The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

by Erik Larson

  “largely on account: Moore, Burnham interview, 8.

  “His genius was betrayed: Monroe, Poet’s Life, 103.

  “I was urging: Hines, 101.

  “I don’t see it that way: Moore, Burnham interview, 8.

  “ordinary white lead: Millet, 708.

  “the Whitewash Gang: Hall, 213.

  “with the utmost vigor: Burnham to Geraldine, March (illegible) 1892, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 6.

  On Saturday evening: McCarthy, “Should We Drink,” 8–12; Chicago Tribune, March 1, May 8, 9, 13, 20, 1892; Burnham, Final Official Report, 69–70.

  “You had better write a letter: Moore, McKim, 120.

  On Wednesday, June 1: Photograph, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, June 1, 1892, Burnham Archives, Box 64, File 34.

  Two weeks later: Photograph, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, June 13, 1892, Burnham Archives, Oversize Portfolio 13.

  The contractor: Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1892.

  “I have assumed personal control: Burnham to Olmsted, September 14, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 59.

  “I had no precedent: Anderson, 53.

  “monstrosity: Barnes, 177.

  “I was more disabled: Rybczynski, Clearing, 391.

  “I am still tortured: Olmsted to John, October 11, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  “Of course the main work suffers: Olmsted to John, undated but received in Brookline, Mass., October 10, 1892, ibid.

  The dedication had been anticipated: Schlereth, 174.

  “Ninety thousand people: Wheeler, 846.

  “both orators waving: Monroe, Poet’s Life, 130.

  That winter she burned: Ibid., 131.

  Prendergast

  On November 28, 1892: Prendergast to Alfred Trude, Trude Papers; Chicago Record, December 15 and 16, 1893, in McGoorty Papers; Chicago Tribune, December 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 1893.

  “My Dear Mr. Trude: Prendergast to Alfred Trude, Trude Papers.

  “I Want You at Once”

  “I have on hand: Ferris to Rice, December 12, 1892, Ferris Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Ferris Papers.

  that this wheel: Anderson, 55; Miller, 497.

  Chappell Redux

  The gift delighted: Franke, 102.

  “She seemed delighted: Ibid.

  “It had seemed to me: Ibid., 103.

  Later there was speculation: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

  “Oh, she’s gone away: Franke, 104.

  “This will tell you: Ibid.

  The announcement read: Ibid., 105.

  “Some days after going: Mudgett, 247; see also Mudgett, 246–249.

  “Oh, he is a fellow: Franke, 105.

  “lady of refinement: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

  “The day after: Franke, 104.

  Soon afterward: Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 31, 1895.

  “This,” said Dr. B. J. Cigrand: Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 27, 1895.

  “I had at last: Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1895.

  That the name Phelps: Chicago Tribune, August 7, 1895.

  That on January 2, 1893: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

  That a few weeks later: Schechter, 51.

  Somehow a footprint: Chicago Tribune, July 28, August 1, 1895.

  To explain the print’s permanence: Chicago Tribune, August 1, 1895.

  “The Cold-Blooded Fact”

  “The winter of 1892–3: Rice, 10, 12.

  George Ferris fought the cold: Anderson, 58; Untitled typescript, Ferris Papers, 4; regarding use of dynamite, see Ulrich, 24.

  “No one shop: Untitled typescript, Ferris Papers, 3; Anderson, 55, 57; Meehan, 30.

  Together with its fittings: “Report of Classified and Comparative Weights of Material Furnished by Detroit Bridge & Iron Works for the ‘Ferris Wheel,’” Ferris Papers.

  “You will have heard: Stevenson, 416.

  “It looks as if: Olmsted to John, February 17, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  “I have never before: Olmsted to Ulrich, March 3, 1893, ibid., Reel 41.

  “This seems to be an impossibility: Bancroft, 67.

  Acquiring Minnie

  I base my conclusions about Holmes’s motivation on studies of psychopaths conducted throughout the twentieth century. Holmes’s behavior—his swindles, his multiple marriages, his extraordinary charm, his lack of regard for the difference between right and wrong, and his almost eerie ability to detect weakness and vulnerability in others—fits with uncanny precision descriptions of the most extreme sorts of psychopaths. (In the late twentieth century psychiatrists officially abandoned the term psychopath and its immediate successor term sociopath in favor of antisocial personality disorder, though the term psychopath remains the favored everyday description.)

