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Come on and join author Melissa Bradley as she sets off on her latest adventure...

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If you are not 18, please exit stage left. While there is normally nothing naughty here, I do write and review erotica so there are links to spicy stuff and the occasional heated excerpt.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

It is my favorite day of the year, Halloween. Time for a marathon of scary movies, trick or treating and costumes galore. The South Side does it up right and I'll have some pictures posted tomorrow. I'm taking the nephews out to get their haul tonight and we'll be seeing some spooktacularly decorated houses round these parts.

Halloween in Chicago is the best. With all of our local ghost stories and lurid tales of murder and mayhem, Chitown is one hell of a town for scary. Let me share one of our local nightmarish tales

H.H. Holmes and the Murder Castle

Herman Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes came to Chicago in 1885 where he began working at a drugstore in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, which was then a suburb. A charmer, H.H. was a popular fixture at the store, building a social reputation, drawing in customers with his wit and his skill as a pharmacist. After he considerd himself "established", he struck like a raptor. His first victim here is believed to be the store owner, Mrs. Dr. Holden, who mysteriously disappeared one day while Holmes took charge of the store. He told customers she had decided to "move West." His true plans began in earnest.

Acquiring the large lot across from the store, Holmes started to construct the enormous building he told everyone would be a hotel for the upcoming Columbian Exposition. The locals referred to it as the Castle. He was very secretive about the construction, changing crews constantly, showing  no one the entire plan. While the first floor had the typical shops, inside, however, was a different story. There were legitimate guest rooms, but there were also rooms with peepholes, rooms lined with metal that had primitive blow torch equipment and a few were asphyxiation chambers that had exposed gas nozzles. Holmes would poison his guests, then remove them for experimentation. There was  also a maze of 100 windowless rooms, oddly angled hallways, doors that could only be opened from the outside and stairs that went nowhere. In the basement was a dissecting table and a crematorium as well as an acid vat and pits filled with quick lye.

Holmes chose his victims from amongst the unsuspecting visitors to the White City of the Columbian Exposition. They were excited, many having never left home before and were naively trusting. Holmes spread the word about his "hotel" and the people came, many never to be heard from again. He also lured many of his female victims with ads promising jobs and safe lodging to young ladies alone in the world. When these eager young women arrived, he kept them prisoner until he was ready for them. Some he locked in a soundproof bank vault near his office, others in the windowless rooms. He tortured his victims to death, stripped them of their flesh and sold their skeletons and organs to medical schools. Some he just disposed of in the crematorium and pits.

He probably could have continued his spree unabated for a few more years, but the economy here had taken a hard hit after the fair closed. Holmes fled Chicago in 1894 as creditors closed in on him. By this time he had taken on a business partner, Benjamin Pietzel, and they began insurance swindles. Holmes would later kill Pietzel and three of his children, two of whom were found buried in a cellar in Toronto. By the time the Pinkertons caught up with Holmes in Boston in November of 1894, the Chicago police were well into the gruesome investigation of the killings here and what became known as the Murder Castle. The picture above is a rare photo of the place from the Chicago Historical Society.

Holmes confessed to 27 murders, including the Pietzels, but the body count is estimated to be as high as 200. There were too many body parts found to get an actual identifiable count. Holmes was sentenced to death by hanging and died on May 8, 1896 at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia

H.H. is America's first known serial killer and probably the most prolific. I tell you, Jack the Ripper had nothing on this guy. A very good book to read if you want to know more is Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.

Now after reading this gruesome tale, go enjoy your Halloween. 


32 comments:

  1. Oh, the Devil in the White City totally creeped me out. Such a terrifying story.

    Happy Halloween, Melissa! :)

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    1. Happy Halloween, Julie!! Larson's book is excellent and though it creeped me out, I had a hard time putting it down. Very unsettling to say the least.

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  2. what will you dress up as, Melsy? :) I'm thinking of posting some extreme eyecandy at my site later tonight for all the trick and treaters :)))

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    1. I had plans for Magenta from Rocky Horror, but all went awry so unless I find something really quick, I'll be boring nothing LOL.

      I'd love to see some of that eye candy, Dezz. ;)

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    2. methinks me has outdone meself with the eyecandy today, Melsy :) Take some heart pills before you pop over :)

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    3. I almost fell over when I saw what our Dezzy posted today!

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    4. I know... Those pics were HOT! :)

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  3. Guests check in but they never check out again!
    And after reading your interview with Maynard, I know what you should go as!

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    1. Sounds like a roach motel doesn't it? LOL

      Do you? I'll have to reread and get an idea. ;)

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  4. appy alloween... ady, ope ou ave ammit y aps s ot orking...
    oo cary oo... :)

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    1. 'll ave o ry nd nderstand at ou re aying. LOL appy alloween o ou, oo.

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    2. sorry, trying to make it spooky... like i was possessed or something... muhaha... all the best to you!

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    3. No worries! I liked it. :) Have fun tonight and all my best to you as well.

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  5. I had an HH Holmes documentary show up in my Netflix recs. Sounds like it needs viewing. Creeptastic.

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    1. I know which one you talking about. I have the DVD here at home. Watch it! It is fantastically macabre and well done.

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  6. Whoah...I knew you would dare to scare!
    Oh, you gotta dress up...
    Hope you and yours have a fabulous evening~

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    1. I love to scare LOL H.H. is a big gun in the scare department. And to think he invented all of this stuff with no horror films or novels to read, what people say influence today's killers.

      Have a Happy and safe Halloween. :)

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  7. Oooh, that is scary. Now I want to see the documentary Josh was talking about!

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    1. Johanna, it is very well done documentary. H.H. was truly a terrifying figure.

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  8. GAH! I've never heard this story before. What a gruesome tale. Hanging was a little too good for this guy, IMO. What a creep.

    On a lighter note...Happy Halloween. Have fun trick-or-treating.

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    1. Hanging really was too good for him. He sure is Chicago's creepiest character for sure.

      happy Spooktacular Halloween to you, too. :)

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  9. Wow, what a story! Happy Halloween!

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    1. H.H. is definitely one of Chicago's most infamous characters. Glad you enjoyed it. :) Hope you had a wonderful Halloween.

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  10. Wow, 27. He was a creepy guy. Happy Halloween!

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    1. And those were just the ones he confessed to. I shudder to think what the actual number is.

      Happy Halloween!

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  11. Melissa, awesome post. I like how you added the story. Really enjoyed this. Thanks :)

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm happy you enjoyed this lurid tale of murder, I love sharing these excellent tales. Hope you had a wonderful Halloween.

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  12. This does make Jack look like he was just toying about. One must wonder what creates a person such as this.

    Happy Halloween!

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    1. I know what you mean, what does make up a monstrously devious brain like this? I'm terrified just thinking about it.

      Happy Halloween to you, my new friend. :)

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  13. Ah, the DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY ... FANTASTIC BOOK and an AMAZING true story....

    Chicago is such a treasure trove of gruesome delights ... is it not?

    Happy Halloween... I hope you had an awesome time with your nephews! Looking forward to the pics!

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    1. Isn't the book just terrific?! I really loved it. So macabre and fascinating. Chicago most definitely has some truly gruesome tales and characters.

      Huge hugs and Happy Halloween!

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