H. H. 霍姆斯——美国历史上最可怕的连环杀手？：英语精读讲义

What makes a serial killer the worst of his or her kind? 表達脈絡

是什么让一个连环杀手成为同类中最恶劣的？

Well, it's probably a few things,

嗯，可能由于几个原因，

such as the body count, but for most people, 講解

比如杀人数，但对大多数人来说，

it would more likely be the nature of the killing. 語法

更有可能是杀人的手段。

The UK's Harold Shipman, aka Dr. Death,

英国的Harold Shipman，又名“死亡医生”，

may have killed well over 200 people, 語法

可能杀害了200多人，

but you could say his modus operandi wasn't as depraved as some killers. 用詞

但你可以说他的作案手法没有一些杀手那么堕落。

Richard Ramirez, the American Satanist,

美国撒旦教徒Richard Ramirez，

got up close and personal to his victims and did all manner of horrific things to them. 講解

近距离接触他的受害者，并对他们做尽了各种可怕的事情。

Albert Fish tortured, mutilated, killed, and ate children,

Albert Fish折磨、肢解、杀害并吃掉儿童，

and he was subsequently called a psychiatric phenomenon.

他随后被称为精神病学上的一个奇观。

The list goes on, 表達脈絡

这样的例子不胜枚举，

and the total depravity of killers can chill your spine. 習語

杀手们那彻头彻尾的堕落能让你脊背发凉。

Today, we are going to feature one person who often receives the superlative of worst.

今天，我们将要介绍一个经常被冠以“最恶劣”之名的人。

In this episode of The Infographics Show,

在这一期的《The Infographics Show》中，

H. H. Holmes,

H. H. Holmes，

is he the worst serial killer in US history?

他是美国历史上最恶劣的连环杀手吗？

Where do we start?

我们从哪里开始呢？

Well,

嗯，

what about the fairly recent revelations that the killer who was the focus of today's show may have been none other than Jack the Ripper? 短語搭配

最近有爆料称今天节目的焦点杀手可能正是开膛手杰克，这事你怎么看？

It's an outside chance, 短語搭配

这是一个极小的可能性，

and no indisputable evidence has been seen,

而且也没有看到确凿的证据，

but the great-great-grandson of Herman Webster Mudgett,

但是Herman Webster Mudgett的玄孙，

aka H. H. Holmes,

也就是H. H. Holmes，

aka the Devil in the White City,

又名“白城魔鬼”，

came forward in 2017 and said he had evidence that proved his deceased relative was London's infamous Ripper. 短語動詞

在2017年站出来说，他有证据证明他已故的亲戚就是伦敦臭名昭著的开膛手。

The great-great-grandson,

这位玄孙，

Jeff Mudgett, believes Holmes was never actually executed,

Jeff Mudgett，相信Holmes其实从未被处决，

having found a way out of it after employing his well-known trickery.

而是施展了他著名的诡计逃脱了死刑。

He also claims that Holmes's diaries,

他还声称Holmes的日记，

which he is now the owner of, 語法

现在归他所有，

described viciously mutilating and murdering prostitutes in London.

描述了在伦敦残忍地肢解和谋杀妓女的过程。

Could the man said to be America's first serial killer be much worse than we thought? 語法

这个被称为美国第一个连环杀手的男人，会比我们想象的还要糟糕得多吗？

This is very likely not the case because in 2017,

这很可能不是真的，因为在2017年，

his body was exhumed and was found to be largely preserved

他的尸体被挖掘出来，发现保存得相当完好

due to the fact that Holmes got his wish and was buried in a coffin filled with concrete. 短語搭配

因为Holmes如愿以偿，被埋在一个填满混凝土的棺材里。

A DNA test was performed,

随后进行了一项DNA测试，

and indeed, it revealed that the preserved body was that of H. H. Holmes. 語法

结果确实表明，这具保存完好的尸体就是H. H. Holmes的。

So,

那么，

what about H. H. Holmes?

H. H. Holmes到底是怎么回事呢？

Why is he said to be one of the worst,

为什么他被称为是最恶劣的杀手之一，

if not the worst, 短語搭配

就算不是最恶劣的，

in history?

