Hill - The twenty seven murders of henry h holmes

1The Twenty Seven Murders of Henry H. Holmes

Martin Hill Ortiz

copyright 2013

Smashwords Edition

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Herman Webster Mudgett, aka

Dr. Henry H. Holmes, 1861-1896

The Twenty Seven Murders of Henry H.Holmes

Martin Hill Ortiz

Herein is presented an account of themurderous career of Herman Webster Mudgett better known as Dr.Henry H. Holmes. This research was conducted during the preparationof the novel, A Predatory Mind.

For more information on Holmes and the novelsee

www.apredatorymind.com

Image cover is from The University Palladium,University of Michigan Medical School, Volume 26, 1884-85, AnnArbor, Michigan.

All images presented herein have had theircopyrights expire or else have been taken from sites declaring theimages as free to use for commercial purposes.

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The Arch Criminal of Our Age

Holmes' career of hideous crimes does notfind a parallel in the history of the country. He was not only amultimurderer, but a bigamist, seducer, resurrectionist, forger,thief and general rascal, villain and fiend.

Holmes Hangs. Rock Island Argus, May 7,1896

Why the Legend of Holmes Endures.

In reality, few serial killers fit thepopular conception provided by fiction: that of the intelligenthunter. Most are misfits who prey on the most vulnerable.

Holmes wore the mask of success: anentrepreneur, a small town kid made good. He was a medical doctor,a stylish dresser, well-spoken and literate, a charmer, a veritableladykiller.

He was fiendish, devising his tortures withthe methodical precision and unchained imagination. He fanciedhimself as an inventor. When a stretching rack was found in hisbasement he claimed he wanted to experiment on creating a race ofgiants.

He built a Torture Castle as demented anddiabolical as his own mind. Odd angles, dead ends, killingchambers, disposal rooms.

Although his murders displayed a wit in theirsadism, his cruelty was so depraved and bestial it can not beromanticized, even by a nation who makes anti-heroes out of viciouskillers such as Bonnie and Clyde. He strung along his victims,torturing them with the hope of freedom. The detectives assigned tohis case regularly underestimated his viciousness. The greater theinnocence, the crueler his crimes, with children counted among hisvictims. He often killed for no apparent reason.

Holmes was the genuine nightmare.

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Introduction.

"Come with me, if you will, to a tiny, quietNew England village, nestling among the picturesquely rugged hillsof New Hampshirea*."

With his hand held out and a twinkle in hiseyes, so began serial killer Henry H. Holmes first penned statementin which he confesses to how truly misunderstood he was. In betweenoccasional touches of New England gothic, he described growing upin an idyllic small town, "...well trained by loving and religiousparents.a" He went on to explain away, one by one, themisconceptions surrounding the mysterious disappearances oftwenty-two of his associates.

Holmes published Holmes' Own Story inSeptember, 1895. Having so far gotten away with a score of murdersand swindles, during the past year his fortunes had descended frombad to worse. He began with the perfect scheme for making money:duping his employee Benjamin Pitezel into undertaking an insurancescam. First Pitezel insured himself for $10,000. Then Holmes wassupposed to fake Pitezel's death, provide a substitute cadaver andtogether they'd split the payout. Instead, to simplifyidentification of the corpse, Holmes killed his partner. Aftercollecting the insurance money, news of the scam leaked and onNovember 17th, 1894, Holmes was arrested.

For a time, all that could be proven was theinsurance fraud. On June 3rd, 1895 Holmes pled guilty and receiveda mild sentence. While in prison in Philadelphia, evidence thatPitezel had been murdered mounted and Holmes was charged in hishomicide. As word got back to Chicago, those who knew Holmes hadmore to say. Soon headlines shouted one horrific discovery afteranother. The police explored Holmes' boarding house uncoveringtorture rooms, mazes, and a variety of contraptions for disposingof corpses. The press soon dubbed the building, The MurderCastle.

*Throughout this document, the citation "a"refers to the September, 1895 "Holmes' Own Story" and "b"refers to his April, 1896 confession. Although Herman WebsterMudgett did not adopt the name Henry Howard Holmes until 1886, forcontinuity's sake, I refer to him in his early years mainly asHolmes. For further information on individual topics look toReferences, Citations and Notes.

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Holmes' Own Story

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Chapter One

His (Maybe Not-So) Pre-Murderous Life.

Six weeks before his murder trial, facing amyriad of accusations, Holmes wrote down his life's story. He beganby saying he was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire and raised underthe guidance of "... a tender mother's prayers [and] a father'scontrol, emphasized, when necessary, by the liberal use of the rodwielded by no sparing handa."

Occasional dark events were recounted.Knowing Holmes feared a doctor's office, two of his schoolmates"... one day bore me struggling and shrieking beyond its awfulportals; nor did they desist until I had been brought face to facewith one of its grinning skeletons, which, with arms outstretched,seemed ready in its turn to seize mea." But all turned out well."...it proved an heroic method of treatment, destined ultimately tocure me of my fears, and to inculcate in me, first, a strongfeeling of curiosity, and later, a desire to learn, which resultedyears afterwards in my adopting medicine as aprofessiona."

He went on to describe an encounter with aphotographer which left him frightened. "I found the artistpartially clothed and sitting near the door, which he at oncelocked. He then proceeded to remove the greater portion of one ofhis legs, and not having known until then what was the cause of hislameness, in fact, not ever having seen or even known that such athing as artificial limbs existed, my consternation can better beimagined than described. Had he next proceeded to remove his headin the same mysterious way, I should not have been furthersurpriseda."

On July 4th, 1878, he married Clara Lovering,the first of his four wives1. He soon abandoned her andtheir son. As with all of his marriages, he never divorced,sometimes juggling his wives in near proximity.

At age nineteen, Holmes entered medicalschool, spending one year between the University of Vermont inBurlington, a brief period at Dartmouth, then heading off tocomplete his education at the University of Michigan. In a laterinterview, some of his professors referred to him as ascamp2 while others suggested he became involved ingrave-robbing3.

Holmes graduated as a physician on June 26,1884. Over the next two years he flitted between a variety ofpositions in various locations, living in poverty. First, he wentto Portland, Maine and became a sales representative selling plantnursery stock. In the winter of 1884, he taught school in Mooers,in the extreme northeastern portion of New York4.

This location was later cited as possiblybeing the site of Holmes' first murder. According to The New YorkTimes:

"H. H. Holmes was once a resident of this(Clinton) county. He appeared at Mooers in 1883 [sic] under thename Herman W. Mudgett as an agent for nursery stock, and createdsuch a good impression that he was engaged to teach the villageschool. This occupation he found uncongenial. He left Mooers andwent to Massachusetts, but returned in a short time, accompanied bya small boy, who disappeared shortly after arrival, Holmes sayinghe had gone home. It is now believed that the boy was themurderer's first victim.