In this episode of Super SUS, we unravel the disturbing—and often misunderstood—story of H.H. Holmes, the man long labeled America’s first serial killer. We trace Holmes’ path from his early life to his arrival in Chicago, then into the shadow of the 1893 World’s Fair and the infamous building later dubbed the “Murder Castle.”

But was the Castle truly a maze of gas chambers, torture rooms, and trapdoors built for mass murder? Or was much of its legend born from sensational 1890s newspapers and Holmes’ own lies?

We break down the real history versus the mythology: his confirmed victims, his elaborate fraud schemes, the tragic Pitezel family murders, and how yellow journalism inflated him into a near-mythical monster. Along the way, we expose what scholars now know—and what the tabloids invented—about the man who hid manipulation and greed behind a polished, charming exterior.

Join us as we separate fact from fiction and uncover the chilling truth behind one of America’s most enduring true-crime legends.

Support the show