  For an especially lucid discussion of psychopaths see Dr. Hervey Cleckley’s pioneering The Mask of Sanity, published in 1976. On page 198 he cites “the astonishing power that nearly all psychopaths and part-psychopaths have to win and to bind forever the devotion of woman.” See also Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., 645–60; Wolman, 362–68; Millon et al., throughout but especially 155, which quotes Philippe Pinel’s appraisal of psychopathic serial killers: “Though their crimes may be sickening, they are not sick in either a medical or a legal sense. Instead, the serial killer is typically a sociopathic personality who lacks internal control—guilt or conscience—to guide his own behavior, but has an excessive need to control and dominate others. He definitely knows right from wrong, definitely realizes he has committed a sinful act, but simply doesn’t care about his human prey. The sociopath has never internalized a moral code that prohibits murder. Having fun is all that counts.”

  Also in Millon et al., at page 353, a contributing author describes a particular patient named Paul as having “an uncanny ability to identify naïve, passive and vulnerable women—women who were ripe for being manipulated and exploited.”

  For details of the Williams case I relied, once again, on an array of newspaper articles, and on Boswell and Thompson, Franke, and Schechter. See Chicago Tribune, July 20, 21, 27, 31, August 4, 7, 1895; New York Times, July 31, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 21, 23, 26, 1894, December 22, 1894, July 22, 24, 27, 29, 1895: Boswell and Thompson, 86–90; Franke, 106–109; Schechter, 58–63.

  Silver Ash Institute: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1895.

  as many as seventy-five: Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1895.

  Tobey Furniture Company: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1895.

  French, Potter Crockery Company: Ibid.

  Merchant & Co.: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

  At the nearby Normal School: Chicago Tribune, June 26, 1892.

  “a baby face: Boswell and Thompson, 87.

  Born in Mississippi: For various details about Minnie and Anna Williams’s backgrounds, I relied heavily on the Chicago Tribune of July 31, 1895.

  Throughout 1889: Exactly how and when Holmes courted Minnie is unclear, but it’s certain he traveled to Boston to see her and that he did so often enough to have won her adoration. The Chicago Tribune of July 29, 1895, describes Minnie’s first meeting with Holmes. See the Tribune of July 20, for other details, such as the date Minnie went to Boston for her education in elocution and a sketch of her subsequent travels, including her loss of $15,000 in an ill-starred attempt to establish a theatrical group. See also Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 22, 1894, July 27, 29, 1895.

  “a remarkable aptitude: Mudgett, 45.

  Anna was skeptical: Schechter, 61.

  “I received her wedding cards: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

  She did so on: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 31, 1895.

  He established’: Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 21, 23, 1894.

  “He induced me: Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 25, 1895.

  no record of their union: Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 26, 1894.

  Dreadful Things Done by
Girls

  “money would be so plentiful: Kiler, 61.

  “The crowds poured in: Bloom, 135.

  Bloom thought a moment: Ibid., 135–36.

  Bloom regretted: Ibid., 135.

  “it is not quantity: Dedmon, 223–24.

  “the mayor will not frappé: Ibid., 224.

  “A Mouse Colored Ass: Ibid.

  “Outside peoples already concede: Hines, 108.

  “how to broil: Hollingsworth, 155.

  “The breakfast table: Ibid., 12.

  “If the article is black: Ibid., 581.

  “Take one part muriatic acid: Ibid., 612.

  “Don’t sit between: Ibid., 701.

  “Injections of tobacco: Ibid., 749.

  “interspersed,” as one visitor put it: Miller, 420.

  Clarence Darrow regularly: Tierney, 140.

  “You ought to begin: Lewis, 36.

  “What dreadful things: Tierney, 84.

  “His friends all noticed it: Miller, 440.

  His quirks: Johnson, 81–88; Poole, 158, 160, 163, 169.

  “the most remarkable man: Miller, 438.

  “a most admirable pig: Abbot, 212.

  “My Dear Mr. Trude: Prendergast to Trude, Daniel P. Trude Papers.

