If there is a superstar among all serial killers, it is Albert Fish—the twisted nature of his crimes made him infamous for nearly a century now after having strangled 10-year-old Grace Budd and cannibalized her entire body. Grace’s parents never knew what happened to their little girl until Albert wrote them a letter years later, narrating every gruesome detail of the murder.
Not surprisingly, Albert Fish didn’t have an idyllic childhood. Entering the world on May 19, 1870, he was born with the name Hamilton Fish, though wished to go by Albert after a dead sibling and to escape the nickname ‘’Ham & Eggs’’. His 75-year-old father died when Albert was just five years of age. Albert’s entire family had a history of mental illness, and his mother, whom he was left in the care of after his father’s passing, suffered from hallucinations. Unable to support Albert, she placed him in an orphanage where he was treated sadistically. Albert eventually grew to derive pleasure from the unmerciful beatings he received. By the time he was 9, his mother was a little more stable and able to take care of him. At the age of 12, Albert began a relationship with a telegraph boy who introduced to him such practices as drinking urine and eating feces. He began spending most of his weekends visiting public baths to watch other boys undress. By 1890 he began raping young boys and in 1898 had gotten married and had six children. Although he never abused his kids, he would sometimes make them spank him with a nail-studded paddle to satisfy his own masochistic desires. Albert would also embed multiple needles into his abdomen and even stuff wool drenched with lighter fluid into his anus, which he set ablaze. Due to his psychological makeup and rough upbringing, Albert Fish was pretty much doomed to a life of crime and sadism from the start.
