worse, he used a tourist attraction to lure even more victims into his layer.
In 1893 the World’s Fair descended on the city of Chicago, bringing thousands of people into the city. Some of those people would never make it home alive, or ever be seen again. Investigations into the disappearances led police to the south side of Chicago before the trail died. Police had no way of knowing that those missing people were right under their noses.
That area of Chicago was nice and quiet, and most people tended to feel safe while living, or visiting there. One woman in the area began noticing that more and more people were flocking to her drugstore, and sought help. That help came in the form of H.H. Holmes.
Holmes was a delightful addition to the neighborhood, and most of the customers tended to love him. He was polite and nice, and always maintained relationships with his customers. When the owner of the drugstore disappeared, he told locals that he had bought the store from her, and that she had moved somewhere west, though he could never give a specific location.
Holmes’s had quite a sordid past prior to arriving in Chicago. During his time in medical school, he often stole bodies and passed them off as family members to gain insurance settlements. He also married and fathered a son, but later disappeared leaving his family behind.
He was also shown to take over a business in Minnesota, but later left with the company’s money. Later he impregnated the wife of his landlord in New York. Before the woman could tell her husband, he skipped town. He also married another woman, while still married to his first wife. The woman later gave birth to his daughter before filing for divorce. There were also rumors that he tried to kill his father-in-law, and swindled him out of money and property.
The idea of his infamous Murder Castle came about a few years later. He bought a lot in the neighborhood, and began building what he called a hotel. Those who inquired were told that he planned to open the hotel just in time for the World’s Fair.
Holmes had a way with the ladies, and gave no care to those who were already married. Though still married himself, he began an affair with the wife of one of his workers. When the man learned the truth, he abandoned his wife and moved to another store. The woman herself became a co-conspirator in his crime wave.
Work began on the Murder Castle, and things seemed a little suspicious. Those who worked on the building were never used for very long, and he seemed to fire and hire crews rapidly. Now we know that he probably did this to hide exactly what was going on behind the scenes. The house featured numerous hidden rooms and passageways, perfect for the horrific murders he had planned.
Holmes kept his promise of renting out rooms to travelers coming to Chicago for the World’s Fair, but those travelers had no way of knowing what fate held in store for them. To gain his victims Holmes not only advertised as having rooms for rent, but also advertised as having jobs for women. Many of the young women who responded to the ads were never seen or heard from again.
Holmes admitted to killing 28 people, including his former mistress. After becoming pregnant, he attempted to perform an abortion and she died during the procedure. To keep it a secret, he also murdered her young daughter. He refused to take the blame for all of the murders there, instead placing some of the blame on his new mistress Minnie. After taking a new wife though, Minnie had mysteriously disappeared.
In the end it was a simple insurance scheme that caused the downfall of this serial killer. After killing a man to collect on his life insurance policy, H.H. Holmes was caught. Unfortunately he could not be tried, but a Pinkerton detective closely began investigating his past. This same detective tracked Holmes, and discovered that he had also killed the man’s two children and he found proof of this.
The insurance scheme was meant to involve the man originally, or so he thought. He was told that if he participated, Holmes would use a cadaver and cut him in on the proceeds. Instead he killed the man, and collected all of the money himself. The body of the man’s son was later uncovered in Indianapolis. This led police to search the infamous Murder Castle.
Police and detectives found a disturbing scene that seemed to grow more disturbing with each passing minute. Large vats of acid and quicklime were discovered in the basement, with pieces of body parts still inside. They also discovered a human sized lead room, and a gas chamber room. Other horrifying discoveries included airtight rooms, trap doors that could instantly drop bodies to the basement, and even rooms where people had been burned alive.
The worst horrors were found in the basement. It was clear that Holmes had been carrying out his crimes for some time. They discovered poisons, a dissecting table, and even a ball of woman’s hair, not to mention several female skeletons. Later it was also discovered that a huge 14 foot long tank was kept under the house, though no one is quite sure what it was used for.
The city of Chicago was shocked at the discoveries, and someone wanted to make certain that the infamous Murder Castle could never be used again. The house was intentionally set on fire, and burned to the ground in a few short hours. No one was ever tried for the crime. A post office was later built on the spot.
Those who lived in the area claimed to hear odd noises coming from inside, including the sounds of people crying and moaning in pain. Animals are also known to shy away from the building, and to fight when taken by it. Odd that these same neighbors never heard anything when the people were tortured there, but heard them in death.
Holmes himself was found guilty and sentenced to death for his crimes; he was executed by hanging. In a disturbing twist of fate, he actually didn’t die by the hanging. The rope caused his neck to break, but he continued to live for 12-14 minutes. He requested to be buried under two tons of concrete, to prevent grave robbers from desecrating his body as he had done to others.
H.H. Holmes was one of the first true serial killers in American history, and a blight on the history of Chicago.
Sources:
http://www.weirdchicago.com/castle.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/holmes.html