  The Invitation

  Holmes suggested: Schechter, 61.

  Minnie planned to show: I’ve inserted here a few of the attractions that Gilded Age visitors to Chicago found especially compelling. That Minnie planned to take her sister on such a tour is likely but not certain, as unfortunately she left no journal detailing the minutiae of her days.

  Final Preparations

  “anxious effort: Wheeler, 832.

  The menu: Program, “Banquet to Daniel Hudson Burnham,” Burnham Archives, Box 59.

  “Each of you knows: Moore, Burnham, Architect, 74.

  “The scale of the whole thing: Moore, McKim, 122.

  “I fear nothing: Burnham to Margaret, April 6, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

  “I am very happy: Burnham to Margaret, April 10, 1893, ibid.

  “Why do you not write: Burnham to Margaret, April 13, 1893, ibid.

  “The public will regard: Ibid.

  Margaret sent him: Burnham to Margaret, April 18, 1893, ibid.

  PILOT OF THE OCEAN:Carter, 368.

  At the hotel’s front desk: Ibid., 374.

  “You can imagine: Burnham to Margaret, April 10, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

  “Every body here: Olmsted to John, April 13, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  “We shall have to bear: Olmsted to John, April 15, 1893, ibid.

  “I am afraid: Ibid.

  “Ulrich is unwittingly faithless: Olmsted to John, May 3, 1893, ibid.

  “I suppose that our time is out: Ibid.

  “frightful dust: Olmsted to John, April 13, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  “with sore throat: Olmsted to John, April 23, 1893, ibid.

  “A larger force is employed: Ibid.

  The odd thing was: Chicago Record, December 16, 1893, in McGoorty Papers.

  “It rains: Burnham to Margaret, April 18, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

  “Last night turned out: Burnham to Margaret, April 20, 1893, ibid.

  “The weather is very bad: Ibid.

  “I wrote you: Olmsted to unidentified recipient (stamped as received and read by his firm), April 27, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  “My ulcer has shrunk: Ibid.

  “We are having bad luck: Olmsted to John, April 27, 1893, ibid.

  “I don’t like it at all: Ibid.

  “The diet of the provisional mess: Ibid.

  “I took cold: Olmsted to unidentified recipient, April 28, 1893, ibid.

  “It is queer: Ibid.

  “It does not look ready: Ibid.

  “I get wind: Ibid.

  “gross incompleteness: Miller, 489.

  the World’s Fair Hotel: Schechter, 56.

  PART III: IN THE WHITE CITY

  Opening Day

  Twenty-three gleaming: For details of the Opening Day procession: Badger, xi, xii; Burg, 111; Chicago Tribune, May 2, 1893; Miller, 490; Muccigrosso, 78–80; Weimann, 141–46; The World’s Fair, 13–16, 253–63.

  Burnham and Davis: The World’s Fair, 254.

  the sun emerged: Ibid.

  The farm offered omelets: Bloom, 137.

  Bloom gave a nod: The World’s Fair, 255.

  “When the fair opened: Starrett, 50.

  Twenty women fainted: Burg, 111.

  Reporters lucky enough: Ibid., 23.

  “Then from the Pinta’s foretop: The World’s Fair, 257–58.

  Director-General Davis spoke: Ibid., 259.

  Nearby stood a table: Weimann, 241.

  A tall man: Miller, 490.

  “As by a touch: Badger, xii.

  At precisely 12:08: Chicago Tribune, May 2, 1893.

  Jane Addams realized: Badger, xi; Miller, 490.

  “The scene burst on me: Frank Collier to Burnham, May 1, 1893, Burnham Archives, Box 1, File 13.

  The official history: For crowd estimates, see Badger, xii; Dedmon, 226; Weimann, 242.

  On Tuesday, May 2: Weimann, 556.

  On the night of Thursday: Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1893.

  Next Chicago’s Chemical National Bank: Chicago Tribune, May 9, 1893.

  Three days later: Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1893.

  In Brunswick, Georgia: Ibid.

  In Lincoln, Nebraska: Ibid.

  Olmsted had yet to complete: Ulrich, 46–48.

  General Electric alone: Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1893.

