Not Unless that Pillow Decorated Holmes' Bed

So this is what happens when you search H.H. Holmes on Etsy:

 



Until next time.

XOXO, Kate

Happy Birthday, Herman Mudgett

On May 16, 1861, Herman Webster Mudgett was born to Levi and Theodate Mudgett in the small hamlet of Gilmanton, New Hampshire. He was raised in a house that still stands in Gilmanton, though the private residence is not open to the public.

The Mudgett house in modern day Gilmanton.
 



His mother raised him to be a devout Methodist but his father, a hard drinking alcoholic, beat him senseless whenever he broke one of the strict house rules. I believe that the constant abuse as a child shattered young Herman's innocence and later became one of the reasons for his violent temperament, need for constant control, and disgust for all alcoholic beverages. Mudgett would carry his given name through his years on the Gilmanton farm and in medical school. It was when he arrived in Chicago around 1886 that he changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes. H.H. Holmes (which all documentaries like to say immediately after as if I can't figure out on my own what letters "Henry" and "Howard" start with).

The graduation photo of Herman W. Mudgett. It was taken around 1884 and still hangs in the hallway of his alma mater, the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor.

 

H.H. Holmes would live to be 34 years old. He would spend his final birthday in a Philadelphia prison before being executed there on May 7, 1896, just days before his 35th birthday. In his lifetime, Herman Mudgett/H.H. Holmes would change himself from a small town farmer to a doctor, architect, successful businessman, and the most dangerous man in America. He would earn, among other nicknames, the notorious title we still remember him by today: American's First Documented Serial Killer.

  

 

One of three known H.H. Holmes mugshots. This photo might have been taken upon his arrest in 1895.

 

Side note: I come close to sharing a birthday with Holmes. I was born May 15, one day sooner. Of course (in my mind) one day is pretty much the same day and therefore our almost shared birthday is still super awesome.    

 

Until next time.

 

XOXO, Kate