Lullacide

Once upon a time, during a great big World's Fair in Chicago, a very clever man named Herman built a very special hotel. It had one hundred rooms! And secret passages! And doors that opened onto brick walls! 'Isn't architecture fun?' said Herman.

H.H. Holmes built his infamous 'Murder Castle' at 63rd and Wallace in Chicago, timed to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

Herman was very popular with the ladies. He had sparkling blue eyes and a wonderful mustache. 'Would you like to see my hotel?' he would ask. 'It has a lovely basement.' Many people checked in. The checkout process, however, was somewhat unusual.

Holmes was described as charming and handsome. He lured victims, primarily women, into his hotel with promises of employment or romance.

The hotel had some very interesting features. Rooms with gas pipes that only worked from the outside. A chute that went from the third floor all the way down to the basement. And in the basement: a very large furnace, some vats of acid, and a table with leather straps. 'I'm a doctor,' Herman explained. 'These are medical supplies.'

The building contained soundproofed rooms, gas lines, a kiln, vats of acid, and a dissecting table.

Herman also sold skeletons to medical schools. 'Where do you get so many skeletons?' they asked. 'Oh, I have a supplier,' said Herman with a wink. Business was booming, you might say.

Holmes sold victims' skeletons and organs to medical schools for profit.

Eventually, a very persistent detective named Frank followed Herman's trail of broken promises and missing people all across the country. 'I think you've built your last hotel,' said Frank. And he was right. Herman was hanged on a fine spring morning, and the hotel was torn down. Some buildings are better off as empty lots.

Detective Frank Geyer tracked Holmes across multiple states. Holmes confessed to 27 murders and was executed in 1896.