User:Aberkheimer02/Chicago World's Fair 1893

Introduction
The Chicago World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, was held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. This city was chosen among others to house the fair, and it introduced spectacles such as electricity and the complexities of the Ferris Wheel. The site was nicknamed the "White City" because it showcased beautiful white buildings. The fair invited millions of visitors, and the city made a great profit from this event.

In the midst of this fair, and behind the scenes, there were more grim activities led by serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett, also known as H.H. Holmes.

H.H. Holmes
Herman Webster Mudgett is considered to be the first documented serial killer in the United States. He was born to a wealthy family and had an expressed interest in medicine which led him to find employment at different drug stores and hospitals across the country. This passion also led him to perform experiments and surgeries on animals in his early life. Mudgett adopted the alias Dr. H.H. Holmes in 1886 after he moved to Chicago and took over operations at a pharmacy. Immediately before this, the previous owner of the pharmacy mysteriously went missing.

Murder Hotel
In preparation for the Chicago World's Fair, H.H. Holmes purchased an empty lot about three miles from the area where the fair was set to commence. It is rumored that he stole money from the pharmacy that he worked at in order to make this purchase. H.H. Holmes built what was previously known as the World's Fair Hotel, and commonly known today as the "Murder Hotel" or "Murder Castle". This property was able to be built thanks to low building standards and a revolving crew of workers.

Within this "hotel" were horrifying booby-traps, including soundproof rooms, secret passages, and confusing maze-like hallways. The basement was allegedly outfitted with acid vats, pits of quicklime, and crematoriums. It also featured rooms with trapdoors and chutes to drop victims into the basement. One room included a dissection table and an industrial oven. Oftentimes, Holmes would dissect his victims and strip their skin off. He was also known to sell parts of his victim's to medical schools to profit off of his heinous crimes.

Holmes lured his victims through advertisements for his hotel. He advertised jobs at this hotel to young women offering lodging. He also required all of his employees and some of his "guests" to have life insurance plans.

Victims
It is difficult to understand just how many people may have been murdered by Holmes. At one point, he had confessed to killing 27 people, but several of these alleged victims were, in fact, still alive It is safe to assume that some of his victims included family Ben, Alice, Nellie, and Howard Pitezel, mother and daughter Julia and Pearl Connor, Emeline Cigrand and sisters Minnie and Nannie Williams. These were likely not his only victims, rather those with the most proof pointing towards being connected to the murders of H.H. Holmes. His victims were primarily young females who were looking for a new life in Chicago, mainly drifters who would not have many people notice if they were to go missing.

Julia and Pearl Connor
It is believed that Holmes was unfaithful to his then wife Myrta, and cheated with Julia Connor. Julia's husband was Alex Connor, who worked as a bookkeeper and a jeweler at Holmes' hotel. The affair was made known, and Alex quit his job and left Chicago, leaving his wife Julia and his daughter Pearl with Holmes. Julia and her daughter stayed at the hotel and her relationship with Holmes continued on. In 1891, Julia and Pearl went missing. Holmes claimed that Julia had died during a botched abortion, but it was likely that Holmes was the true cause of the deaths of Julia and her daughter. They are likely the first known murder victims of H.H. Holmes

Emeline Cigrand
Emeline Cigrand was an employee of Holmes' hotel. Holmes lured her by offering twice her salary for her to work at his establishment. Cigrand began a romantic relationship with Holmes and wrote to her family often about the "wonderful man" she had met in Chicago. Her family had visited the hotel and voiced concerns about the layout and mysterious design of the building. This was nothing that could have dissuaded Cigrand about her relationship with Holmes. Cigrand was supposed to go home to Indiana, when she mysteriously vanished. Holmes forged wedding notices between Cigrand and a man named Robert Phelps, and even went as far as sending them to family and friends after her disappearance. The murder was uncovered when authorities caught on to "Robert Phelps", a common fake alias that Holmes had used before. Weeks after Cigrand's disappearance, LaSalle Medical College received a female human cadaver, sent by H.H. Holmes.