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I read about this guy quite a few years ago. Recently a documentary was made about him which I've yet to see but I'm sure it's fascinating. Holmes posed as a pharmacist and constructed a 'hotel' that he dubbed "The Castle" which consisted of many mazes, trap doors, and dungeons in order to kill upwards of 100 people. Here is some info about him:
Some links on H.H. Holmes:
He managed to secure a Chicago pharmacy and the property attached to it (by defrauding the pharmacist), and built a row of three-story buildings on it. The bottom floor was shops, the top his personal office, and the middle floor a maze of over one hundred windowless rooms. He called it The Castle and opened it as a hotel for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Women checked in, but they didn't check out. Over a period of three years, Mudgett tortured his selected victims in soundproof and escapeproof chambers which were fitted with gas lines that permitted Mudgett to asphyxiate the women at any time. Once dead, their bodies went by chute to the basement, where they were either sold to medical schools or cremated.
He was discovered when a fire broke out at The Castle, revealing the carnage therein to the police and firemen, though he might have been caught eventually anyway, as he had taken out insurance policies on some of his victims before killing them.
The estimates placed the number of victims as between 20 to 100, including mostly women but some men and children. Mudgett (as Holmes) was put on trial for murder, and confessed to 28 murders (in Chicago, Indianapolis and Toronto) and 6 attempted murders. He was hanged in 1896 in Philadelphia.
Women checked in, but they didn't check out. Over a period of three years, Mudgett tortured his selected victims in soundproof and escapeproof chambers which were fitted with gas lines that permitted Mudgett to asphyxiate the women at any time. Once dead, their bodies went by chute to the basement, where they were either sold to medical schools or cremated.
He was discovered when a fire broke out at The Castle, revealing the carnage therein to the police and firemen, though he might have been caught eventually anyway, as he had taken out insurance policies on some of his victims before killing them.
The estimates placed the number of victims as between 20 to 100, including mostly women but some men and children. Mudgett (as Holmes) was put on trial for murder, and confessed to 28 murders (in Chicago, Indianapolis and Toronto) and 6 attempted murders. He was hanged in 1896 in Philadelphia.
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