On May 16, 1861, a man named Herman Webster Majett was born. Which is better known as Henry Howard Holmes. This is a famous person, but not in the best sense of the word. After all, he is the first officially registered serial killer in America.
A little biography
Henry Howard Holmes was born in a small village in New Hampshire. His father was a strict person, often punishing his son. And classmates often scoffed after they found out that Herman was afraid of the dead (and he really had such a phobia).
In 1871, the Great Fire occurred, destroying approximately 9/10 Chicago. Upon learning this news, young Herman fantasized for a long time, imagining how the fire burns his parents. These were his first manifestations of cruelty. He also likes to do various animal experiments. And interestingly, when Herman grew up, he received a medical education and a corresponding diploma.
First crimes
Henry Howard Holmes began his deeds during his studies at the university. Although initially they were not associated with the killings.
He simply stole corpses from the university laboratory and mutilated them. Then he adjusted the accidents with the dead. Then he passed them off as people who were fictitious to them, on whom insurance was issued. Naturally, this was done for the sake of profit - Herman received payments for these unfortunate ones.
In addition to such matters, the young man also carried out other scams, most often related to real estate. Interestingly, he even had a wife. First one, and then a few more. Moreover, he entered into marriages without terminating the previous ones. He had a daughter with one of his wives, whose name was Lucy Theodeit Holmes.
Relocation to Chicago
In 1886, the future serial killer moved to this city. German set himself the task - to implement his criminal plan in order to get rid of lack of money. Then it was he who took another name for himself and began to introduce himself as Henry Howard Holmes.
Chicago was not chosen by chance. Just at that time, the city was actively developing, and life was in full swing in it. But Henry settled nearby - in the ecological town of Inglewood. There he got a job as a pharmacist in a pharmacy. She was owned by an elderly man dying of cancer. And the pharmacy was occupied by his already elderly wife - a new pharmacist came in handy.
Soon, the pharmacy owner died, and Henry bought the pharmacy from his widow. She agreed to this on condition that she would be allowed to live in the apartment upstairs. However, the widow soon disappeared. Almost immediately after she sued Henry. To all interested, the young man said that the old woman decided to move to California.
Mysterious project
Henry Howard Holmes became a successful pharmacist. He managed to redeem the land adjacent to his pharmacy (naturally, he got it through criminal scams). After that, the future killer Henry Howard Holmes began large-scale construction. To questions about what would show off in the wasteland, he replied - a hotel for visitors to the World Colombian Exhibition, which was planned as the largest fair in history. However, in reality, German was guided by other ideas.
He managed to erect a huge 3-story building. His plan was unknown even to builders. Henry hired them for a probationary period, and then dismissed them without explanation and, naturally, without payment for labor. Conflicts with outraged builders were settled by Benjamin Pitzel, a devoted assistant, whom Henry Howard Holmes had once hired.
"Castle" - so called its structure. Because the building occupied almost the entire quarter. And Henry not only built it, but furnished it almost for free. He was all in loans and debts. And when the creditors came to him, the owner of the castle suggested they find what they needed (furniture, a safe with money, etc.), but they simply could not find anything. The building was so cunningly built. By the way, there was one feature that distinguished him from the rest - there were no windows in the rooms. There were also shops on the ground floor, and a hotel on the upper floor.
House for the killings
So can be called the Henry Howard Holmes Hotel. The fact that this person was smart is hard to deny. And this fact is proved not only by his countless scams and frauds, which went unpunished, but also by the way he designed his hotel.
The arrangement of rooms, passages and corridors was known only to him. Although it looked pretty sinister. The corridors looked like labyrinths with blind alleys and stairs that did not lead anywhere. Everywhere darkness reigned, hardly diluted with the light of gas lamps. People lived on the second floor, and their rooms only opened outward. Some of the rooms were low and narrow, more like closets. In others, the floor with the ceiling was covered with asbestos, due to which complete insulation was achieved. Still others were distinguished by walls covered with steel sheets. However, something united them. A pipe led into each room from the basement, through which gas could flow from a special tank.
