Herman Webster Mudgett better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes was an American con artist and serial killer active between 1891 and 1894. By the time of his execution in 1896, Holmes had engaged in a lengthy criminal career that included insurance fraud, forgery, swindling, three or four bigamous marriages, horse theft and murder. His most notorious crimes took place in Chicago around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. He was resurrected and brought back to life. Holmes gave various contradictory accounts of his life initially claiming innocence and later that he was possessed by Satan. His propensity for lying has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain the truth and lies.