H. H. Holmes: A blotch on the White City: Period accounts of Herman W. Mudgett, America's first serial murderer

“God only knows, for I do not, how this man could do such a deed. Devils may know how he could do it, but it is beyond the ken of any human being with a heart to conceive.” With those words, the prosecutor summed-up the sentiment of an entire nation aghast at the crimes committed at the so-called “castle” of Herman W. Mudgett, alias H. H. Holmes, during the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago where the alabaster-colored buildings earned it the moniker “White City.” Here is assembled a collection of period accounts to help recreate the excitement and horror of the time; the trial and meted-out justice of America’s first serial murderer. Updated.