H.H. Holmes “Postcard” T-Shirt
Arguably America’s first Serial Killer, Herman Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes was one of the most deranged killers and conmen that this country has ever seen. Born in 1861 in New Hampshire, Herman Mudgett quickly grew to be fascinated with skeletons and death at a very early age. He graduated high school at the age of 16, and soon after changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes. He enrolled in medical school in the state of Michigan and would steal corpses and cadavers from the school and then burn and disfigure the bodies before staging them to appear as if they had been killed in an accident.
In 1885, Holmes moved to Chicago after graduating med school, and began working at a pharmacy. Shortly after, Holmes convinced the owner to sell the store to him. After selling him the store, the original,owner went missing. When Holmes was questioned about her disappearance, he claimed that she moved to California, but this was never confirmed.
After taking over ownership of the pharmacy, Holmes purchased an empty lot across the street, and thus began the construction of his “Murder Castle.” The three story building was often referred to as “The Castle” by locals. Over the next two years of construction, Holmes hired and fired several construction crews in an attempt to keep anyone from knowing exactly what he was designing in his Murder Castle.
In 1893, Chicago was given the opportunity of hosting the World’s Fair, an event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovery of America. When Holmes heard about this event that would attract millions of people from all over the world, he saw the perfect opportunity to lure strangers to the area who were looking for lodging to his hotel of horror.
Throughout this hotel was more than 100 rooms that contained gas lines that Holmes would use to asphyxiate his guests, as well as trap doors, peepholes, stairways that led to nowhere, and trap chutes that led to the basement. The basement was used as a lab where he had a dissecting table, stretching rack, and even a crematory. Holmes would often times dissect his victims, skin them of all their flesh and sell the skeletons as models for medical schools. The other bodies would be cremated or placed into barrels of acid.
After the Worlds Fair ended, Chicago’s economic state struggled, and HH abandoned the murder castle and focused on traveling the country committing insurance scams and murdering along the way. In 1894, Holmes was turned in for his insurance scams. Unbeknownst to him, he was already being investigated in Chicago after authorities discovered the mangled and dismembered bodies in his Murder Hotel. Most of the bodies were so horribly dismembered that they could never determine exactly how many bodies there were.
In may of 1896, HH Holmes was hung for his brutal crimes. The hotel was eventually remodeled as an attraction called “Holmes Horror Castle” but it was burnt to the ground shortly thereafter.
These H.H. Holmes tees are professionally screen printed on high quality 100% cotton unisex t-shirts, using a soft discharge ink that doesn’t crack or fade over time. Available in sizes XS-3XL. Bigger sizes available upon request.
