What I have written about today will disturb some people, so if you are easily disturbed you might not want to read his letters. Don't say I didn't warn you. Pedophile, murderer, rapist, torturer, cannibal, serial killer are just a few of the things you could say Albert Fish was.

Let me continue my tales of true events so vile they will want to make you stay indoors holding your loved ones tight this Halloween.

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THE DISTURBED MAN Albert Fish 1903 mugshot

Albert Fish was born in 1870 to a 32 year old mother and a 75 year old father. His family had a history of mental illness. His mother suffered from hallucinations of both sight and sound. An uncle from mania. His brother was sent to a mental hospital, his sister was diagnosed with a mental affliction, and three other relatives had some form of mental illness too.

When his elderly father died when Albert was 5 years old, he was sent to live in an orphanage until he was nearly 10 years old. He suffered from much abuse, but was said to have come to enjoy it. He later said about his life there “that's where I got started wrong. We were unmercifully whipped. I saw boys doing many things they should not have done."

You can see where all this is heading now, can't you? He also said "I always had the desire to inflict pain on others and to have others inflict pain on me. I always seemed to enjoy everything that hurt. The desire to inflict pain, that is all that is uppermost."

At age 10 his mother came back to take care of him again, but he was already changed. At 12 years old he had a relationship with another boy where they ate feces and drank urine. Fish would also go to public baths so he could watch other boys undress and see them naked. At the age of 20 he was living in New York City and working as a male prostitute, where he said he also found young boys to rape.

When Fish was 28 his mother arranged for him to marry a young 19 year old lady, and they had six children. During this time he worked as a house painter but said he continued to rape boys, mostly under 6. In 1903 he was convicted of embezzlement and did some time in the notorious Sing Sing prison, where he regularly had sex with other inmates.

He said he visited a wax museum once where there was a display of a bisected penis, which fascinated him greatly. In 1910 he said he was in a relationship with a man named Thomas Kedden, who was mentally disabled. 10 days into the relationship he took Thomas to an abandoned farmhouse and proceeded to torture him for two weeks.

The torture ended when Fish cut the man’s penis in half lengthwise, like the waxwork one he had seen. He confessed he planned to kill the man and take his cut up body back home with him, but the weather was hot and he feared he would be caught. So he ended up pouring peroxide over the other half of the penis and wrapping it in a cloth. Then he left a $10 bill, kissed him goodbye and left him tied up in the old farmhouse. "Took first train I could to get back home. Never heard what become of him, or tried to find out."

In 1917 his wife left him, and Albert had to take care of the kids alone. He was said to experience voices, one of which was John the Apostle who said for him to wrap himself in the carpet. He also was said to enjoy just eating raw meat, to embed needles into his groin area, hit himself with a nail-studded paddle, and to stuff lighter fluid soaked wool into his anus and light it on fire. One good thing though, it was never claimed that he harmed his own children physically - but they had to deal with his issues.

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THE (KNOWN) MURDERS

Grace Budd

His work as a painter led him to travel all across the country. In 1919 he was said to have stabbed a young mentally disabled boy in Washington D.C. He said he selected African-Americans and mentally disabled victims because he believed they would not be missed as much. He said he would torture and mutilate them with his “implements of hell”; butcher knife, meat cleaver, and hacksaw.

One little girl was saved by her mother. In 1924 he found 8 year old Beatrice Kiel playing on her family’s farm. He managed to convince her to help him come find rhubarb by saying he would give her money. Her mother saw Beatrice walking away with Fish and chased him off. Later that night Fish had circled back and was hiding in the barn when the father saw him and ran him off.

In 1928 he answered an ad in the paper (he also loved to send nasty letters to women looking for marriage or relationships) of an 18 year old man looking for work named Edward Budd. He posed as a prospective employer and said he planned to murder Edward once he had him alone, but when he saw how strong Edward was he didn’t think he could accomplish it. During the meeting at the Budd residence he saw Edward’s 10 year old sister, Grace, and changed his plans to abduct her instead. At the next meeting he said he would love to take 10 year old Grace to his nieces birthday party, to which the parents agreed. She was never seen again.

For Grace's murder police arrested 66 year old Charles Pope, who was accused of the crime by his estranged wife. He was found not guilty. Investigators had no clue to who Fish was. He would not have been found out but he had to boast, and in November of 1934 a letter arrived at the Budd residence.

Dear Mrs. Budd. In 1894 a friend of mine shipped as a deck hand on the Steamer Tacoma, Capt. John Davis. They sailed from San Francisco for Hong Kong, China. On arriving there he and two others went ashore and got drunk. When they returned the boat was gone. At that time there was famine in China. Meat of any kind was from $1–3 per pound. So great was the suffering among the very poor that all children under 12 were sold for food in order to keep others from starving. A boy or girl under 14 was not safe in the street. You could go in any shop and ask for steak—chops—or stew meat. Part of the naked body of a boy or girl would be brought out and just what you wanted cut from it. A boy or girl’s behind which is the sweetest part of the body and sold as veal cutlet brought the highest price. John staid [sic] there so long he acquired a taste for human flesh. On his return to N.Y. he stole two boys, one 7 and one 11. Took them to his home stripped them naked tied them in a closet. Then burned everything they had on. Several times every day and night he spanked them – tortured them – to make their meat good and tender. First he killed the 11 year old boy, because he had the fattest ass and of course the most meat on it. Every part of his body was cooked and eaten except the head—bones and guts. He was roasted in the oven (all of his ass), boiled, broiled, fried and stewed. The little boy was next, went the same way. At that time, I was living at 409 E 100 St. near—right side. He told me so often how good human flesh was I made up my mind to taste it. On Sunday June the 3, 1928 I called on you at 406 W 15 St. Brought you pot cheese—strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to eat her. On the pretense of taking her to a party. You said yes she could go. I took her to an empty house in Westchester I had already picked out. When we got there, I told her to remain outside. She picked wildflowers. I went upstairs and stripped all my clothes off. I knew if I did not I would get her blood on them. When all was ready I went to the window and called her. Then I hid in a closet until she was in the room. When she saw me all naked she began to cry and tried to run down the stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would tell her mamma. First I stripped her naked. How she did kick – bite and scratch. I choked her to death, then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms. Cook and eat it. How sweet and tender her little ass was roasted in the oven. It took me 9 days to eat her entire body. I did not fuck her tho I could of had I wished. She died a virgin.

