H.H. Holmes’ Remains Being Dug Up to Disprove Rumors of Death Hoax

For over a century the United States has been, by turns, fascinated and horrified by the story of serial killer H.H. Holmes. Holmes, who built his “murder palace” of a hotel during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. His brutal string of killings inspired American Horror Story: Hotel, as well as countless books, articles, and newspaper stories. Now, Holmes’ great-grandchildren have successfully petitioned a judge in Philadelphia to have Holmes’ remains exhumed to prove that their ancestor was really executed and buried where he was supposed to be.

Holmes, shown here in front of a picture of his hotel, was certainly a murderer. What remains unclear, however, is whether he was really executed when history claims he was.

It has been long rumored that, as one final act of trickery, H.H. Holmes had his body swapped with that of a cadaver before he was hanged, or that he otherwise managed to escape the noose by some other means. His descendants, John and Richard Mudgett and Cynthia Mudgett Soriano, all of California, are looking to put those rumors to rest. Holmes – or whomever is down there – will be exhumed and studied by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania.

Holmes, who was born Herman Webster Mudgett, is blamed for as many as 200 murders. He himself confessed to two dozen, but some historians say it may have been fewer than ten. It’s just one of many mysteries surrounding Holmes. Holmes himself was a master of deceit and sick games, as evidenced by the design of his hotel. As put by U.S. News and World Report, “It featured a bizarre labyrinth of windowless rooms, secret passageways, false floors, trapdoors, and a vault. Most of the rooms had gas vents, which were controlled from Mudgett’s bedroom. Many of the rooms were soundproof and could only be locked from the outside.”

The judge who ordered the exhumation was stern in insisting that the atmosphere at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon be kept respectful and orderly. It was part of his conditions that the body in the grave be returned to the same plot, whether or not the remains belong to Holmes.