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The Devil In The White City By Erik Larson

620 Words3 Pages

Murderer. The. What traits do you first think of when you hear that word? I doubt any of your first thoughts are about attractiveness. In the non-fiction story “The Devil In The White City,” Erik Larson conveys how H.H. Holmes, a serial killer in the late 1800s, used his attractiveness to lure unsuspecting women to trust him, with his ultimate goal of murdering them. I agree with Erik Larson's argument about manipulation, and today I will be explaining how and why. When H. H. Holmes first arrived in Chicago. He met the owner of a pharmacy named Mrs. Holton. She explained how her husband is dying and needs money and H.H. Holmes offers to buy her store and he changes the name to H. H. Holmes Pharmacy. She later disappears and supposedly moves to California. To this day it is not confirmed, but it is suspected that Holmes murdered her. According to pioneerrx.com “Holmes convinced her to sell the pharmacy directly to him. She was never seen again.” …show more content…

He used the pharmacy to gain access to drugs and chemicals and even got enough cash to purchase a lot across the street nicknamed “The Murder Castle” H.H. Holmes would use his looks and manipulation tactics to marry females and then shortly leave them for his financial gain. According to csp.edu “Holmes used Anna’s money to pay his tuition. The tactic of swindling women out of their fortunes later became a favorite tactic for Holmes”. This shows how he would marry his wife just to get money. In this case even though Anna was not one of his wives, he promised her marriage, and convinced her to transfer the deed to her property, shortly after he left he killed her and used this money to pay for tuition at the University of Michigan. These are some of the ways H.H. Holmes gained enough money to eventually purchase “The Murder Castle” across the street from the

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