Holmes' Own Story In Which the Alleged Multi-murderer and Arch Conspirator Tells of the Twenty-two Tragic Deaths and Disappearances in Which He Is Said to Be Implicated, With Moyamensing Prison Diary Appendix

"Holmes' Own Story" by Herman W. Mudgett is a gripping autobiography that offers a rare glimpse into the life of a man accused of terrible crimes. Writing from prison in the late 1890s, Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, attempts to clear his name by telling his version of the events that led to accusations of multiple murders and disappearances. He begins by describing his childhood, focusing on incidents that he claims shaped his unusual fascination with anatomy and medicine. As the story unfolds, he introduces the people who would later become central to the mystery surrounding him like the Pitezel family and Minnie Williams, hinting at the tragic fates that await them. Written in a confessional tone, the book seeks to portray Mudgett as a victim of circumstance and misrepresentation, even as he recounts a sequence of increasingly suspicious occurrences.