How Historically Accurate Is Devil In The White City?

During Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, H.H. Holmes advertised his home as a hotel for the fair's guests. However, as reported by Biography, many of the guests simply vanished after checking in. Although the building had a number of guest rooms, it also had several soundproof rooms, secret passageways, and trap doors. There are also reports that Holmes kept quicklime, vats of acid, and even a crematorium, in the basement, but History suggests the reports may have been "overly embellished or even fabricated ... "

Following the conclusion of the 1893 World's Fair, Holmes fled Chicago and moved to Boston, where he was arrested in November 1894 for killing his business associate, Benjamin Pitezel. History reports that after his arrest, Holmes confessed to killing as many as 200 people in his "Murder Castle." However, the actual number of victims remains unclear. As reported by Biography, he changed his story, including the number of victims, numerous times.

Although some of the details surrounding Holmes' crimes seem unbelievable, "The Devil in the White City" was heavily researched. As reported by Chicago Tribune, Erik Larson begins his book by stating, "However strange and macabre some of the following incidents may seem, this is not a work of fiction. Anything between quotation marks comes from a letter, memoir, or other written document." The book also contains 857 footnotes, which refer to 139 sources, including archives, articles, and other books about Burnham, Holmes, and the World's Fair.

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