Holmes, PT. II Preview

Before he was H.H. Holmes, he was a boy dissecting frogs in a New Hampshire attic. By twenty-five, he was forging death certificates, selling corpses, and plotting a triple murder for insurance cash. In part two of our upcoming 2025 Halloween Special, we trace the origins of America’s first documented serial killer—from grave-robbing in Michigan to the blueprint for a building in Chicago, designed to disappear people. We even cover the schemes and gruesome murders themselves. Welcome to Part Two: Murder Castle. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This taking contains content that may not be suitable for
all audiences listeners, Discretion is advised.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Less a large kiln was in the basement. I closed
the door and turned on the oil to their full extent.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
There's a man sized furnace in the basement of the
murder Castle. HH Holmes meets Wade Warner before the plastic cures.
Everything's so fresh. Lime still lingers in the air, and
the loose mortar crunches underfoot as the two men head

(00:50):
to a couple of stools. Homes unrulls a set of
sloppy plans across a couple of crates, the.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Bleu lining here, a sealed hatch, a shoot from the
second story.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
With some hesitance. Warner traces his fingers along the blueprints
and mutters, insulate here, angle the flu there, keep the
oil steady with the furnace. Sure I could do all
of this, home, studies Warner for a beat. There's something

(01:35):
off about him. Yeah, sure's Warner. He's good for all
the money, but that doesn't seem to change things the
feelings between them. Nevertheless, the drug store serves as a
slow and steady wave of customers all day long, but
by night, it's the cellar that takes the center stage.

(01:59):
There's the stink, clinging clatter from Warner's tools. He creates
a refractory around the firebox, fits a hatch with a
weight to soften the sound of its closing, and he
drills out small vents meant to muffle odors. He even
fits the shoot that runs up through the floorboards, and

(02:23):
no more than a week later, Warner disappears. No one's
too sure what happened. Did they get into an argument.
Holmes has a propensity for revolving door or hiring practices.
Workers come and go all the time. Perhaps Warner is
just another one of them. The end of Mister Warner

(03:08):
begins with two simple checks sums for no more than
one thousand dollars each. Holmes instructs Warner to convince people
that he's the inventor of a special glass bending furnace,
to ward off suspicion and help convince the insurance companies
that such a large contraption is absolutely necessary for his unique,

(03:31):
state of the art hotel. While Warner's busy, Holmes manages
to pass off two payments under Warner's name. Only Warner
never sees a dime of it. However, Holmes worries that
he might soon question the charade and slowly put it

(03:53):
all together. An opportunity to alleviate those concerns presents itself
one night, when mister Warner agrees to pay a visit
and inspect his finished work. Holmes watches as Warner descends
the narrow staircase, a lantern swinging in his hand. Holmes

(04:15):
has been ragging about indoor oil lamps or some kind
of special lighting, but as of this moment, the furnace
room is pitch black. The basement is still quiet. Aside
from the furnace's low hum, it almost has a rhythm

(04:36):
to it, like the breaths of a slumbering beast. As
quietly as possible, Holmes trails behind him as he approaches
the furnace. Warner smells the rotten stench of gas. It's light,
but it's definitely there. He kneels beside the furnace, inspecting

(05:00):
a valve Holmes has deliberately loosened. His back is exposed vulnerable.
Holmes moves in quickly. One hand clamps down on Warner's shoulder,

(05:23):
while the other drives a steel rod into his skull.
Warner twitches once before slumping forward with his face grazing
the furnace's steel shell. Holmes drags Warner's lifeless body by
the ankles, a crimson river trailing behind them. The furnace

(05:43):
door groans open, a blistering heat spilling out, angling it headfirst.
Holmes lifts Warner's body and shoves it into the flame.
He watches is expression this the man who built the

(06:05):
furnace now feeds it.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
A large kiln was in the castle basement. It was
into this kiln that I induced mister Warner to go,
and then I closed the door and turned off the
oil to their full extent. In a short matter of time,

(06:34):
not even the bones of my victim remained.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Thank you so much for checking out this preview of Homes,
part two from Less Taken Season four Hollo Lands. There
are a couple of stories that get recommended as Less
Taken episodes in rotation, but none quite as often as
the gruesome truth in lore surrounding one HH Holmes, aka

(07:25):
America's first serial killer. In this upcoming episode, we'll explore
the origins of Hermann Webster Mudget as medical and grave
robbing pursuits and his evolution to the infamous HH Holmes
leading into the creation of the Murder Castle in Chicago, Illinois.

(07:46):
Be sure to let us know what you think of
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(08:08):
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threads under the handle at Let's Taken Pod. A quick
note on our storytelling. While we do our best to
stick to the facts, we sometimes take creative liberties to

(08:30):
maintain narrative cohesiveness. I'm Seam Humphreys and this is Less
Taken real life horror stories from the Midwest. Once again,
thanks for listening, and I hope you join us next
time for the full installment of Homes Part two.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Let's Taken is a Chase County production. Chase County productions