How H.H. Holmes Became America’s First Serial Killer
Long before he was hanged in 1896 for murdering his business partner, Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, had built a reputation for fraud, deception, and violence. He also built an infamous “Murder Castle” in Chicago, a labyrinthine building allegedly designed to lure and kill travelers attending the 1893 World’s Fair. Historians have confirmed at least nine victims, but many believe the true death toll may have been far, far higher.
On this episode of Weird History Presents: Graveyard Shift we separate the historical record from the sensational rumors surrounding H. H. Holmes, exploring the crimes, scams, and enduring mysteries that turned him into one of history’s most notorious figures.
Do you believe the legends about H.H. Holmes and his”Murder Castle”? Let us know in the comments!
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@MRich727
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Aye, someone go check @P3achyPanda basement as well… Haha
@gaylegoodman9097
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
I prefer the original narrator.
@GrandMoff88
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Wake me up when Timeline returns! 😂
@iwantedtotellher
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Dont like this narrator get the other guy
@BlckMrkTwn
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
I know Triple H buries people with the sledgehammer, didnt know it was this bad
@audreegibson
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
This channel, is changing. Idk where the main narrator went or why the videos are different. I will still support, but just dying to know why it’s changing. Been subscribed for almost a decade so I guess things do change over time 🤷🏻♀️
❤ & Support ~ great video, Thank You! ☺️
@dungvu-n3j
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Great video! One small note though—the title isn't entirely accurate. There were documented serial killers in America before him, even if he's one of the most famous.
@HumongousHomunculus
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Attention internet know-it-alls, every person who watched this video is fully aware that HH Holmes was not the literal first serial killer in the USA. He was merely the first sensationalized serial killer in the modern era of true crime fascination. The video title is just click bait. Serial killers have existed as long as humans have existed, all the way back to pre history.
@auntvesuvi3872
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Interesting. 🤥
@myplane150
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
HH Holmes was not the first; he was the first to get caught. I guarantee there were many more before him.
@jonathanbarr9764
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
I think England had several infamous serial killers long before HH Holmes started doing his horrible deeds.
@VeBombs
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Hi 👋 from NY
@Raven-5309
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
He's America's first not the first
@LightsAcapella
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
By far the worst narrator. I’m only subbed so I can back and watch the old narrator videos once in a while
@tremorsfan
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Apparently the secret rooms were actually to hide furniture from creditors.
@hannibalchow8492
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Lame narrator. Didn’t even finish the video. Also the title isn’t true.
@TheAllSeeingEye2468
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
i wish the place still existed as a tourist spot
@nickc247
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
It's very well documented that he rented out rooms. It's not a story of legend. WTF are you talking about? 😂
@pfkmsandiego
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
the people have spoken – sounds like y’all need to a mini doc on the harpe bros. 🙂
✌️&❤️
@surfesteem
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Not the narrator 🙂↔️
@1201zj
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
6:40 Henry. Not Harry. Disappointing video. Should have known with the clickbait thumbnail.
@1201zj
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Fix the thumbnail. *America's first (documented) serial killer.
Simply "America's First" would suffice. But "world's first" is wild.
@kellychuang8373
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
That's good and well really can question on that claim that he was the first since it's hard to pinpoint on the serial killing part and the building though that really is notorious even if he hardly ever used it just by the looks of that seems off.
@michaelkukula5926
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
This guy was hardly the first serial killer in the US. Maybe you don’t consider the continent’s indigenous people or the countless Africans who worked the fields as people, then yes maybe you’re correct.
@FBABlacklion1991
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
The Real Triple HHH💯💪🏾
@arrow1414
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Perhaps the first known serial killer. It has been speculated that the old tales of vampire and werewolves and other supernatural monsters were created as explanations for the murder victims who were killed in the most brutal and bloody ways, especially when serval bodies turned up like that in a given local area. People couldn't conceive that a human being couldn't do that to another human no matter how evil or insane (of course that ignores all the torture and execution methods the King and his men came up with).
@decoren45
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Definitely not one of America's first serial killers seeing that america sits on a native grave yard. There were plenty of serial killers and sadist sanctioned by the US government
@OnnikaJeffryes-m2m
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Good video!! I must say that I miss the OG narrator. It’s fine though.
@Rodviet
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Thankfully the Winchester boys already took care of him ✨️
@joekerr5172
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
HE WAS THE BEST GUY AROUND!!!!
@fidhammer
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Ive been to his grave in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. Unmarked of course but the office has the records and will take you right to the spot. Be sure to use Herman Mudgett not HH Holmes.
@loganalexander8256
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
I love when people do videos and they are completely wrong look up the harpe brothers and do better research.
@loganalexander8256
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Lol this is so wrong the first American serial killers were the Harpe Brothers not Holmes.
@P3achyPanda
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Couldn't wait to click on this video. H.H Holmes is my favorite serial killer!!
@angielee_na
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Terima kasih telah menyediakan trek audio dengan berbagai bahasa 😊 sukses selalu
@coltonius
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Much of the H.H. Holmes narrative is conjecture or legend.
For a compelling case for the ACTUAL first serial killer, check out Bill and Rachel McCarthy’s book, The Man from the Train. The authors argue that a single killer exploited the fragmented early-20th century law enforcement system in the US and murdered between 59-100 people.
@ExhibitAbsurd
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Holmes was basically the first influencer, peddling completely made-up stories for clicks (or in his case, $7,500 from the Hearst newspapers).
@arf410
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Lies, lies, lies. All this been debunked by actual historians repeatedly. No serial charges let alone convictions, there was no crematorium it was a glass furnace with NO BONES EVER FOUND.
First tabloid lie in American history is all this is. His name wasn't even Holmes. Proven a single journalist made this up.
@spenny4571
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Is this a joke?? The first serial killer in America happend much much earlier than this, the pig skin from England and spain in America were savages and the real first serial killers in America, fact!! This guy was an amateur compared to its predecessors.
@GarC170
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
Weren’t the Harpe brothers technically the first recorded serial killers in American history? I think Weird History might have done a video on them at one point even
@NoName-hg6cc
July 23, 2026 at 10:11 pm
American, not the world. Jack would have something to say 'bout that