Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes,

listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of violence and murder

that some people may find offensive.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

30-year-old H.H. Holmes,

listened to the clock tick as he prepared his operating table.

It was past midnight now, Christmas morning, 1891.

While others lay safe in bed, dreaming of sugar plumsums the doctor was at work he pulled a long metal

instrument from the tray beside him the woman lying on the table Julia

Connor let out a gasp but he quieted her with a shush. He promised the

procedure wouldn't hurt a bit and it was essential. She couldn't be allowed to have his child.

In reality, he had no idea how to perform such an operation,

but that had never stopped homes before. He was a cold calculating man.

If this contingency plan went awry, he'd simply come up with another. It didn't take long for Holmes to botch the procedure.

Soon his patient lay dead below him, as did the child inside her.

The doctor shook his head.

It was too bad, but she knew the risks.

With the heave, he shoved the body off the table to carry it to the cellar.

He grunted as he dragged the corpse down the secret staircase he had constructed years before.

The loss of Julia didn't weigh too heavy on his mind.

Holmes was far more focused on the task at hand and the task ahead. The real challenge would be dealing with her

...