硫酸浴英国连环杀手——约翰·乔治·海格：英语精读讲义

Just about all serial killers seem to have experienced some amount of trauma in childhood. 語法

几乎所有的连环杀手似乎都在童年时期经历过某种程度的创伤。

But one thing that splits them apart is their intellect. 語法

但将他们区分开来的一点，是他们的智商。

Some of these killers seem like wild savages,

有些杀手看起来像野蛮人，

barely self-aware.

几乎没有自我意识。

Others are extremely gifted,

而另一些人则天赋异禀，

yet often display signs of psychopathy.

却常常表现出精神病态的迹象。

Some are eloquent, attractive, and extremely cultured,

有些人口才好、魅力四射且极具教养，

such as the backpacker killer and lifelong scammer turned celebrity George Sobhraj, 語法

比如背包客杀手、后来成为名人的终身骗子 George Sobhraj，

who read Nietzsche and Jung,

他读过尼采和荣格，

classics in law, probably to be a better conniver.

以及法律经典，或许是为了成为一个更好的阴谋家。

Then you've got the incredibly talented Ted Kaczynski,

然后还有才华横溢的 Ted Kaczynski，

aka the Unabomber,

也就是“大学航空炸弹客”，

who is said to have an IQ of 167. 語法

据说他的智商高达167。

That's slightly higher than violin prodigy Charlene Gallego,

这比小提琴神童 Charlene Gallego 还要高一点，

who with her husband brutally raped and killed mostly young girls in the late '70s.

她在70年代末和丈夫一起残忍强奸并杀害了许多女孩（大多数都很年轻）。

Today we'll look at another talented killer

今天我们要看的是另一位天赋异禀的杀手

in this episode of The Infographics Show,

在这集《信息图解秀》中，

John George Haigh, Acid Bath Murderer.

我们要讲的是 John George Haigh，酸浴杀手。

Just looking at pictures on the web,

光看网上的照片，

Haigh wouldn't look out of place in a Hollywood movie of days gone by. 習語

Haigh 如果出现在过去的好莱坞电影中，也绝不会显得格格不入。

It's said he was incredibly charming,

据说他非常有魅力，

as well as suave,

而且温文尔雅，

and not too distressing to the female eye.

在女性眼中也十分赏心悦目。

But, like many killers that come across this way, 短語動詞

但是，就像许多给人留下这种印象的杀手一样，

he suffered from narcissistic personality disorder.

他患有自恋型人格障碍。

In short, 表達脈絡

简而言之，

that means someone who has feelings of grandiosity,

这意味着他有着强烈的自大狂心理，

is always seeking admiration,

总是在寻求赞赏，

yet seems to have no empathy whatsoever. 語法

却似乎毫无同理心。

Do you know anyone who fits that description? 短語搭配

你认识符合这种描述的人吗？

If so,

如果认识，

they can tick a box for possible future serial killer. 習語

他们很可能具备了成为未来连环杀手的潜质。

So,

那么，

our charmer Mr. Haigh was born July 24th, 1909.

我们充满魅力的 Haigh 先生出生于1909年7月24日。

He grew up near a place called Wakefield,

他在一个叫 Wakefield 的地方附近长大，

which is located in West Yorkshire, Northern England.

该地位于英格兰北部的西约克郡。

They say it's grim up north in that part of the UK. 文化背景

人们说在英国的那个北部地区很阴冷。

Back in Haigh's day, 短語搭配

在 Haigh 那个年代，

it really was a grim place,

那里确实是个阴冷的地方，

being the backbone of industrial England. 習語

作为英格兰工业的骨干地带。

But it seems John wasn't sent to work down the coal mine or in one of the textile mills.

但似乎 John 并没有被派去煤矿或者纺织厂工作。

No,

不，

this lucky lad had it easier than some.

这个幸运的小伙子过得比一些人要轻松。

But he had some setbacks.

但他确实也经历了一些挫折。

Haigh is yet another serial killer that came from a very religious family.

Haigh 也是一位来自非常虔诚的宗教家庭的连环杀手。

We sure are seeing a pattern in this series.

我们在这个系列中确实看到了一个普遍规律。

In fact,

事实上，

Haigh's dad,

据说，

it's said,

Haigh 的父亲，

had a mark on his head that he told his son had been put there by God

头上有一个印记，他告诉儿子那是上帝留下的，

as a brand to show that he had sinned in the past.

作为他过去犯过罪的烙印。

The dad apparently told young John that if he sinned,

这位父亲显然告诉小 John，如果他犯罪，

he'd get a mark too.