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THE ARREST Fish arriving at the courthouse

This letter led to the arrest of Albert Fish. It had been written on stationary barely marked (detectives could only read it under a microscope) with N.Y.P.C.B.A., "New York Private Chauffeur's Benevolent Association". Police asked around and a janitor said he had left some behind in a room he had rented. It was found that the next occupant had been Albert Fish, he had stopped renting the room just a few days ago but he asked the landlady to hold onto a letter that should be coming for him. His son had sent a check. A detective waited for Fish to come back to claim it and was taking Fish back to the police station when Fish turned and lunged at the officer with razor blades in both hands. The detective managed to subdue the elderly Fish.

Later, after being convicted of her murder, he would go on to confess about more of his crimes in an attempt to be declared insane. He was said to have a big smile as he remembered what he had done to the children.

Francis

In 1924, just five days after being chased off by Beatrice’s parents (the farm girl), a little 9 year old boy was found dead. Francis McDonnell was found in the woods, he had been raped, mutilated and strangled. Earlier that day his mother had seen an old gray haired tramp walking down the street mumbling, clenching and unclenching his fists. Later that day Francis had been playing ball with 3 other boys when a gray haired man called him over. His friends said they played a bit and looked back and Francis and the gray haired man were gone.

When Francis didn’t show up for dinner his father, who was a policeman, organized a search where they discovered the scene and the mutilated corpse. They never did find the “Gray Man” back then.

Billy

In 1928 3 year old Beaton and 4 year old Gaffney were playing in their Brooklyn Apartment buildings hallway when they disappeared. Later the 3 year old was discovered hiding on the roof, when asked what happened to the other boy he could only say “the boogeyman took him”. Fish wrote the following about this murder in a letter to his attorney after his arrest.

I brought him to the Riker Ave. dumps. There is a house that stands alone, not far from where I took him ... I took the G boy there. Stripped him naked and tied his hands and feet and gagged him with a piece of dirty rag I picked out of the dump. Then I burned his clothes. Threw his shoes in the dump. Then I walked back and took trolley to 59 St. at 2 A.M. and walked home from there. Next day about 2 P.M., I took tools, a good heavy cat-of-nine tails. Home made. Short handle. Cut one of my belts in half, slit these half in six strips about 8 in. long. I whipped his bare behind till the blood ran from his legs. I cut off his ears – nose – slit his mouth from ear to ear. Gouged out his eyes. He was dead then. I stuck the knife in his belly and held my mouth to his body and drank his blood. I picked up four old potato sacks and gathered a pile of stones. Then I cut him up. I had a grip with me. I put his nose, ears and a few slices of his belly in the grip. Then I cut him thru the middle of his body. Just below his belly button. Then thru his legs about 2 in. below his behind. I put this in my grip with a lot of paper. I cut off the head – feet – arms – hands and the legs below the knee. This I put in sacks weighed with stones, tied the ends and threw them into the pools of slimy water you will see all along the road going to North Beach. Water is 3 to 4 ft. deep. They sank at once. I came home with my meat. I had the front of his body I liked best. His monkey and pee wees and a nice little fat behind to roast in the oven and eat. I made a stew out of his ears – nose – pieces of his face and belly. I put onions, carrots, turnips, celery, salt and pepper. It was good. Then I split the cheeks of his behind open, cut off his monkey and pee wees and washed them first. I put strips of bacon on each cheek of his behind and put in the oven. Then I picked 4 onions and when meat had roasted about 1/4 hr., I poured about a pint of water over it for gravy and put in the onions. At frequent intervals I basted his behind with a wooden spoon. So the meat would be nice and juicy. In about 2 hr., it was nice and brown, cooked thru. I never ate any roast turkey that tasted half as good as his sweet fat little behind did. I ate every bit of the meat in about four days. His little monkey was as sweet as a nut, but his pee-wees I could not chew. Threw them in the toilet.

Little Billy Gaffney’s remains were never found.

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THE END OF A HORRIBLE PERSON Albert Fish on an electric chair practice run

These three victims are the only ones Albert Fish was officially charged with completing. Prosecutors linked him to around 100 unsolved molestation and missing children cases, but could not gather enough evidence to convict. While in prison he boasted he had killed or molested more than 400 children and 'had' a child in every state. He was quoted as saying "I like children they are tasty" and "I never ate any roast turkey that tasted half as good."

His attorney tried to get him off by claiming he was insane because of lead poisoning from his work as a painter (they used lead in paint back then). He also said that Fish was suffering from delusions and hallucinations, things that told him to torture and kill in the name of God. However, fish was deemed mentally fit to stand trial and found guilty. Sentenced to die, he was electrocuted on January 16, 1936. He was rumored to be very excited to experience the pain of the chair.

Fish’s last words were

”I don’t even know why I’m here.”

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Sources:

• Albert Hamilton FISH
• Albert Fish
• The Disturbing Case of Cannibalistic Serial Killer Albert Fish
• Wikipedia

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