Adam Selzer is the host of the Mysterious Chicago blog, podcasts, and tours, and has spent many years researching the more gruesome side of Chicago history--criminals, ghost stories, gangsters, mysteries, and folklore. He regularly writes Chicago history stories for websites such as TimeOut.com and Atlas Obscura, and speaks about it on WGN radio. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.
“Adam Selzer’s masterful sleuthing, proves to us, ‘the Devil IS in
the details.” Impeccably researched, the author has wiped away the
nineteenth-century cobwebs spun by an ineffective police
investigation and a hyperbolic press. What is left? The real life
story of H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil.
Highly recommended. Read it!” —Steve Hodel, New York
Times-bestselling author of Black Dahlia Avenger
“One after another, young women visited the Chicago’s World Fair in
1893 and met and fell in love with a mesmerizing entrepreneur. Then
they disappeared. H. H. Holmes is the chilling true story of a
grave robber, bigamist and serial killer, and his homemade torture
chamber.” —Rebecca Morris, New York Times-bestselling author of If
I Can’t Have You and A Killing in Amish Country (with Gregg Olsen)
and Ted and Ann
“Not another cut and paste crime biography. H.H.Holmes is one of
America’s super-villains. Or was he? Not one hundred, not two
hundred victims, as the legends would have us believe, but only one
person murdered and, even then, the evidence was circumstantial!
Evidence suggests another possible four murders and five
might-have-beens but that’s the grand total. Nor was he Jack the
Ripper! Selzer takes apart the dove-tailed pieces of fact and
legend to show the myth-making behind one of America’s most
infamous bogey-men. A highly readable and exciting piece of
original research, not to be missed by any crime enthusiast.
—Donald Rumbelow, author of The Complete History of Jack the
Ripper
“A masterful dissection of false news creation at the source.
Selzer persuasively shows that, from the Victorian era to now, how
people get their information really does matter.” —Judy Nickels,
author of A Competent Witness: Georgiana Yoke and the Trial of H.H.
Holmes
“You know you’ve encountered a great book when you get lost in the
world the author has created. Adam Selzer’s fascinating,
exhaustively researched, highly readable book H. H. Holmes is all
of that—a creepy take on America’s original serial psychopath. From
the opening pages to its riveting conclusion, you’re drawn into
this narrative as though reading a Caleb Carr novel. . . .
Engrossing, totally engaging, all at once thrilling and chilling. A
fresh, new take on what is an old story. Just what the doctor
himself—oh, snap!—would have ordered.” —M. William Phelps,New York
Times-bestselling author, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a
Serial Killer
“History is so often compromised by myth-making, exaggerations and
half-truths, when the real facts reveal a much more compelling
story. Adam Selzer has fleshed out a fascinating and eminently
readable portrait of the real H. H. Holmes, the fiendish killer
popularly known as the ‘Devil in the White City.’ Mr. Selzer had
dug deep to strip away the fiction in order to give us the accurate
and true facts of this shadowy figure’s life. The book is an
important contribution to our understanding of American criminal
history.” —Richard C. Lindberg, author of Heartland Serial Killers:
Belle Gunness, Johann Hoch and Murder for Profit in Gaslight Era
Chicago, and sixteen other books.
“Erik Larson brought the serial killer H. H. Holmes to the general
reading public’s attention in The Devil in the White City. But
where Larson leaves off, Adam Selzer picks up, filling in gaps,
replacing legend with fact, and debunking myths. From Philadelphia
to Chicago, and even down to Texas, Holmes roamed the country in
the late Nineteenth Century, leaving behind buried bodies, missing
persons, and unanswered questions, in a trail that ultimately led
to the gallows. With meticulous research, Selzer digs deep into
Holmes’s story to tell us not only the “how” but the “why,” and he
reveals a somewhat unorthodox serial killer by today’s standards: a
bigamist, a con man, and a swindler who killed indiscriminately,
not merely to satisfy some bloodlust but, more practically, to
conceal his larceny and deceit. A fascinating read!” —Mike Farris,
author of A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last
Trial of Clarence Darrow
“When legend becomes fact, print the legend, the saying goes. A
case in point is the story of Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett, who
became infamous as H.H. Holmes, the depraved supervillain
celebrated as the Devil in the White City. If you want the straight
dope, and not just the legend about Mudgett/Holmes, read Adam
Selzer’s H. H. Holmes—the True History of the White City Devil. You
won't put it down.” —Dennis L. Breo, co-author of The Crime of the
Century—Richard Speck and the Murders that Shocked a Nation
“Selzer has made a career of fact-checking the most sordid details
of Chicago history, disseminating the weird and gritty true history
of the city and its most unsavory people through popular mystery
tours, a podcast, and books. When the unprecedented success of Erik
Larson’s Devil in The White City (2003) stirred up renewed interest
in serial killer H.H. Holmes, Selzer made it his mission to
painstakingly research Holmes’ life, family, and crimes with
intense determination and doggedness. The result is this
comprehensive, compelling, and surprising biography of Holmes,
written in a conversational style, as if we are passengers on one
of Selzer’s tours. The book follows every move Holmes ever made,
dragging readers all over the country, breathlessly following his
trail of deceit and lies. Using thousands of primary sources to
draw the most accurate picture of this American villain yet, Selzer
keeps the delicate balance of salacious (and mundane) details
maintained with solid facts. What emerges is a picture of a
terrible but intriguing man, one who continues to capture our
imagination over a century later, and one whose story leaps off the
page in Selzer’s uniquely suited hands. A must-read for fans of The
Devil in The White City, of course, but this biography will also
hold its own independently in true-crime collections.”
