Herman Webster Mudget

What Happened?

Herman

What his torture laboratory would have looked like

• Graduated
• Moved to Chicago
• Started work at a drugstore
• Bought the store
• Started construction of his hotel on a lot across from the drugstore
• Moved the drugstore to the main level of the hotel
• In 1893, added a 3rd level for the World's Fair
• Hotel was used to kidnap, hide, torture, and eventually kill many women
• His murder count could be has high as 200, but he only confessed to 27 murders (11 men and 16 women)

World's Fair Hotel in Chicago, built in 1887

In his early youth, Herman was bullied by other children in his classes.

They heard of his fear of doctors offices.

He was forced to stand in a doctors office and stare at a human skeleton.

It would be assumed that he would be very scared of the experience, but at a later date said that the happening exorcised his fear of death.

It is believed that after this point he became fascinated with death.

How did he do it?

• Holmes murdered several of his colleagues and friends, along with an astounding assumed number of women
• He would offer the women a job, money, or a place to stay
• He would use several alias' to earn money from the women and hide his true identity
• Once the women were in their hotel rooms, they would become suspicious of the situation, but by that point it was too late
• *Did not rape any of his victims*

A sketch of what the interior is believed to have looked like

Psychological Cont'd

Psychological Closure

• Very charming in the sense that he could fool others into anything and proceed in his torturous plans
• extremely intelligent and psychopathic
• creative in his ways of murder
• Fit into a certain profile (that of a serial killer, one who felt no remorse)
• Methods of murder include but are not restricted to: burning, suffocation, torture (poisoning, head trauma by blunt objects such as chairs, gas pipes, and oars), starvation, chloroform, gunshot wounds, buried alive, chopping, and gas stove burning

Conclusion

Clearly,

he

was

a psychopathic serial

killer.

A.K.A Dr. H. H. Holmes

Psychological

• Violence in his life previous to the murders (i.e. his father beat him, had troubled relationships with no real friends, failed first marriage that resulted in divorce, was fired from jobs...)
• Stated that he hated his parents and wished them dead
• Said he experimented on live animals for fun
• Never taught how to love someone or how to behave in a kind way
• was shown how to be cold and reserved about his emotions

• A man with many psychological issues present from his childhood and adulthood
• Shows no signs of remorse in any of his victims cases
• He confessed to 27 murders
• was convicted for 1 account of first degree murder
• Was hanged in May 1896
• His hotel was set to be a tourist attraction but was burnt to the ground
• Body was recently exhumed despite his wishes previous to his death

Side Note on Holmes' insurance scam

-Born May 16th 1861

-Died May 7th 1896

-Changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes at age 16

-Known as America's first serial killer

-Pharmacist

-Was bullied as a child

-He would steal and disfigure cadavers

-Was married to three women at the same time

-His hotel contractors were suspicious of why he was building it

- He sold his victims skeletons to scientists

-Requested being buried in concrete

His main reasoning for killing people was to make insurance money off their death. Before he would kill his victims, he would take out life insurance on them, and then collect the money after their death.

This is very illegal, and is called insurance fraud.

He was not related to or had any legitimate reason for taking out insurance on these people.

Life insurance was only payable when the death was an accident, so Holmes staged the deaths of his victims to be able to collect.

Herman Webster Mudgett