H.H. Holmes
High Profile Crime: H.H. Holmes
Debi S Bowman
Grand Canyon University: PSY 620
June 28, 2017
High Profile Crime: H.H. Holmes
Born Herman Webster Mudgett in New Hampshire, 1861, Mudgett would not only become known as H.H. Holmes, but also as America’s first serial murderer. Holmes was interested in medicine, surgery to be more specific. He attended medical school, finished, and began his decent into crime with fraudulent insurance claims and other scams. This escalated when he built a building in Chicago and transformed it into what most refer to as the “murder castle.” The murder castle is where Holmes truly began to flourish in his chosen life of murder and torture. The building was designed specifically by H.H. Holmes and possessed mysterious rooms, a vault with a room built around it, trapdoors, doors that went to nowhere, and some of the rooms were altered with jet systems to allow gas to fill the room. Holmes also created chutes which allowed easy disposal of the bodies. The third floor of this murder castle consisted of rooms that Holmes rented out. Many victims who rented rooms from Holmes were in Chicago for the World’s Fair. According to Schmid, D. (2014), “Holmes was disposing of an untold number of individuals, many of whom were lodgers visiting the World’s Fair and enjoying Holmes’s accommodations, which were located conveniently near one of the entrances to the fair” (p. 50).
There were several other murders, approximately 27, in which Holmes admitted to killing. However, this number can range from ten people to almost two hundred people. It is not clear on exactly how many people Holmes killed. Despite the claims of Holmes, in 1896, Holmes was hanged for the murder of his partner Ben Pitezel. Throughout the trial Holmes was silent, only appearing emotional when one of his wives took the stand. Holmes was convicted and set to be executed, all the while claiming to have the devil inside him. This was his claim until the day of his hanging when he recanted, however, it was too late and Holmes was executed. The trial received a large amount of media coverage within the newspapers, many claimed to make Holmes worse than Jack the Ripper. Holmes was truly a psychopath who had no remorse for his actions.
For H.H. Holmes, his motivations to commit murder and fraudulent insurance claims or other scams, can be viewed by using the rational choice theory and trait theory. According to Schram, P. and Tibbetts, S. (2014), “Perhaps the most important finding of rational choice research was that the expected benefits, particularly the pleasure gained from offending, was one of the most significant influences in decisions to offend” (p. 69). Holmes gained satisfaction and pleasure from his crimes. Con-artists enjoy the thrill when they successfully complete a con. Holmes also too satisfaction in his murders, they were well planned down to the actual building he had designed around himself. Holmes designed and constructed a building that would allow him to freely partake in his murderous pleasures. This shows one that he made rational choices and enjoyed these choices. According to Chong Ho Shon, P. and Barton-Bellessa, S. (2015), “crime is a choice that is made after rational calculation, although it is also influenced by opportunities to participate in illicit behavior that are present in everyday life” (p. 97).
Although it is not proven beyond a shadow of doubt that Holmes was born with this psychopathic behavior, it can be theorized that Holmes developed these traits at birth or there were biological changes in the brain as he aged. Trait theory can be applied when looking at the murders he committed, in that it is possible that Holmes’s brain was changed during his adolescent years when he began to show interest in medicine. The scams and insurance fraud that Holmes participated in can also be explained with the trait theory. Holmes understood his level of intelligence and utilized this to gain more knowledge and find new ways to commit fraud. Holmes acquired the knowledge to commit not only fraud but also commit murder in ways in which he felt it was possible not to get caught. This is not only an innate biological trait but also a trait in which Holmes acquired from practice. His claims to have used the clean bones of his victims to sell to medical universities is not something one is born with, he was born with the intelligence to find ways to cover his crimes.
Rational choice theorists and trait theorists may find the case of H.H. Holmes to be interesting since Holmes had an array of psychological defects. Holmes was both rational and born with these abilities. Holmes rationally chose ways to dispose of bodies and cover criminal activities. He also saw the benefits from his crimes, he was satisfied with murder and the income that was gained through his scams. Holmes would have been a subject for Sigmund Freud, whose trait theory depended on the three aspects of one’s personality; id, ego, and superego (Shcram and Tibbetts, p. 138). These contribute to one’s drive that is acquired from birth and can be destructive in nature, Holmes could not control his impulse to murder or commit fraud, and he lacked any values that society would have placed on him throughout his life.
Hans Eysenck’s studies involving personality and criminology are significant to the H.H. Holmes case. Eysenck’s theory is like Freud’s in that it resonates within one’s personality. However, Eysenck’s theory goes deeper into personality traits. The PEN model was developed by Eysenck and consists of a three-dimension questionnaire that covers psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism (Schram and Tibbetts, p. 140). These dimensions cover the case of H.H. Holmes extensively. His lack of empathy as documented during his trial, his ability to be dominant and assertive, as well as his instability are all areas of the questionnaire that Eysenck covers that related directly to Holmes. This study would have helped people in the time of H.H. Holmes understand him more significantly and possibly may have assisted in preventing more murders from occurring after his first arrest for fraud.
References
Chong Ho Shon, P. and Barton-Bellessa, S. (2015). The assumption of rational choice theory in
Alfred Adler's theory of crime: Unraveling and reconciling the contradiction in Alderian
theory through synthesis and critique. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 25(A). 95-103.
doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.07.004
Schmid, D. (2014). Natural born celebrities: Serial killers in American culture. Chicago, US:
University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org
Schram, P. and Tibbetts, S. (2014). Introduction to criminology: Why do they do it? Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.