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Quiz about HH Holmes and His Murder Castle
Quiz about HH Holmes and His Murder Castle

H.H. Holmes and His Murder Castle Quiz


Holmes is considered one of the biggest serial killers in history. He murdered for four years and had countless victims. No one suspected a thing until he made his mistake. Learn more about him and take this quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by blakey. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
blakey
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
269,407
Updated
Apr 01 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
1304
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (4/10), Shshshh (3/10), Emlah (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. H.H. Holmes was the name he went by, but what was his real name? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. H. H. Holmes was always getting in trouble as a young boy, and while in medical school he was involved in an insurance scam in which he was almost caught. What was it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. H.H. Holmes was not seen for five years after he left medical school. He eventually showed up in Wilmette, Illinois in 1885 posing as an inventor. Where was he and what was he doing during that time he was missing? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Holmes moved to Chicago where he began a copier business that went belly up. He then moved to the Englewood section of Chicago, becoming a pharmacist. Quickly he became the proprietor and then owner of the pharmacy when the real owner disappeared. What did he tell everyone about her disappearance? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. H. H. Holmes owned the pharmacy and used the profits to build a hotel across the street. What did he call it? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Holmes opened his hotel in 1892 but there was something unusual about it that no one ever questioned. What was it? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. After the Columbia Exposition closed there was a long list of missing people. How many were traced back to Holmes' hotel? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Once the Exposition closed Holmes took ads out in small town newspapers around the Midwest advertising what? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Holmes was finally arrested in 1894 but not for murder. What was it that he was charged with? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What happened to H. H. Holmes' hotel? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. H.H. Holmes was the name he went by, but what was his real name?

Answer: Herman W. Mudgett

He was born in 1860 in New Hampshire and changed his name as a young man. He used the name H. H. Holmes when he attended medical school at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He had recently married and used his father in law's inheritance money for tuition.
2. H. H. Holmes was always getting in trouble as a young boy, and while in medical school he was involved in an insurance scam in which he was almost caught. What was it?

Answer: Stealing and insuring cadavers

He stole cadavers and used the person's identity for life insurance policies, naming himself as the beneficiary. He then set the cadavers up to look like they had died in an accident and collected the money. After he was nearly caught he left medical school, abandoning his wife and newborn child. For the next five years he was virtually gone.
3. H.H. Holmes was not seen for five years after he left medical school. He eventually showed up in Wilmette, Illinois in 1885 posing as an inventor. Where was he and what was he doing during that time he was missing?

Answer: No one knows

Not even the Pinkerton agents investigating him could figure it out. Once he resurfaced, he tried to divorce his first wife but in vain. He remarried anyway and tried to con his new father in law by forging his father in law's name on property deeds. His wife filed for divorce and ended the marriage in 1889.
4. Holmes moved to Chicago where he began a copier business that went belly up. He then moved to the Englewood section of Chicago, becoming a pharmacist. Quickly he became the proprietor and then owner of the pharmacy when the real owner disappeared. What did he tell everyone about her disappearance?

Answer: She moved out west.

According to him she left no forwarding address and handed the business over to him.
5. H. H. Holmes owned the pharmacy and used the profits to build a hotel across the street. What did he call it?

Answer: He never named it

He personally oversaw the construction and fired workers at will, refusing to pay them. He was telling everyone that he was preparing it for tourists attending the 1893 Columbia exposition to be held in Chicago. It was to become known as the "Murder Castle".
6. Holmes opened his hotel in 1892 but there was something unusual about it that no one ever questioned. What was it?

Answer: All of these.

The drapes were drawn to hide the iron plates from outside viewers. The doors were locked from the outside for obvious reasons. In addition he had trap doors in each room, some rooms were used as asphyxiation chambers, and some had blowtorch like devices fitted into the walls.

In the basement he had a dissecting table, crematorium, and quicklime pits. In addition all the "prison rooms" also had an alarm if one of the victims tried to escape. There were also a number of secret passages.
7. After the Columbia Exposition closed there was a long list of missing people. How many were traced back to Holmes' hotel?

Answer: At least 50

At least fifty were traced to his hotel but no one suspected a thing about him for some strange reason.
8. Once the Exposition closed Holmes took ads out in small town newspapers around the Midwest advertising what?

Answer: All of these

The job opportunities came with free room and board along with a generous benefit package (for the time) and a handsome paycheck. If someone came for a marriage proposal, he would take their valuables first, then lock them in a prison room.
9. Holmes was finally arrested in 1894 but not for murder. What was it that he was charged with?

Answer: Horse swindling

This was his undoing. He was detained due to a warrant for horse theft in Texas, but the police grew doubtful of Holmes.
10. What happened to H. H. Holmes' hotel?

Answer: It burned down.

Between his arrest and execution someone burned it down. Neighbors heard three explosions and it was gone. No one knows who did it but rumors ranged from an accomplice trying to hide his implication to an outraged neighbor who wanted the crowds of the curious to stop. Today there is post office where the hotel once stood. It is said that when you walk your dog by it, the dog becomes nervous and doesn't want to go near it.

No one knows for sure how many people were killed at his Murder Castle.
Source: Author blakey

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor DakotaNorth before going online.
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