Most Terrifying Things About America’s First Serial Killer

The Stories That Sell

Before his execution, there were many newspapers that wanted to publish Holmes’s confession. Hearst newspapers wanted Holmes to tell his story in exchange for $7,500—which today amounts to $215,000. Although Holmes took them up on their offer, being the con man that he was he provided a number of contradictory accounts.

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Despite all the accounts that discredited Holmes, one thing that he wrote to newspapers struck a chord with many. In 1896, Philadelphia North American published this infamous line: “I was born with the devil in me.” This line inspired the book and the subsequent film, The Devil in the White City. This line is also notable because it seems to adequately describe many other murderers and serial killers over the years. While there has often been nothing remarkable in various killers childhood which could have “made them this way”. It seems that rather serials killers are often truly born with something different in their brains than the average person which lead them to have the desire to kill. However, some argue this was not the case with Holmes.