3. H. H. Holmes
H. H. Holmes (born in 1861) was one of the first known serial killers in American history. He may have killed up to 200 people. He often took his victims to his hotel next to the World’s Fair in Chicago. Holmes was the son of Methodist farmers and excelled in school. His smarts led to bullying and he pinpoints the incident in which he became obsessed with death back in grade school. His classmates put him face to face with a skeleton. At first, he was scared and then fascinated.
Holmes did marry and had a wife and son. Early on in his marriage, he enrolled in med school and stole cadavers that he disfigured in a plot to collect insurance money. Eventually, his marriage dissolved. Holmes then went from city to city and had trouble holding down jobs.
Holmes eventually landed in Chicago where he worked at a drug store he eventually purchased. He made a lot of money selling water he claimed could cure the sick. He then put that money into building a hotel across the street from the drugstore. The hotel was a literal house of horrors. Holmes killed his female employees and his lovers here. Eventually, he took to killing guests. He installed pipes that could asphyxiate his guests whenever he wanted.
Holmes eventually was caught by his own doing. When he was arrested on fraud charges, he concocted a life insurance scheme with a cellmate. When he failed to pay up when they were both out of prison, his cellmate told some of Holmes’ secrets to the police. The cops eventually went to investigate Holmes’ house of horrors and uncovered plenty of evidence to put Holmes way forever. Holmes was eventually executed in 1896 for murdering Benjamin Pitezel, who helped him construct the hotel.