Dark History Files
H. H. Holmes and the Murder Castle Case File coverPages from the Case File

Case File No. 029 · PDF ebook · 31 pages

H. H. Holmes and the Murder Castle

What the Record Really Shows

A fake hotel, a fake death, three children on the road, and the detective who dug them up. Plus the myth of 200 victims.

$5 · PDF ebook · instant download · large-print edition included

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Why it's worth it

🔎
10 evidence exhibits
Real photographs, documents and 1890s newspaper pages, shown large, with what to look for in each.
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2 maps drawn for this file
Englewood and the 1893 fair, and Holmes's route with the Pitezel children in 1894.
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7 stories the video skipped
Fact-checked details the documentary didn't have room for.
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The original words
The children's own letters, the detective's account and Holmes's 1895 book, with plain-English notes.
✂
Printable replicas
Covers of the 1895–96 books and two 1890s newspaper clippings, ready to print and cut out.
🔠
Large-print edition included
Two PDFs, plus every source and image credit listed.

Inside this file

  • The case in one page, and a timeline from Gilmanton, 1861, to the 2017 exhumation
  • Exhibits: the building at 63rd and Wallace, the White City, 1316 Callowhill St, the worthless note, the Toronto and Irvington houses, the 1896 confession and more
  • Original words: the Pitezel children's letters, Detective Geyer in the cellar, and Holmes' Own Story (1895)
  • Two maps drawn for this file: Englewood and the fair, and the road of autumn 1894
  • Persons of interest: Holmes, the Pitezel family, Geyer, Hedgepeth and the Chicago women
  • How nine became two hundred: every number traced to its source
  • Myth vs. record, and 7 stories the documentary didn't tell
  • Printable replicas of the 1895–96 books and newspapers, a visit-it-today guide, our verdict and every source

$5

Questions

How do I get it? Right after you pay, your download page opens with both PDFs. Bookmark it: it keeps working for 30 days.

Can I print it? Yes. It's made for US letter paper, and the large-print edition is included.

Is this the same as the video? No. The video tells the story; the file holds the evidence, the replicas and the stories we had no time for.

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