Serial Killers: H. H. Holmes Essay

The mind of a serial killer is not right and is considered a psychopath. This can be caused by brain damage. “After Henry Lee Lucas was convicted, he underwent numerous neurological tests that revealed fairly extensive brain damage. Small contusions indicated a frontal lobe injury, and there was damage to his temporal lobe and pools of spinal fluid at the base of his brain” (Vronsky, 2005). Lucas’s brain damage is just one cause. Another common reason is that the serial killer would of had an abusive childhood. “Traditionally, the answer has been a horrific upbringing. Most serial killers were abused as children, many hideously so.” (Sandi, n.d) This can have a range of different abusive activities. One example would be an abusive mother. The killer’s mother would have abused him therefore making him hate women. That would be an example of how a man killing female serial killer would relate. He would physically abuse the women just like his mother abused him. Another form of abuse is an alcoholic parent. The serial killer would wait outside of a bar and look to see of his potential victims were under the influence. If they were then they would most likely kill the person. A serial killer can also have a euphoric moment. He could see his

Although serial killers come in all shapes and sizes, there is a general profile that criminologists go by when trying to profile a criminal. The typical serial killer is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, kills within his own race, his targeted victims share specific characteristics, and his method of murder is “hands on” in means of strangulation. The types of serial killers include visionaries, missionaries, lust killers, thrill killers, gain killers, and power seekers. Depending on the type of serial killer, their profile may change; for example, certain clues from missionary-type killers can help decide their religious affiliation. Also, certain types of serial killers may generally have different age groups. Most serial

Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,

In the essay “What Makes a Serial Killer?” author LaDonna Beaty discusses the causes of serial killers. Beaty states, serial killers are the most hated and feared out of all the criminals. Over 5000 people will be victimized each year by serial killers alone, says Beaty. Her research estimates there are 350 serial killers within a large society. Beaty stated that investigations on serial killers had been dated back to 1911. However, she also asks, what does a serial killer look like? Beaty gives the readers great details on her ideal serial killer. For example, he will typically have bloodshot eyes, curly black hair, strong jaws, abnormal ears, straight thin lips, and menacing grins. Although, today, we can’t expect serial killers to have

According Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database, there has been 2,625 serial killers so far in the United States, the most of any country in the world. However, this trend all started out with H.H. Holmes: America’s first serial killer. H.H. Holmes was born in New Hampshire as Herman Webster Mudgett in 1861. He was extremely bright in school and excelled beyond the other kids in his class. Because of this, he was bullied a lot by his jealous schoolmates. One incident stands out among all others, which was when Mudgett was dragged into the town doctor’s office and forced to confront a skeleton which he had previously found revolting. Despite the bully’s intentions, this cured Mudgett of his fear of skeletons, and made him more curious about the study of the human body and medicine, which piloted the rest of his career. Mudgett studied at the University of Michigan, where he finished college and medical school. Mudgett then moved to Chicago and changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes (H.H. Holmes) in 1886, where his torturous fantasies all began. Although this criminal mastermind only made one small mistake to make investigators red hot on his trail, H.H. Holmes should’ve been caught sooner because of his suspicious activities including the building of his castle and being involved in scams at the same time numerous people he was affiliated with went missing while selling copious amounts of skeletons shortly after they went missing.

Serial killers is a person that kill three or more people in a short amount of time. He or she murder one after another in a similar way with an inactive period between each murder. The motivation for murdering an adult or child is based on psychological gratification. The serial killer is normally an adult white male in his late twenties, who has killed four or more individuals in separate incident with an inactive period between. It is impossible to tell just by looking at a person who will become a serial killer, the traits of some criminals or serial killers appear to be similar most of the time. The types of behaviors

There are many myths that describe, or stereotype a serial killer. You may have heard that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners or that all serial killers are white males. One might also hear that

He had two children, one son and one daughter. He went out of sight for six years after abandoning Clara and his son. He would always somehow come up with some con as to where he was and what he was doing during the time of his victims' deaths. The police had always questioned him, but had never really pinned anything on him. No one wanted to believe that Holmes was an evil master mind. He was so handsome and charismatic. His tall stature and piercing blue eyes made women often swoon at the sight of him. He could also talk anyone into anything at the sound of his voice and the medical, knowledgeable jargon he used. He even got an old lady to give him her husbands pharmacy after his death sometime after he arrived to Chicago. Other sources said that he killed her and inherited the pharmacy without anyone knowing what happened. Either way the old woman should have been happy that such a noble man was running her pharmacy. He was always the perfect assistant, making sure that her money was going towards helping the company in any way. He would even meet up with venders, creating a stable environment for her and her dying husband. He eventually killed her but when others would ask he stated that she had moved to California, but had no forwarding address (Taylor, Troy).

H.H.Holmes was America's first serial killer. He grew up in Gilmanton , New Hampshire. His real name is Herman Webster Muddget. He lived with his mom and two sisters . He was a middle child of his siblings and he was a mama's boy. He was born May 16, 1861. H.H. Holmes killed dozens of people who lived in New Hampshire.

The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995). Keeney and Heide (1994) define serial murder to be the

Serial murders are events that can be categorized as three or more kills by one particular person. Although the question society as a whole still has is why would someone become this type of person and how. Some researchers have started looking into serial killers who have some brain disorders like autism, ASD, ADHD, and Asperger’s. “One researcher suggested that Autistic Psychopathy may underlie the motivation of some of these serial killers. He suggests a new diagnosis Criminal Autistic Psychopathy, a subcategory of Asperger's syndrome. He has also explored head injury as it has been shown that this is more prevalent in serial killers, with one study suggesting that one in four serial killers had suffered

H.H Holmes was not only “one of the first documented serial killers,” he lured dozens of innocent people into his “murder castle” where he performed cruel and disgusting acts on his victims. Holmes admitted to 27 murders but it is estimated that he was responsible for nearly 200. Holmes was an incredibly intelligent child with a seemingly normal childhood. What had happened to him to turn such a promising child into such a greedy and nefarious fiend.

Holmes may have been the first serial killer to ever be witnessed, yet he didn’t display any characteristics that the media or people believe today. Holmes’ murders dated back to the 1800s. As it has been demonstrated in the

HH Holmes was born on May 16, 1861 not as HH Homes but as Herman Webster Mudgett in Gilmanton New Hampshire. Mudgett was the third child of Levi Horton Mudgett and Theodate Page Price. Mudgett’s family came from a farming back around. His family heritage came from the early english settlers that migrated to the United States. From muilptle sources Mudgett came from a wealthy background. He was a very privileged child. He excelled in acdemics whihc helped build his medical interest. This interest of the medical field helped in his murder spree. His medical knowsdg also helped him last longer with his crimes because no one would suspect him of killing.

A serial killer could be dining, sitting, or even living next to you at this very moment. Most killers offer little to no obvious clues that will lead anyone to detect their often secretive, undercover actions. I ask myself, “How can we be so naive to these types of people?” Serial killers amongst us are often well educated, portray an All-American image, yet have a psychotic side to them.