—Booklist*starred* review “In this … thrilling new biography of
H.H. Holmes (1861-1896), who received renewed attention in 2003
when Erik Larson published The Devil in the White City, Mysterious
Chicago tour guide and author Selzer (Just Kill Me, 2016, etc.)
recharacterizes Holmes as a small-time con man who was likely
guilty of a series of murders in Chicago…. A passion for Holmes
lore will lead to appreciation for the depth of background and
lesser criminal exploits described in great detail.” —Kirkus
Reviews “Was late 19th-century mass murderer H.H. Holmes motivated
more by psychological compulsions than practical concerns? Selzer
(Ghost of Chicago) suggests the latter, diverging from the
perspective put forth in Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City.
He works hard to assemble historical evidence that strays from
accounts by Larson, and others, but he never loses sight of the
fact that Holmes “almost certainly killed at least nine people,
ruined the lives of numerous others, and seemed to feel very little
guilt about it.” This highly readable account of the case walks
readers through Holmes’s nonviolent crimes before getting to his
first murder. Selzer believes that Holmes’s 1891 killing of Julia
Conner, a woman he had sued for nonpayment of a loan, was, like his
others, committed, not out of bloodlust, but as a “necessary part
of furthering his swindling operations and protecting his
lifestyle.” He makes a convincing argument that current perceptions
of Holmes are not always solidly grounded, even as he concedes that
there’s “a lot of mystery left to be solved” about the case, a
concession that will lead many aficionados of quality true-crime
narrative to monitor his Mysterious Chicago blog for updates.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Adam Selzer’s masterful sleuthing, proves to us, ‘the Devil IS in
the details.” Impeccably researched, the author has wiped away the
nineteenth-century cobwebs spun by an ineffective police
investigation and a hyperbolic press. What is left? The real life
story of H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil.
Highly recommended. Read it!” —Steve Hodel, New York
Times-bestselling author of Black Dahlia Avenger
“One after another, young women visited the Chicago’s World Fair in
1893 and met and fell in love with a mesmerizing entrepreneur. Then
they disappeared. H. H. Holmes is the chilling true story of a
grave robber, bigamist and serial killer, and his homemade torture
chamber.” —Rebecca Morris, New York Times-bestselling author of If
I Can’t Have You and A Killing in Amish Country (with Gregg Olsen)
and Ted and Ann
“Not another cut and paste crime biography. H.H.Holmes is one of
America’s super-villains. Or was he? Not one hundred, not two
hundred victims, as the legends would have us believe, but only one
person murdered and, even then, the evidence was circumstantial!
Evidence suggests another possible four murders and five
might-have-beens but that’s the grand total. Nor was he Jack the
Ripper! Selzer takes apart the dove-tailed pieces of fact and
legend to show the myth-making behind one of America’s most
infamous bogey-men. A highly readable and exciting piece of
original research, not to be missed by any crime enthusiast.
—Donald Rumbelow, author of The Complete History of Jack the
Ripper
“A masterful dissection of false news creation at the source.
Selzer persuasively shows that, from the Victorian era to now, how
people get their information really does matter.” —Judy Nickels,
author of A Competent Witness: Georgiana Yoke and the Trial of H.H.
Holmes
“You know you’ve encountered a great book when you get lost in the
world the author has created. Adam Selzer’s fascinating,
exhaustively researched, highly readable book H. H. Holmes is all
of that—a creepy take on America’s original serial psychopath. From
the opening pages to its riveting conclusion, you’re drawn into
this narrative as though reading a Caleb Carr novel. . . .