在历史上？

What exactly did he do to get that epithet?

他到底做了什么才得到这个称号？

First of all,

首先，

we don't know how many people he killed.

我们不知道他杀了多少人。

He confessed to 27 murders,

他承认了27起谋杀案，

but police have only ever been sure about nine of his murders.

但警方唯一能确定的只有他犯下的9起谋杀案。

Some people believe that he may have killed in the region of 200 people, 用詞

有些人认为他可能杀了大约200人，

but that is very questionable.

但这非常值得怀疑。

It isn't how many people he killed, however, 語法

然而，重要的不是他杀了多少人，

as we say, Dr. Shipman is never regarded as the worst killer,

正如我们所说，Shipman医生从未被认为是最恶劣的杀手，

but the manner in which he supposedly killed people.

而是他被认为杀人的方式。

He was said to be a sadist,

据说他是一个施虐狂，

a fellow with a brutal propensity for watching people suffer and feel pain, 短語搭配

一个有着看着别人受苦和感到痛苦的残忍癖好的人，

and he would do this when they were locked inside one of his torture rooms.

当他们被锁在他的一间酷刑室里时，他就会这样做。

But let's start from the beginning. 表達脈絡

但让我们从头开始。

He was born in New Hampshire on May 16th, 1861,

他于1861年5月16日出生在新罕布什尔州，

and his childhood has been written about extensively.

关于他的童年有大量的记载。

Did he torture animals,

他折磨动物了吗，

as many serial killers have been said to do, 語法

就像许多连环杀手据说做的那样，

or was his childhood fairly normal?

或者他的童年相当正常？

He is said to have admitted himself,

据说他自己承认过，

"I was born with the very devil in me.

"我生来体内就藏着真正的魔鬼。

The inclination to murder came to me as naturally 語法

谋杀的倾向对我来说是那么自然，

as the inspiration to do right comes to the majority of persons."

就像做正确之事的灵感降临在大多数人身上一样。"

His early life fits the pattern of regular folks.

他早年的生活符合普通人的模式。

He graduated high school,

他高中毕业，

got married,

结了婚，

had a kid,

有了孩子，

went to university.

上了大学。

He then dropped out of one university and later went to another from which he graduated.

然后他从一所大学辍学，后来去了另一所大学并顺利毕业。

If anything does point to his wicked ways, 語法

如果有任何事情能指出他邪恶的倾向，

it's that he studied human dissection

那就是他学习了人体解剖

and as a young man was said to be violent towards his wife.

而且据说年轻时对他的妻子有暴力倾向。

But then things got out of hand. 習語

但随后事情就失控了。

He started to move from city to city 語法

他开始在城市之间穿梭，

and on at least two occasions was linked to the murders of young boys.

并且至少有两次与年轻男孩的谋杀案有关。

One boy disappeared after allegedly being seen with Holmes,

一名男孩据称在被看到与Holmes在一起后失踪，

and another died after taking drugs from the pharmacy where Holmes worked.

另一名男孩在服用了Holmes工作的药房里的药后死亡。

He certainly liked to keep moving,

他显然喜欢不断搬家，

which could be the reason why most accounts of his life state that before he finally arrived in Chicago, 語法

这可能就是为什么大多数关于他生平的记录都指出，在最终到达芝加哥之前，

he had become a big-time swindler. 用詞

他已经成为了一名大骗子。

Notably,

值得注意的是，

it's said his cons involved insurance,

据说他的骗局涉及保险，

with one biography saying Holmes was stealing and mutilating medical cadavers

一本传记说Holmes偷窃并肢解医用尸体，

and pretending they were victims of accidents to collect money.

并假装他们是事故受害者来骗取钱财。

As for the dead children,

至于死去的孩子们，

police never linked them to Holmes.

警方从未将他们与Holmes联系起来。

It's only in retrospect that we might wonder if he had anything to do with them. 講解

只有在回想起来时，我们可能会怀疑他是否与他们有关。

In Chicago, though,

然而在芝加哥，

that's where the ghastly stuff really took place,

那才是真正发生可怕事情的地方，

when Holmes created his sick pièce de résistance that became known as his murder castle. 用詞

当时Holmes创造了他病态的“杰作”，后来被称为他的“谋杀城堡”。

This was a three-story building on Chicago's 63rd and Wallace Streets.

