Premise: Herman Webster Mudgett ( May 16 , 1861 -- May 7 , 1896 ) , better known under the name of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or more commonly H. H. Holmes , was one of the first documented serial killers in the modern sense of the term . While he confessed to 27 murders , only nine could be plausibly confirmed and several of the murders he confessed to were people who were still alive . He is commonly said to have killed as many as 200 , though this figure is traceable only to 1940s pulp magazines .
Hypothesis: H. H. Holmes was not a murderer.
Label: CONTRADICTION