In some rooms there were oiled troughs descending into the basement, where a laboratory was equipped with an acid bath and a crematorium. Everything looked especially ominous there. The "interior" consisted of two cremation furnaces, barrels of acid, a rack and a torture instrument. There were even tanks with a chemical that instantly corroded the bodies of the victims, who got there through the gutters directly from their rooms.
But the wildest thing that was there was an anatomical table with professional surgical instruments. Why was he needed? To Henry "butchering" people and extracted from them internal organs and skeletons. He passed them to medical universities.
The victims
Serial killer Henry Howard Holmes has built a real Death Factory. In a cruel way, he dealt mainly with women who worked for him. He hired them, insured them for substantial sums, and then tortured and killed them. Everyone was fair-haired, by the way. And not only women - still their lovers. And of course, hotel guests. He closed some in the rooms and turned on the gas supply. The others were locked up in isolated storage. The third threw into a hole with lime. Different methods of killing were used by Henry Howard Holmes. Doctor of torture - such a nickname was given to him.
The exact number of his victims is unknown. At least 20 (he confessed to them). Estimated - 350. And this is a very real figure, since only during the notorious fair about 50 tourists disappeared.
Reported Crimes
On the ground floor of the hotel was a jewelry store, which was run by a certain John - a family man with his wife Julia and daughter Pearl. Spouse Holmes with his inherent charm charmed. She became pregnant from him and demanded a wedding after her divorce, threatening to reveal the machinations of Henry. Holmes told Julia that he would marry if she agreed to an abortion, which he would have done - in the same basement. She agreed. After that, no one saw Julia or Pearl. And after a while, Holmes sold the female skeleton to a local surgeon for $ 250.
The same situation happened with Secretary Henry, whose name was Emeline Sigard. Only her for the demands of marrying Holmes was locked in a safe. He enjoyed the way she suffocates and prays for help. The same fate overtook the maid Lizzy and her lover Pat, the janitor.
Moreover, Henry even killed his devoted assistant - Pitzel. He, of course, was insured. But Holmes did not want to share money with the family of Benjamin. Therefore, he strangled his son (after which he burned and dismembered), locked his daughters in a giant chest and put gas in him. Henry also killed Pitzel’s wife.
How did it end?
The scary person was Henry Howard Holmes. His biography is a direct confirmation of this. For 10 years he went unpunished. But then revelations began.
He had an intrigue with another secretary - Minnie. She copied the inherited 50,000 dollars to him, losing her head with passion. But her older sister - no. Henry had to lull her vigilance, after which he killed both girls. He took the secretary's money and fled from creditors in Texas. There was Minnie's property. On its site, he began to build a new castle. And the last set it on fire, deciding to bail out money for insurance. However, insurers established the fact that the fire was rigged and threatened with a court.
However, Texas immediately realized what Henry was, and he fled to St. Louis so as not to face justice. There he lost his vigilance and committed an absolutely clumsy scam. He was bitten and imprisoned. Of course, he went out on bail and launched a case with Pitzel, which was mentioned above. That's just his cellmate was aware of what was planned. Because he helped with the search for a lawyer. But Holmes did not pay him, so he took revenge by writing a statement to Henry.
They arrested him in 1894. The police found a house in which Holmes cracked down on the Pitzel family. He was convicted, accused not only in this case, but also of 27 murders, as well as 6 attempts. This was difficult since Henry was giving false testimonies. But still he ended up with a hanging sentence. Prior to bringing the verdict into effect, the killer was calm and even friendly. And when he was hanged, Henry's neck did not break right away. He died about 15 minutes. And he bequeathed, by the way, to be buried in concrete. He did not want to be dug up and cut. After all, he did so himself with others. The request was granted.
Reflection in the cinema
The story is creepy, overtaking fear. She could not help but interest people involved in the cinema. In 2017, it is planned to release a picture in which the main character will be - Henry Howard Holmes. The film is called "The Devil in the White City" - like the book by Eric Larson, the rights to the film adaptation of which was bought by Leonardo DiCaprio. He will play Holmes. Graham Moore is involved in the script, which means that the film will definitely turn out to be interesting. So those who wish to watch can only wait for its publication.