这是位于芝加哥第63街和华莱士街的一座三层建筑。

A huge place,

一个巨大的地方，

it took up an entire block. 短語動詞

它占据了整个街区。

He called it the World's Fair Hotel,

他称之为世界博览会酒店，

built for the upcoming World's Columbian Exposition, 文化背景

是为即将到来的芝加哥世界哥伦布纪念博览会建造的，

but it never really became a proper hotel.

但它从来没有真正成为一家像样的酒店。

Holmes had all manner of problems with suppliers

Holmes与供应商之间存在各种问题，

and was accused of possible insurance fraud when part of it burned down.

当其中一部分被烧毁时，他被指控可能存在保险欺诈行为。

It was always a shady project,

这始终是一个可疑的项目，

only because Holmes seemed to have a difficult relationship with anyone involved with it.

只因为Holmes似乎与任何参与其中的人关系都不好。

In 1937,

在1937年，

long after Holmes's arrest,

在Holmes被捕很久之后，

the Chicago Tribune described the place as queer, 用詞

《芝加哥论坛报》将这个地方形容为“古怪”，

stating it had chimneys stuck out where chimneys should never stick out,

指出它的烟囱从不该有烟囱的地方伸出来，

its stairways and ended nowhere in particular,

它的楼梯没有明确的终点，

winding passages brought the uninitiated with a frightful jerk back to where they had started from.

蜿蜒的通道猛地一下把不知情的人可怕地带回到起点。

They called it mysterious and crooked,

他们称其神秘而扭曲，

as distorted as the killer's mind,

就像凶手的心智一样扭曲，

with rooms with no doors and doors with no rooms. 表達脈絡

有无门的房间和无房间的门。

The stuff of nightmares. 習語

简直是噩梦般的存在。

The thing with the house is that Holmes was the only person who knew how it actually worked. 短語搭配

这栋房子的特别之处在于Holmes是唯一知道它到底如何运作的人。

It was kind of a maze,

它就像一个迷宫，

a house of horrors that made no sense to other people.

一个对其他人来说毫无意义的恐怖之屋。

It was to this mad place that he invited mainly young women to stay. 語法

正是到了这个疯狂的地方，他主要邀请年轻女性入住。

Some say it's hard to tell exactly what he did, though,

然而，有些人说很难说清他到底做了什么，

or who he killed,

或者他杀了谁，

only because the man who was married to three people at the same time

只因为这个同时与三个人结婚的男人

liked to tell a lot of lies.

喜欢撒很多谎。

Benjamin Pitezel was a friend of Holmes and also an accomplice in some of his crimes.

Benjamin Pitezel是Holmes的朋友，也是他一些罪行中的同谋。

Pitezel had agreed with Holmes to do a scam,

Pitezel曾同意与Holmes做个骗局，

whereby Pitezel's death would be faked and they would share a $10,000 life insurance payment. 用詞

即伪造Pitezel的死亡，然后他们平分10000美元的人寿保险金。

However,

然而，

Holmes never got a cadaver,

Holmes根本没去弄一具尸体，

which he would say was his friend's,

好让他能谎称是自己朋友的尸体，

rather he knocked his friend out with chloroform and then set him on fire. 短語動詞

而是用氯仿把他的朋友迷晕，然后放火烧了他。

Holmes later said he murdered three out of five of Pitezel's children. 語法

Holmes后来说他谋杀了Pitezel的五个孩子中的三个。

Two of their bodies were found buried in the hotel.

其中两具尸体被发现埋在酒店里。

Holmes is also said to have murdered his mistress,

据说Holmes还谋杀了他的情妇，

Julia Smith,

Julia Smith，

as well as her daughter, Pearl.

以及她的女儿Pearl。

No one knows exactly what happened to them,

没人确切知道她们遭遇了什么，

but they went missing while staying at the hotel.

但在住在这家酒店时她们失踪了。

This was not the first young woman who'd fallen for Holmes, 短語動詞

这不是第一个爱上Holmes的年轻女子，

who would die when staying with him,

并在与他同住时死去，

with several young women said to be his victims.

