The Devil In The White City Summary

The Devil in the White City was written by Erik Larson. The brief summary of the book which has fifty-six chapters is that it tells the story of the architects of the World’s Fair in Chicago and also the current events during that time period. It also shows us the true of a dark and eerie part of the World’s Fair. A killer using the fair as his hunting grounds looking for his prey. We will go deeper into the book late on but first let’s get to know the author and all his accomplishments. Erik Larson born January 3rd 1954 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Long Island. He wrote his first “novel” in junior high. He did this after his cartoons were rejected by THe New Yorkers. Larson graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he

H. Holmes, also known as Herman Mudgett or the lonely woman of chicago killer. The murder who made parents worried for their daughters and sent letters of concern. Trains in and out full of prey for the murder on the prowl. Holmes was thought to be born around May 16 1861 in New Hampshire and died May 7, 1896. Mudgett is believed to be one of the country’s first well known serial killers. Mudgett was born in a very rich family. When he was young there was no question that he was very intelligent. Mudgett was very intrigued with medicine. He went to medical school at the University of Michigan. It has been speculated to have trapped animals and perform different surgeries on them. He left his wife and child and moved to Illinois. In 1886 Mudgett took a job as a pharmacist in Jackson Park, Chicago where would soon be the World’s Fair of 1893 (The Columbian Exposition). This brought over 27 million people to Chicago. Mudgett took the name H. H. Holmes. After the detective Sherlock Holmes. He then started killing people to steal their property and take it for his own. His own home now known as “Murder Castle” had many trapdoors, secret passages, soundproof rooms, weird locks, gas jets and a kiln to cremate things. The building had stores and shops on the bottom and apartments on the top. He lured his victims to the basement. He then started marrying women then securing their money then murdering them. He also made his employees put him on their insurance so when he murdered them he got their money as well. He gave the bodies to many medical schools after murdering them. Holmes went to jail for fraud many times. One of his most diabolical crimes was with the Pitezel family. He killed Ben Pitezel then convinced Mrs. Pitezel, her husband, was still alive. He also killed three of the five Pitezel children so he wouldn't be arrested but he was sentenced for murderer and was put to death by hanging. Holmes also had a huge number of murders from using the Chicago