Across the road from Holmes’ drug store he built a three story hotel, this huge building was dubbed the “castle” by locals and was an imposing build. On the ground floor were shops and on the upper two floors were offices and over 100 windowless rooms with doorways that opened on to brick walls, oddly-angled hallways, stairs leading to nowhere, doors openable only from the outside, and a host of other weird and labyrinthine constructions. He changed builders a number of times (often without paying them) so that the only person who knew the full lay out was him. This was his “Murder Castle”. During this building phase he met a guy called Benjamin Pitezel, a carpenter, crook and alcoholic depressive that was to become Holmes’ stooge.

☛ More Darkness: A KU KLUX KLAN PHOTO COLLECTION: DARK IMAGES OF SMALL MINDS

Holmes forced female employees to take out life insurance plans which he would pay for, he would then bump them off and reap the benefits. The hotel opened during the Chicago World Fair so there was no shortage of paying customers/ victims. Staff, visitors and lovers all met a tortuous death at his hands. Some of the rooms within his hotel were built to be air tight and featured diverted gas pipes so he could effortlessly gas people to death. He also made a sound proof, air tight, bank vault near his personal office where he would suffocate people.