据说有好几位年轻女性成为了他的受害者。

One of the reasons why Holmes is so notorious

Holmes如此臭名昭著的原因之一

is because of the stories that surfaced about his home being a massive torture chamber.

是因为有故事流传，说他的家是一个巨大的酷刑室。

Some skeptics, though, 表達脈絡

不过，一些怀疑论者

have said that this has been greatly exaggerated.

表示这被严重夸大了。

These supposed exaggerations tell us that some of the rooms would have instruments of torture hidden in the walls,

这些所谓的夸张说法告诉我们，有些房间的墙里藏着刑具，

such as blow torches,

例如喷灯、

tools for tearing apart bodies,

用来撕裂人体的工具、

hidden poison, and corrosive acid.

隐藏的毒药和腐蚀性酸。

It's said there was a hanging room,

据说有一间绞刑室、

a torture rack,

一个酷刑架，

and that there were gas chambers,

还有毒气室、

a quicklime pit,

一个生石灰坑，

and also that the walls were iron-clad to prevent people from escaping.

墙壁是铁制的以防止人们逃跑。

Once they died,

一旦他们死去，

there were chutes from which the bodies could easily be disposed. 語法

还有可以将尸体轻易处理掉的滑槽。

But at the time,

但在当时，

newspapers were well known for their exaggeration, 短語搭配

报纸因喜欢夸大其词而闻名，

and later others said perhaps Holmes was not as bad as first thought. 語法

后来有人说，也许Holmes并不像最初想象的那么坏。

In The Gem of the Prairie,

在《The Gem of the Prairie》一书中，

an informal history of the Chicago underworld by Herbert Asbury,

这是Herbert Asbury关于芝加哥黑社会的一部非正式历史著作，

he writes that perhaps Holmes wasn't quite the sadistic torturer others had said he was.

他写道，也许Holmes并不完全像别人所说的那样是个施虐狂。

Maybe even his house of horrors was less of a trap made by a demented man than it was a badly built hotel. 語法

也许甚至他的恐怖之屋与其说是一个精神错乱者制造的陷阱，不如说是一家建得很糟糕的酒店。

We can find many websites that write sensational stories about him, 表達脈絡

我们可以找到很多写他耸人听闻故事的网站，

but more serious journalism is skeptical about his deeds.

但更严肃的新闻界对他的行为持怀疑态度。

Some people even doubt he said,

有些人甚至怀疑他是否说过，

"I was born with the very devil in me."

"我生来体内就藏着真正的魔鬼。"

In fact,

事实上，

it was later revealed that he was said to have a hanging room

后来有披露称，据说他有一间绞刑室

only because police found a rope, 表達脈絡

仅仅是因为警方发现了一根绳子，

and that he chopped his victims up

说他把受害者剁碎

only because they found knives in a worn-out table.

仅仅是因为他们在一张破旧的桌子里发现了刀具。

Mr. Holmes was no doubt a dastardly character, 語氣意圖

Holmes先生毫无疑问是一个卑鄙的角色，

a heartless swindler,

一个无情的骗子，

and a cruel murderer and thief.

一个残忍的杀人犯和小偷。

But as for the rest of the story,

但至于故事的其余部分，

maybe, 語氣意圖

也许，

just maybe,

仅仅是也许，

there has been some embellishments. 語法

存在一些润色和夸张。

So,

那么，

do you know more about H. H. Holmes that we neglected to mention here? 用詞

你知道更多关于H. H. Holmes但我们在这里忽略提及的事情吗？

Can you think of a serial killer more heinous than he? 語法

你能想到一个比他更十恶不赦的连环杀手吗？

Let us know in the comments.

请在评论中告诉我们。

Also,

另外，

be sure to check out our other video called The Most Infamous Serial Killer,

一定要去看看我们的另一个视频，名为《最臭名昭著的连环杀手，

Why He Was Never Found.

为什么他从未被找到》。

Thanks for watching,

感谢收看，

and as always,

像往常一样，

don't forget to like,

别忘了点赞、

share,

分享，

and subscribe.

并订阅。

See you next time.

下次见。