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The Hotel

One of the most interesting factors of H.H. Holmes’ crimes is his Murder Castle. The hotel was constructed shortly after Holmes’ move to Chicago, finalized in 1891. The crews working on the building were frequently fired and swapped with a new crew, so that no one would become suspicious of the true intentions of the hotel. When finally completed, Holmes opened the hotel’s doors and began his murderous activities. Unfortunately, much of the hotel’s reality is shrouded in mystery, due to it burning down. A majority of the information we have today is possibly embellished by news reporters at the time, hoping to capitalize on the tragedy of the murders. 

On the first floor, Holmes intended for stores, similar to an indoor mall today, to be constructed and line the walls. This space was to be rented out to new businesses that flooded the city at the time. The second floor of the hotel was said to have been based on twisting corridors, eerily reminiscent of a maze. This floor hosted most of Holmes’ victims and allegedly had asphyxiation chambers. At the very top, on the third floor, Holmes rented out apartments to newcomers of the city. The most chilling area of the hotel was not in the base three floors however. Underground, in the basement, Holmes hid his most despicable horrors. It is said the basement had an operating table, fully decked out with an array of medical tools. Whether the use of this was genuine medicine or horrific torture for his victims is unknown. Additionally, there was a kiln where Holmes would cremate his victims.

The Castle was allegedly completed with doors that locked from the outside, in order to trap his victims, and a stairway to nowhere. Historians speculate that many of the claimed traps, such as the gas chambers and trapdoors, were simply due to exaggeration from the media. There are none of the original blueprints for the hotel existing, thus leaving us unable to verify what was held in the over 100 rooms of the hotel. While some mock-up artworks depict the inner parts of the Castle, nothing remains to verify if these drawings are accurate.  All knowledge of the building perished with Holmes and the fire that burned it to the ground. 

Even the remains of his victims found by the police led to great confusion. Holmes’ methods of destroying the bodies were incredibly effective (allegedly including vats of acid), making it impossible to truly distinguish the number of his victims. Due to the missing person’s reports at the time, the number can only be estimated in the hundreds.

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Early 1900s newspapers which reference H.H. Holmes. Read more at the following links (via Chronicling America, a division of the Library of Congress):

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058396/1914-07-04/ed-1/seq-19/

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042461/1894-11-21/ed-1/seq-1/

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Motive and Final Victims

Motive is a key factor in most crimes. Why a criminal does what they do, why the most ghastly crimes are committed, is a question asked since the beginning of civilization. Most have reasons based on passion, or a simple joy for their acts of violence. Even so, some are based on the outcome of their crime, rather than the enjoyment they gain from their heinous activities. H. H. Holmes was a fascinating individual, as his murders were based on the financial gain from insurance fraud. While it can be speculated that his obsession with anatomy could apply to his predisposition for murder, it can also be said that he simply wished to reap the financial gain.

Of Holmes' victims, a majority were young women he seduced in order to gain control of their assets. Unlike many other famous serial killers, Holmes was never reported to commit sexual violence or power struggles onto these women. His motives were simple: the money gained from their deaths. With all of Holmes’ criminal enterprises, many could argue that murder was just a means to an end for him to commit fraud. Regardless of his motivations, his obsession with skeletons and death at a young age was a clear indicator of his instability.

At the peak of his career, Holmes utilized the Chicago World’s Fair to find his victims. The bustling crowd of outsiders made it easy for Holmes to ensure his victims would not be missed. Due to the proximity to the fair, his hotel was a perfect location to gain access to the travelers. He would convince them to stay at the Murder Castle, where many were never seen again.

After the World’s Fair parted ways with Chicago, the economy went into a slump. As a result, Holmes participated in a much larger number of scams, traveling across the country to enact them.  His final act of murder was of the Pitezel family, which began as a deal with Benjamin Pitezel to fake his own death. The agreement was that Pitezel would take out a $10,000 life insurance policy and then fake his death. The plan had many hiccups, with Holmes being arrested and sharing a cell with Marion Hedgepeth, who aided the scheme in exchange for a cut of the earnings. However, the plan would only continue to derail itself. After his release from prison, Holmes murdered Pitezel. He continued to murder three of Pitezel’s children, out of fear they would alert authorities.  

However, in his haste not to be caught in his deeds, Holmes neglected to pay Hedgepeth. It was this greedy oversight that led Hedgepeth to report Holmes to authorities. While Holmes committed numerous acts of murder, he was only tried and convicted on the count for Benjamin Pitezel. He originally confessed to 27 murders, but continued to increase the number to well over 100. As a lifetime con-artist, Holmes was very apt at altering the truth. As such, we may never truly know the extent of his crimes.

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H.H. Holmes and his infamous hotel, or as it’s best known, “Murder Castle.”

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Humans have always been fascinated by the macabre. The gruesome realities of the world seem to draw us in, unable to look away. The same can be said for the life of H.H. Holmes. An infamous swindler now known as “America's first serial killer,” Holmes confessed to the murder of 27 individuals. This number, however, may not be entirely accurate. Holmes is suspected for over 100 murders. Due to his ever-changing account of his criminal history, many of the murders can only be assumed as his. Born in 1861 as Herman Webster Mudgett, H.H. Holmes is infamous for his “Murder Castle” and con-artist efforts.

Mudgett’s life was fairly normal as a child and excelled in his academics. He had an extreme interest in skeletons and medicine, which led him to attend medical school at the University of Michigan. At this time, he changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes- shorthanded to H.H. Holmes. During medical school, he faced many behavioral issues which threatened his ability to graduate. Cadavers began going missing, and Holmes’ swindling enterprise began. It is said that Holmes began taking out life insurance policies on the bodies in order to collect on the money. Regardless of the flaky nature of his medical schooling, Holmes passed his exams in 1884 and moved to Chicago in 1885.

The next several years were spent on the construction of Holmes’ hotel, colloquially dubbed his “Murder Castle.” Completed in 1891, the hotel hosted three-stories of secret passages, soundproof rooms, gas chambers, and a cremation kiln. The construction crews were ever changing, so as to not raise suspicion. Many of his victims were women he seduced. Holmes would gain control of their life savings and murder them shortly after. Even his employees at the hotel were required to take out life insurance policies- with Holmes as the beneficiary. In addition to his insurance fraud, Holmes would sell the bodies of his victims to local medical schools.

In 1893, Holmes was arrested for fraud relating to a fire at his home. His stay in jail was brief, and shortly after Holmes continued his schemes. However, he was arrested once more while in Missouri. During this time he met Marion Hedgepeth, a career criminal known as the “Handsome Bandit.” Hedgepeth assisted in Holmes’ insurance schemes, but reported Holmes to police authorities when he did not receive his cut of the scam. The police caught up to Holmes and arrested him. During their investigation, the police found corpses so dismembered they were unsure of the true number of bodies within the hotel.

In May of 1896, H.H. Holmes was sentenced to death and hanged for his crimes. Following his death, the Murder Castle burned to the ground. Many of his crimes are left to speculation, even in the modern day. Holmes’ legacy became cemented into American consciousness quickly, with large press coverage. To this day, he remains one of the most infamous criminals in American history, declaring him as “America’s first serial killer.”