他也会得到一个印记。

But the mother could not fall victim to God's branding iron, 短語搭配

但他的母亲不会成为上帝烙铁的受害者，

as she was an angel.

因为她是个天使。

Not surprisingly,

毫不奇怪，

with this being told to John,

从小被灌输这些观念的 John，

he had a fuzzy sense of reality. 習語

对现实有着模糊的认知。

He even committed a few sins as a child,

他小时候甚至犯下过一些小罪，

and as he wasn't marked,

既然他没有被烙上印记，

it's said he sinned some more.

据说他后来就变本加厉了。

He thought he'd escaped the wrath of God. 用詞

他以为自己逃过了上帝的愤怒。

Meanwhile,

与此同时，

it's said he went through his childhood suffering from terrible religious themed nightmares.

据说他在童年时期饱受以宗教为主题的可怕噩梦的折磨。

He didn't even get to talk to other kids,

他甚至不能和其他孩子说话，

as his dad built a huge fence around the house

因为他父亲在房子周围建了一道巨大的栅栏

to keep other not so pious people out.

为了把其他不太虔诚的人挡在外面。

But young John had some skills.

但小 John 掌握了一些技能。

He was brilliant at playing piano

他非常擅长弹钢琴

and from a young age showed an interest in classical music. 短語搭配

从小就对古典音乐表现出浓厚兴趣。

He won scholarships to good schools

他赢得了好几所优秀学校的奖学金

and later a scholarship to Wakefield Cathedral.

后来又获得了韦克菲尔德大教堂的奖学金。

There he became a choir boy,

在那里他成为了唱诗班男孩，

which is perhaps a vocation you don't expect of a future serial killer.

这也许是你对未来的连环杀手所意想不到的职业。

After that,

那之后，

he worked in a garage as he was very fond of automobiles,

因为他非常喜欢汽车，他在一家修车厂工作，

but he had to leave because he couldn't stand the dirt. 短語搭配

但他不得不离开，因为他受不了那里的脏污。

It's even said he would only work on cars wearing rubber gloves and a mask.

甚至有人说他只有戴着橡胶手套和口罩才会修理汽车。

Haigh found a job to his liking, 短語搭配

Haigh 找到了一份他喜欢的工作，

one that could be said to be in line with acts of cunning. 短語搭配

一份可以说与狡猾行为相一致的工作。

That was working in advertising.

那就是从事广告业。

But this is where his life of criminality started.

但这就是他犯罪生涯的起点。

He was fired for stealing.

他因偷窃被解雇了。

That didn't stop him from getting a wife, though, 語法

不过这并没有阻止他娶妻，

and he was married in 1934 to a woman he hardly knew.

他在1934年和一个几乎不认识的女人结了婚。

She filed for divorce within a few months after our man was charged with fraud. 短語搭配

在我们的主人公被控诈骗几个月后，她就申请了离婚。

The child inside her would later be adopted.

她肚子里的孩子后来被收养了。

So now we have a single man serving some time in jail.

现在我们这里有一个正在监狱服刑的单身汉。

He gets out and becomes a recidivist, 用詞

他出狱后成了一名惯犯，

meaning he didn't stop committing fraud.

意味着他没有停止诈骗。

In fact,

事实上，

he was jailed many more times for doing things such as forging signatures on checks when buying cars

他又多次入狱，原因包括在买车时伪造支票签名

or selling fraudulent stock shares that were too good to be true. 習語

或者出售好得令人难以置信的欺诈性股票。

He was good at his job as he was articulate,

他非常擅长干这一行，因为他口齿伶俐、

smart,

聪明，

and handsome,

而且英俊，

which goes a long way if you want to become a good fraudster. 習語

如果你想成为一个优秀的骗子，这些特质会大有帮助。

The problem was he kept getting caught.

问题是他总是被抓。

And so,

于是，

while sitting in his jail cell,

在监狱的牢房里坐着时，

he came up with a cunning plan. 短語動詞

他想出了一个狡猾的计划。

If it's the victims that keep getting me in trouble by blowing the whistle, 習語

如果是因为受害者告发才让我不断惹上麻烦，

just make sure there are no victims,

那只要确保没有受害者就可以了，

meaning nothing left of them at all.

意思是一点痕迹都不留。

Banish them.

让他们彻底消失。

His inspiration for this was a French serial killer named George Alexandre Sarret,

他对此的灵感来源于一位名叫 George Alexandre Sarret 的法国连环杀手，

who had dissolved his victims in acid.