  “I remain fairly well: Olmsted to John, May 15, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

  On June 5 worried depositors: Bogart and Mathews, 395.

  The World’s Fair Hotel

  The first guests began arriving: Boswell and Thompson write, “Every night the rooms on the two upper floors of the Castle were filled to overflowing. Holmes reluctantly accommodated a few men as paying guests, but catered primarily to women—preferably young and pretty ones of apparent means, whose homes were distant from Chicago and who had no one close to them who might make inquiry if they did not soon return. Many never went home. Many, indeed, never emerged from the castle, having once entered it” (87). Franke writes, “We do know that Holmes advertised his ‘hotel’ as a suitable lodging for visitors to the world’s fair; that no fewer than fifty persons, reported to the police as missing, were traced to the Castle; and that there their trail ended” (109). Schechter: “No one can say exactly how many fairgoers Holmes lured to the Castle between May and October 1893, though he appears to have filled the place to capacity on most nights” (56).

  He found a place: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1895.

  They first advertised: Ibid.

  Holmes went alone: Ibid.

  Holmes explained the move: That Holmes wanted Minnie as far from the hotel as reasonably possible seems certain, given his choice of an apartment on the North Side, though exactly what he told her about the move can’t be known. I propose one likely possibility.

  Holmes and Minnie moved: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1895.

  “seemed to be very attentive: Ibid.

  That he often smelled: A barber who worked in Holmes’s building reported the many “queer” smells generated within. Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895. In Tribune, July 28, 1895, a police detective states, “We have always heard of Holmes’ castle as being the abode of bad odors.”

  Prendergast

  “I am a candidate: Chicago Record, December 16, 1893, McGoorty Papers.

  “Night Is the Magician”

  Only one child: Weimann, 352. For broader discussion of daycare at the fair, see Weimann, 254–333, 349–52.

  Within the fair’s buildings: Burg, 206; Gladwell, 95; Miller, 494; Muccigrosso, 93, 163; Schlereth, 174, 220; Shaw, 28, 42, 49.

  A popular guide: Burg, 199.

  “a fearful hideou
s thing: Taylor, 9.

  “Every one about us: Ibid., 7.

  “She takes a few: Ibid., 22–23.

  “My Country ’Tis of Thee: Ibid., 23.

  “In which building: Dean, 335.

  One male visitor: Ibid., 378.

  Over the six months: Muccigrosso, 150; The World’s Fair, 851.

  Often Cody upstaged: Carter, 372–73; Downey, 168–69

  “A strikingly noticeable change: Chicago Tribune, June 2, 1893.

  “No other scene: Pierce, As Others See Chicago, 352.

  “an inexhaustible dream: Masters, 7.

  “we insisted on sending: Untitled manuscript beginning: “To him who has taken part,” Burnham Archives, Box 59, File 37.

  “Our hour on the lagoon: Dora Root to Burnham, undated, Burnham Archives, Box 3, File 63.

  The fair alone: Hines, 117.

  “As the light was fading: Polacheck, 40.

  “unspeakable debris: Ingalls, 141.

  “Night,” Ingalls wrote: Ibid.

  “It was a common remark: Schuyler, 574.

  Modus Operandi

  And so it began: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895, August 1, 1895. In the Tribune, July 26, 1895, Chicago’s police chief states, “There is no telling how many people this man Holmes has made away with.” See also Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12, 1896.

  chemical odors: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

  There were inquiries: Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 21, 1894, July 22, 1895; Franke, 106; Schechter, 233. Also see Eckert, 209–10: Eckert quotes a letter from Julia Conner’s mother, dated December 22, 1892. Eckert’s book, The Scarlet Mansion, is a novel; the letter, Eckert told me in e-mail correspondence, is real.

  Holmes did not kill face to face: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895, where a Chicago police inspector states, “While I believe that Holmes would not dispatch a victim with an ax or other deadly weapon, I fully believe him capable of sneaking into a dark room where his victim was asleep and turning on the gas.”

  The subsequent articulation: Regarding the work of the “articulator,” Charles Chappell, see Chicago Tribune, July 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 1895; New York Times, July 29, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 23, 27, 29, 30, 1895; Boswell and Thompson, 81–86; Franke, 98–101; and Schechter, 39–44.