Author: hhholmesjacktherippermurdercastle

Rory Hood is a Chicago native who has been involved in the discovery of the tunnels of Jack the Ripper (H. H. Holmes) for over 20 years. He has done extensive research and is continuing to find more evidence to prove that H. H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper are indeed the same man, the same serial killer.

H.H Holmes/Tunnels under Post Office

Tunnels under the Post Office

So, is there anything left of the infamous H.H Holmes “Murder Castle”?

“The Holmes Castle” was a well Known building in Englewood well into the 20th century; contrary to popular belief, the 1895 fire did not burn it to the ground. The top two floors had to be rebuilt and remodeled, but the place was still standing until the late 1930s, when it was torn down to make room for the new post office. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who still remember the place from when they were kids. The story was generally forgotten until a new generation of college students begin to descend to the post office asking questions about the history of the building and it’s location.

Discovering H. H. Holmes as Jack the Ripper

Welcome to the blog page of discovering, exploring and proving that H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper as the same man, the same serial killer. Herman Webster Mudgett, also known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, better known as H. H. Holmes was an American serial killer from Gilmanton, New Hampshire; he was born on May 16, 1861. He owned a building (no longer in existence) in Chicago in the current neighborhood of Englewood. The two-story, mixed-used building that Holmes owned is nicknamed H.H. Holmes’ “Castle-” “The Murder Castle.” The first unit was used as retail and a drug store; the second floor was apartments, and he later added a third floor as a hotel which Holmes claimed to use for visitors during the 1893 World’s Fair: Columbia Exposition, but it never was completed. This is when others began to realize that Holmes were killing people, and that the building had many secret passages and hallways and chutes. Some of Holmes most notable victims was his mistress Julia Smythe (and her daughter Pearl), Emeline Cigrande, Edna Van Tassel, Minnie, Nannie, and many more. It is apparent that most of Holmes victims were women, except for his friend Benjamin Pitizel, whom he murdered as well. He confessed to 27 murders, but 9 plausible murders that he has done, but those victims were still alive. Holmes was executed on May 7, 1896, before his 35th birthday.

Now, Jack the Ripper, also known as the “Whitechapel Murderer,” was an unidentified serial killer, on the East End of London, known as the Whitechapel District of London, in 1888. His dead, female victims were usually found with cut throats and abdominal mutilation. The female victims were typically prostitutes in the slums of East London. Some people believe that the story of Jack the Ripper was a hoax created by journalists, but there were five women- Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly, who were murdered between Aug. 31 and Nov. 9 1888. It is possible that these murderers were linked to Holmes.

Come join me in this journey of discovering the killings of Holmes/ Jack the Ripper.