Mistress of the Murder Castle: February 2014

While leafing through my Holmes file to find blog inspiration, I came upon a portion of his Wikipedia profile that I printed when I first began researching him.

I circled the number of victims this editor attributed to Holmes.

Is that for real? 200 people? He really killed 200 people? In the span of, what, a few months?

I know. It's baffling when you first see it. But here is something even more baffling about the victims of HH Holmes. This is the real number: ???

Holmes actually killed an unknown number of people. History has never discovered how many died by his hands or who the first victim was. Will we ever know? Probably not. We'll just have to rely on stories and theories. Unless someone invents a time machine and we can go back to 1861 when Holmes was born and follow him through every second of his 34 year life. Just a note, I would be the first in line to sign up for that trip. I mean, have you seen that man? He's gorgeous. Of course, I would also be packing some serious heat under my corset to make sure he would always show me the real exit.

Anyway, there is little concrete proof of Holmes murdering anyone, even the nine victims history has "identified" as much as possible. Nothing that could classify as incriminating was found during the excavation of the Castle. Just a few bones (some of which turned out to be animal bones) and various scraps of fabric and clothing here and there. One reason for this, Holmes was a master at destroying evidence. He knew the fastest way to getting caught was to leave a trail behind. He designed and built the Castle in such a way so that it would be perfect for the disposal of such evidence.

In the end, Holmes was only executed for one murder, Benjamin Pitezel, his friend and business partner. Holmes was never convicted of murdering the Pitezel children or anyone in the Castle.

So where do all these numbers come from? I have no idea who came up with 200. Furthermore, the number changes constantly. One source said over 50 people who went missing from the World's Fair were traced back to the Castle. If they were, no evidence of their presence has ever been discovered. Other sources say there were dozens of police reports taken out for people who had seemingly vanished. Throughout the years, the number has climbed from there. Can all of these cases be contributed to Holmes? No. After all, Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, had changed his name and begun a new life. What was to stop others from doing the same?

Aside from the insane figures, there are more rational numbers that historians across the board seem to accept.

While awaiting execution, Holmes was paid by William Randolph Hearst to write a confession. In it, he confessed to 27 murders and 6 attempts that, if successful, would have brought the total to 33. However, deceit was a trait ingrained in Holmes' nature. He lied about everything. He couldn't help it. Even when it was in his best interest to stick to the truth, he lied. His words cannot be taken as 100 percent factual. In fact, some of his confessed "victims" were still alive. Most historians believe that since Holmes knew he was going to die, he left his mark by confessing "to every crime anybody had ever suspected him of and threw in a few more for good measure."

Historians have further whittled the number down to nine. Of course, nothing can be confirmed 100 percent. However, these nine people were identified as the most likely to have been killed by Holmes (and probably were).

First were Julia and Pearl Connor. Pearl was the eight year old daughter of Julia and her ex-husband, Ned. Then there was Emeline Cigrand. Next was Minnie Williams. Some historians claim that Holmes and Minnie Williams were married. But since no record has ever been found, some say that it was just another lie. Next was Anna Williams, the younger sister of Minnie. Benjamin Pitezel was Holmes assistant. And finally Alice, Nellie, and Howard Pitezel, the children of Benjamin and his wife, Carrie. They were 14, 10, and 8.