The Boogey Man, Brooklyn Vampire, Moon Maniac, and The Gray Man are some examples of werewolves. All of these horrifying names belonged to Hamilton Howard Albert Fish.
Fish was a ruthless monster that enjoyed eating and raped children. You might discover that after seeing and reading about him, he starts to appear frequently in your nightmares. Make yourself ready.
The less than ideal boyhood of Albert Fish
When Fish was born, Fish’s father, who was 75 at the time, passed quite quickly. Fish ended up in a terrible orphanage because his mother was unable to care for him or his siblings. There, caregivers would frequently beat the kids and even incite them to injure each other (a tradition Fish would later bring into the lives of his own children).
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Fish developed a preference for these beatings, unlike most kids. He even gave himself self-inflicted beatings when his mother eventually took him back, and he quickly developed a psycho-sexual fixation on the relationship between pleasure and suffering. Fish developed into a true masochist (no pun intended).
Fish came from a long line of mentally disturbed people. Uncles, brothers, sisters, and finally his mother were all on the list. The mother of Fish experienced frequent visual hallucinations.
Albert Fish’s masochism and sexual deviation
Fish started performing sexual self-mutilation experiments. His favourite habit was to insert needles into his stomach and crotch. Fish also enjoyed whipping himself with a paddle that was covered in nails. In 1882, he discovered through a friendship with a telegraph boy that he found pleasure in consuming human waste and in the concept of urinating.
Fish had unusual sexual interests, which quickly turned into extreme BDSM gone bad. He began to wonder what it would be like to cause others unwarranted suffering. Fish started a sadomasochistic connection with Thomas Kedden, a house painter, in 1910.
Fish imprisoned Kedden in an abandoned farmhouse ten days into their romance. He tortured Kedden and even removed a portion of his penis. Fish then made the snap decision that he had had enough for the day. Fish gave Kedden a ten dollar bill in appreciation for his assistance and kissed him good-bye after wrapping his penis in a handkerchief lined with Vaseline. Some claim that at this point Fish started to feel homicidal inclinations.
A taste for cannibalism develops in Albert Fish
Fish did get married despite his odd behaviours and developing indicators of mental instability. Fish was married and fathered six children with a woman who subsequently left him for a boarder after Fish was unable to hide his mental illness. Fish’s children were aware of his peculiar behaviours and his frequent auditory hallucinations. Fortunately, they assert that Fish’s worst treatment of them was to introduce them to mildly sadomasochistic activities. Other kids weren’t as fortunate.
Fish began to obsess over the notion of cannibalism. He started by consuming raw meat, just like many aspiring cannibals. When that wasn’t enough, he started kidnapping young kids who he would assault before eating.
Fish asserted that he “had” youngsters to watch over in every state in the United States. It’s unclear if he meant the number of people he sexually assaulted or the number of people he ate. Fish would choose black or destitute kids so that the public wouldn’t realise they were missing. He devised a method of kidnapping young individuals looking for jobs, which was published in the newspaper. This would ultimately lead to his demise.
Fishing for Albert
18-year-old Edward Budd was looking for farm labour. Fish went to visit the family after seeing this in an advertisement. He lured Edward to do fake farm work, then intended to kill and mutilate him. But while Fish prepared his trap, he noticed Edward’s sister, a young girl of 10. Grace turned out to be a much better match for his nasty appetite. Grace Budd, he’d chow down.
Fish had made a visit to the Budd home while posing as Frank Howard. He informed Grace’s parents that he intended to attend his niece’s birthday celebration and that he was unsure whether Grace would be interested in attending with him. Unaware that they were witnessing Grace walk hand in hand with Fish for the very last time, her poor parents gave their approval.
Fish took Grace to one of his homes in upstate New York and instructed her to spend some time playing outside. To avoid getting his clothes stained with blood while she played, Fish undressed himself. He then signalled for Grace to enter via a window. When Grace saw Fish in a naked state, she started to cry and promised to notify her mother. She attempted to flee, but Fish caught her and imprisoned her in a room before torturing and killing her.
Fish took Grace to one of his homes in upstate New York and instructed her to spend some time playing outside. To avoid getting his clothes stained with blood while she played, Fish undressed himself. He then signalled for Grace to enter via a window. When Grace saw Fish in a naked state, she started to cry and promised to notify her mother. She attempted to flee, but Fish caught her and imprisoned her in a room before torturing and killing her.
He wanted to spread terror because he had already gotten away with killing, raping, and devouring so many children, but authorities were able to find him. The letter was written on a special piece of paper that belonged to the hotel where he was spending the night.
Albert Fish admits.
Fish gave an enthusiastic and pressure-free confession when the police finally caught up with him because he had been so inspired to share the specifics of his numerous murders. Police were only able to corroborate three of the several deaths he confessed to.
During his evaluation by psychiatrists, Fish admitted to having more than ten sexual fetishes. Pedophilia, infibulation, and exhibitionism were a few of them. At Fish’s trial, the prosecution argued insanity and he claimed that God had told him to abuse, kill, and eat his victims. The jurors believed that Fish should be put to death even though it had been established that he was mad.
Billy Gaffney’s abduction and murder was mentioned in one of Fish’s savage confessions.
Fish described the horrific details of Billy’s mutilation: “I whipped his bare buttocks till the blood poured from his legs. I severed his ears, nose, and mouth, going from ear to ear. his eyes were gouged out. At that point, he had passed away. I stabbed him in the stomach, kept my mouth close to his body, and drank his blood.
Albert Fish was killed by electric chair on January 16, 1936. Fish was given permission to record the specifics of his numerous killings and kidnappings before he passed away. The notes were so abhorrent that Fish’s attorney refused to allow their dissemination.
I will never show it to anyone, his attorney vowed. It was the filthiest string of swear words I’ve ever read.
Where can I find more information on Albert Fish?
Albert Fish, a documentary by John Borowski, was released in 2007. Available on Amazon Prime, it is a one and a half hour long feature.
In 2007, a movie on Albert Fish was also produced. Albert Fish is played by Patrick Bauchau in the film The Gray Man. This suspense/crime film is accessible on GooglePlay and YouTube.
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