Talk about some true crime.
Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, "The Devil In the White City" intertwines the true tale of two men - Daniel H. Burnham, the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and Dr. H.H. Holmes, the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle."
(via Wikipedia)
Totally worth the read. Has completely sparked my interest in learning more about The World's Fairs in general.
And as far as serial killers go...H.H. Holmes takes the cake.
Holmes selected mostly female victims from among his employees (many of whom were required as a condition of employment to take out life insurance policies for which Holmes would pay the premiums but also be the beneficiary), lovers and hotel guests, torturing and killing them. Some were locked in soundproof bedrooms fitted with gas lines that let him asphyxiate them at any time. Some victims were locked in a huge soundproof bank vault near his office where they were left to suffocate. The victims' bodies were dropped by secret chute to the basement, where some were meticulously dissected, stripped of flesh, crafted into skeleton models, and then sold to medical schools. Holmes also cremated some of the bodies or placed them in lime pits for destruction. Holmes had two giant furnaces as well as pits of acid, bottles of various poisons, and even a stretching rack. Through the connections he had gained in medical school, he sold skeletons and organs with little difficulty.
(via Wikipedia)
Song of the day: "Long Trip Alone" Dierks Bentley (I was due for some country)
No comments:
Post a Comment