{"product_id":"serial-killers-sam-l-wolfe-9798188431570","title":"Serial Killers: : H. H. Holmes","description":"\u003cb\u003eH. H. Holmes - America's First Notorious Serial Killer\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReal Name: Herman Webster Mudgett - H. H. Holmes was an alias. Born May 16, 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHolmes is one of the most infamous figures in American criminal history, often called America's first modern serial killer and first big-city serial killer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe was a con artist, bigamist, and medical school graduate who moved to Chicago in the 1880s. There he built a three-story building in the Englewood neighborhood, which would later become known in newspapers as the \"Murder Castle.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Murder Castle: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBuilt to take advantage of the crowds coming for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition - the Chicago World's Fair. Holmes advertised rooms for rent to fair visitors and young women coming to the city for work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter his arrest, sensational newspaper reports claimed the building was designed as a killing factory, with soundproof rooms, trap doors, chutes to the basement, a gas chamber, a crematorium, and a dissecting table. Many of those details were exaggerated by the press, but police did find evidence of murder and fraud. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eHis Crimes: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHolmes confessed to 27 murders, though he later recanted much of it. Historians can conclusively link him to 9 murders, but the true number is likely higher. His confirmed victims include business partner Benjamin Pitezel and three of Pitezel's children, along with several former lovers, employees, and tenants he killed for insurance money and to cover up scams. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis method was usually financial - he would take out life insurance policies on victims, swindle them, then kill them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eCapture and Death: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was finally caught in 1894 in Boston for insurance fraud after the Pitezel murder. While in custody, investigation linked him to the Chicago disappearances. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe was tried for only one murder, that of Benjamin Pitezel, convicted, and sentenced to death. He was hanged on May 7, 1896 in Philadelphia. He was 34.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sam L. Wolfe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798188431570\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/22\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.49lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.44d","brand":"Sam L. Wolfe","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50665948905727,"sku":"9798188431570","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/serial-killers-sam-l-wolfe-9798188431570","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}