他用酸把受害者溶解了。

Perhaps John should have read further in that his inspiration ended up losing his head to the guillotine. 習語

也许 John 应该往下读读，因为他的灵感来源最终在断头台上失去了脑袋。

Out of prison,

出狱后，

Haigh got his hands on some sulfuric acid 習語

Haigh 弄到了一些硫酸

and dropped some mice in pots of it.

并把几只老鼠扔进了装有硫酸的罐子里。

Yep,

没错，

they dissolved.

它们溶解了。

Now,

现在，

does that work on humans?

这招对人类管用吗？

Yes is the answer,

答案是肯定的，

and it's very effective.

而且非常有效。

According to one story about certain ways of dissolving bodies,

根据一篇关于溶尸特定方法的文章，

acid is a great way,

强酸是个好办法，

although the fumes are terrible

尽管气味非常难闻，

and it is dangerous as it can burn you.

而且很危险，因为它会灼伤你。

According to that same article,

根据同一篇文章，

Haigh did this.

Haigh 就是这么做的。

He processed the bodies in a 45-gallon oil drum

他在一个45加仑的油桶里处理尸体

and reported that the victims dissolved completely in about 2 days.

并报告说受害者在大约2天内就完全溶解了。

It's said he did this to six people,

据说他对六个人这样做了，

but there could have been three more. 語法

但可能还有另外三个。

Who were they

他们是谁

and how did he kill them?

他又是如何杀死他们的？

More importantly,

更重要的是，

why the hell did he kill them? 用詞

他到底为什么要杀他们？

Maybe this quote from him can partly answer that.

也许他自己的这句话可以部分回答这个问题。

When I first discovered there were easier ways to make a living than to work long hours in an office, 短語搭配

“当我第一次发现有比在办公室长时间工作更容易谋生的方法时，

I did not ask myself whether I was doing right or wrong. 語法

我并没有问自己我做的是对还是错。

That seemed to me to be irrelevant.

那对我来说似乎无关紧要。

I merely said,

我只是说，

"This is what I wish to do."

‘这就是我想做的事。’”

He added,

他补充道，

"Go after women, 短語動詞

“去追逐女人，

rich, old women

富有、年长的女人

who like a bit of flattery.

那些喜欢被奉承的人。

That's your market if you are after big money." 用詞

如果你为了赚大钱，那就是你的市场。”

But he didn't just kill older women.

但他不仅杀害年长女性。

His first victim was a friend and former employer named William McSwan.

他的第一个受害者是一位朋友兼前雇主，名叫 William McSwan。

He hit him over the head

他猛击他的头部

and threw his body in acid.

把他的尸体扔进了酸液里。

A few days later,

几天后，

and McSwan was nothing but sludge. 短語搭配

McSwan 就只剩下一滩淤泥了。

Haigh told McSwan's parents that their son had run away to avoid being called up for war. 文化背景

Haigh 告诉 McSwan 的父母，他们的儿子为了逃避征兵逃跑了。

At the same time,

同时，

Haigh was collecting his pension checks,

Haigh 在领他的养老金支票，

living in and later selling his properties.

住在他的房产里，并随后将其变卖。

He was flush with money at this point, 習語

这时候他非常阔绰，

but often gambled large amounts away. 短語動詞

但经常在赌博中挥霍大量钱财。

The parents became very suspicious,

这对父母变得非常怀疑，

so Haigh invited them to his house

所以 Haigh 邀请他们来他家

after telling them their son was back and was dying to see them. 習語

告诉他们他们的儿子回来了，非常想见他们。

Only they died after being hit over the head. 表達脈絡

结果他们在被猛击头部后死亡。

Then they took a bath John had prepared for them. 習語

然后他们泡了 John 为他们准备的“浴”。

This conniver would be invited to the houses of the wealthy to play piano,

这个阴谋家会被邀请到富人家里弹钢琴，

only while hitting every note, 習語

但在弹奏每一个音符的同时，

he was noting what he could steal.

他都在留意有什么可以偷的。

He shot a wealthy couple he had played for

他枪杀了一对他曾为之演奏的富有夫妇

and then stole all their belongings

然后偷走了他们所有的财物

as well as forging their signature to buy more things.

还伪造他们的签名买了更多的东西。

They took a bath

他们也洗了个“浴”

and John emptied out the sludge later.

随后 John 清空了淤泥。

His final victim was a wealthy old woman,

他的最后一位受害者是一位富有的老妇人，

one whose husband had passed already.

