I think it’s fair to say in the U.S. we have become obsessed with serial killers and honestly I’m no different. When my niece spends the night we stay up till two in the morning watching documentaries about serial killers. Recently my local library had an event where an author spoke his name is Matt Lake. It was a fascinating lecture and his topic? Herman W. Mudgett, don’t recognize the name? Maybe you would recognize his alias H.H. Holmes. You know the one that built a hotel in Chicago during the 1893 world’s fair. However Mr. Lake’s lecture begs the question did everything happen as we thought it did? Or was Mudgett’s entire life grossly exaggerated? Honestly I began to question everything I knew of Holmes which admittedly wasn’t a whole lot I was more interested in the killers of the 70’s but after this presentation my interest was peeked and luckily for me he was selling books. So this blog will be sort of a two parter, this blog the one you’re reading right now will be about the book H.H. Holmes himself wrote, that’s right the killer himself wrote a book before his death. The second part of this blog the post yet to even be written will be about Matt. Lake’s book on the subject of H.H. Holmes and all his misdeeds, lies, death and everything in between. So let’s get started shall we?
Herman W. Mudgett was born in 1861, his life was pretty ordinary and not very extrodinary at all. At the age of nineteen he was ready to enter Dartmouth College however instead of doing so he went to medical school at The University of Vermont for one year and after that he attended a larger college in Ann Arbor Michigan. After college is when his first crime occurs him and a college friend talked during their college days as a last resort if medical practice proved to be a failure here’s how they planned to make their fortune. At some future date a man his friend knew and could trust who carried a large life insurance was to increase the same so the total amount carried would be $40,000 and as he was a man of moderate circumstances he was to have it understood that some sudden danger he had to escaped ( a runaway accident) had impelled him more fully protect his family in the future. Later he should become addicted to drink, and while temporarily insane from its use should as it would appear afterwords, kill his wife and child.
In 1888 Mudgett needed some extra carpenters, enter Benjamin F. Pitezel a tall, thin, muscular man whom had a large family and begged Mudgett for work. Mudgett Described Pitezel as a dreamer he would often find him with a set of figures and a diagram illustrating their use. So he had him work by contract instead by day. According to Mudgett, Pitezel was forced to leave Kansas due to some legal issues with a bank he had given a worthless mortgage to secure a loan in money.
In 1890 Mudgett added a jewelry store to his business and had placed Julius L. Connor in charge of that and his drug business, his wife Julia Connor often assisted him as cashier. On January 1 1892, Julia informed Mudgett and several others that was going away. She at the time gave her destination as Iowa, this was to mislead her husband who she feared was going to take her daughter away.
On January 1, 1893 He meets Minnie R. Williams at the Intelligence office of Mr. William Campbell, who had engaged to provide her with a position as a stenographer. During the spring of 1893 Mudgett was busier then ever according to him, he was preparing a building to rent to prospective tenants, who would use the entire five stories and forty rooms, at a good rental, he planned to have it ready for the World’s fair. Mrs. Williams Occupied a room in the same building from the 1st of March to the 5th of May 1893 adjoining his office. At some point Minnie loans him $2,500 to use until she should need it. He returned the money May 10 1893. Its then that she expressed a wish to convert her southern property into either cash or improved northern property.
This is just the tip of the iceberg into H.H. Holmes story to find out more read this book I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to go down a rabbit hole.
Introverted Little BookWorm 