Engrossing, totally engaging, all at once thrilling and chilling. A
fresh, new take on what is an old story. Just what the doctor
himself—oh, snap!—would have ordered.” —M. William Phelps,New York
Times-bestselling author, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a
Serial Killer
“History is so often compromised by myth-making, exaggerations and
half-truths, when the real facts reveal a much more compelling
story. Adam Selzer has fleshed out a fascinating and eminently
readable portrait of the real H. H. Holmes, the fiendish killer
popularly known as the ‘Devil in the White City.’ Mr. Selzer had
dug deep to strip away the fiction in order to give us the accurate
and true facts of this shadowy figure’s life. The book is an
important contribution to our understanding of American criminal
history.” —Richard C. Lindberg, author of Heartland Serial Killers:
Belle Gunness, Johann Hoch and Murder for Profit in Gaslight Era
Chicago, and sixteen other books.
“Erik Larson brought the serial killer H. H. Holmes to the general
reading public’s attention in The Devil in the White City. But
where Larson leaves off, Adam Selzer picks up, filling in gaps,
replacing legend with fact, and debunking myths. From Philadelphia
to Chicago, and even down to Texas, Holmes roamed the country in
the late Nineteenth Century, leaving behind buried bodies, missing
persons, and unanswered questions, in a trail that ultimately led
to the gallows. With meticulous research, Selzer digs deep into
Holmes’s story to tell us not only the “how” but the “why,” and he
reveals a somewhat unorthodox serial killer by today’s standards: a
bigamist, a con man, and a swindler who killed indiscriminately,
not merely to satisfy some bloodlust but, more practically, to
conceal his larceny and deceit. A fascinating read!” —Mike Farris,
author of A Death in the Islands: The Unwritten Law and the Last
Trial of Clarence Darrow
“When legend becomes fact, print the legend, the saying goes. A
case in point is the story of Dr. Herman Webster Mudgett, who
became infamous as H.H. Holmes, the depraved supervillain
celebrated as the Devil in the White City. If you want the straight
dope, and not just the legend about Mudgett/Holmes, read Adam
Selzer’s H. H. Holmes—the True History of the White City Devil. You
won't put it down.” —Dennis L. Breo, co-author of The Crime of the
Century—Richard Speck and the Murders that Shocked a Nation
“Selzer has made a career of fact-checking the most sordid details
of Chicago history, disseminating the weird and gritty true history
of the city and its most unsavory people through popular mystery
tours, a podcast, and books. When the unprecedented success of Erik
Larson’s Devil in The White City (2003) stirred up renewed interest
in serial killer H.H. Holmes, Selzer made it his mission to
painstakingly research Holmes’ life, family, and crimes with
intense determination and doggedness. The result is this
comprehensive, compelling, and surprising biography of Holmes,
written in a conversational style, as if we are passengers on one
of Selzer’s tours. The book follows every move Holmes ever made,
dragging readers all over the country, breathlessly following his
trail of deceit and lies. Using thousands of primary sources to
draw the most accurate picture of this American villain yet, Selzer
keeps the delicate balance of salacious (and mundane) details
maintained with solid facts. What emerges is a picture of a
terrible but intriguing man, one who continues to capture our
imagination over a century later, and one whose story leaps off the
page in Selzer’s uniquely suited hands. A must-read for fans of The
Devil in The White City, of course, but this biography will also
hold its own independently in true-crime collections.”
—Booklist*starred* review “In this … thrilling new biography of
H.H. Holmes (1861-1896), who received renewed attention in 2003
when Erik Larson published The Devil in the White City, Mysterious
Chicago tour guide and author Selzer (Just Kill Me, 2016, etc.)
recharacterizes Holmes as a small-time con man who was likely
guilty of a series of murders in Chicago…. A passion for Holmes
lore will lead to appreciation for the depth of background and
lesser criminal exploits described in great detail.” —Kirkus
Reviews “Was late 19th-century mass murderer H.H. Holmes motivated
more by psychological compulsions than practical concerns? Selzer
(Ghost of Chicago) suggests the latter, diverging from the
perspective put forth in Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City.
He works hard to assemble historical evidence that strays from
accounts by Larson, and others, but he never loses sight of the
fact that Holmes “almost certainly killed at least nine people,
ruined the lives of numerous others, and seemed to feel very little
guilt about it.” This highly readable account of the case walks
readers through Holmes’s nonviolent crimes before getting to his
first murder. Selzer believes that Holmes’s 1891 killing of Julia
Conner, a woman he had sued for nonpayment of a loan, was, like his
others, committed, not out of bloodlust, but as a “necessary part
of furthering his swindling operations and protecting his
lifestyle.” He makes a convincing argument that current perceptions
of Holmes are not always solidly grounded, even as he concedes that
there’s “a lot of mystery left to be solved” about the case, a
concession that will lead many aficionados of quality true-crime
narrative to monitor his Mysterious Chicago blog for updates.”
—Publishers Weekly
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