她的丈夫已经过世了。

She met Haigh,

她遇到了 Haigh，

who said he was an engineer.

他自称是一名工程师。

She then told him she had this great idea to make artificial fingernails.

她当时告诉他，她有一个制造假指甲的好主意。

Haigh said,

Haigh 说，

"Wonderful,

“太棒了，

come to my place

来我家，

and we'll get to work." 短語搭配

我们开工吧。”

Only he shot her

结果他却开枪打死了她

and she became another person to take his special bath.

她也成了另一个洗他“特制浴”的人。

He took her valuables,

他拿走了她的贵重物品，

but it seems that was all.

但这似乎就是全部了。

The cops had a lead 短語搭配

警察找到了线索，

as someone had seen Haigh with the missing rich woman.

因为有人看到 Haigh 和失踪的富妇在一起。

They visited his workshop,

他们搜查了他的作坊，

whereupon they found evidence that linked Haigh to all of the murders above. 用詞

结果发现了把 Haigh 和上述所有谋杀案联系起来的证据。

He was arrested,

他被逮捕了，

but he actually thought he would get away with it. 短語動詞

但他竟然以为自己能逃脱惩罚。

You see,

你看，

Haigh thought that if there were no bodies, 語法

Haigh 认为，如果没有尸体，

then you couldn't be convicted.

那就不能被定罪。

He studied law

他研究过法律

and the term corpus delicti, 文化背景

以及“corpus delicti”这个术语，

which basically means there must be evidence before you can be convicted.

这基本上意味着在你被定罪之前必须有证据。

Corpus meaning body

Corpus 意思是身体，

and delicti meaning crime,

delicti 意思是犯罪，

so body of the crime.

所以合起来就是犯罪的证据（尸体）。

But the cops had evidence.

但警察找到了证据。

They even found parts of bodies where Haigh had dumped the sludge,

他们甚至在 Haigh 倾倒淤泥的地方找到了部分尸体残骸，

including bits of dentures,

包括假牙碎片、

gallstones,

胆结石、

a bit of a foot,

一小部分脚

and some human fat.

和一些人类脂肪。

Even though this sounds repulsive to us, 語法

尽管这对我们来说听起来很恶心，

some reports tell us that Haigh was also repulsed

一些报告告诉我们 Haigh 也感到恶心

and found the whole matter of killing and dissolving rather unpleasant.

并觉得杀人和溶解的整个过程相当令人不快。

For him,

对他来说，

it was just the best way to steal

这只是偷窃的最好方法

and get away with it.

而且能逍遥法外。

Haigh tried to plead insane, 短語搭配

Haigh 试图以精神错乱为由进行辩护，

given the gravity of his crimes 語法

考虑到他罪行的严重性

and the fact he was versed in law, 短語搭配

以及他精通法律的事实，

but the judge didn't believe him.

但法官不相信他。

He talked of nightmares he had from being a young child,

他谈到自己小时候做的噩梦，

trying to sound crazy,

试图让自己听起来像个疯子，

but it didn't work.

但没有奏效。

He was hanged

他被绞死了

at the hands of prolific hangman 短語搭配

死在行刑无数的刽子手手中

Albert Pierrepoint on August 10th, 1949.

他叫 Albert Pierrepoint，时间是1949年8月10日。

As the story goes, 表達脈絡

传说，

just before he was hanged,

就在他被绞死前，

he was asked by one of the guards if he wanted a drink,

一名警卫问他是否想喝一杯，

perhaps a brandy.

也许来点白兰地。

Haigh replied,

Haigh 回答道，

"Make it a large one,

“来杯大的，

old boy." 用詞

老兄。”

So,

那么，

do scammers ever get away with it?

骗子真的能逍遥法外吗？

Does crime pay? 習語

犯罪真的能得逞吗？

It seems not. 語法

似乎不行。

But why not tell us in the comments what you think about this

但为什么不在评论区告诉我们你的想法呢

and the man we talked about today.

关于这件事以及我们今天谈论的这个男人。

Also,

此外，

be sure to check out our other video

请一定要看看我们的另一段视频

called Leonarda Cianciulli,

叫 Leonarda Cianciulli，

aka the Human Flesh Soap Maker.

也就是“人肉肥皂制造者”。

Thanks for watching,

感谢收看，

and as always,

一如既往，

don't forget to like,

别忘了点赞、

share,

分享，

and subscribe.

和订阅。

See you next time.

下次见。