Albert Fish: America's Boogey Man

Criminal Albert Fish was known as "America's Boogeyman". Although he appeared to be a kind, older man, he was a cannibal with a particular taste for children.

Fish's life was apparently never normal. Born in 1870 to a family with a strong history of insanity, he was often whipped and abused. He eventually became aroused by his abuse. According to the FBI, as many as 42% of serial killers were severely abused as children. As many as 74% endured long term psychological torture.

In 1928, Fish told Mr. and Mrs. Budd that his niece was having a birthday party - would their daughter Grace like to go? Twelve-year-old Grace did want to go, so she went with Fish to a New York City suburb. She never came home, however. Grace Budd was strangled, butchered, and partially consumed. Albert Fish spent nine days holed up in his living quarters eating his "stew".

The Grace Budd case brought national exposure to Fish, but he remained at large for six years. During that time, he was often in trouble for petty theft and public indecency, but no one suspected what he was really up to. In the end, Fish brought about his own downfall. Years later, in 1934, he sent a letter to Mrs. Budd detailing things that had been done to Grace Budd, simply because he felt compelled to do it. Police were able to track Albert Fish through the stationery he used.

It didn't take much time for police to realize they had a complicated and depraved man on their hands. He tortured himself and others; he believed his own torture was penance and that the children he hurt and killed were sacrificial offerings.

Officials estimated that Fish targeted over 100 children before his arrest. Additionally, it was believed he castrated several boys. In Fish's mind, he was paying tribute to Abraham and Isaac.

Albert Fish went to trial in 1935. The jury acknowledged his insanity but he was given the death penalty regardless. At the age of 65, on January 16, 1936 Fish got the chair in Sing Sing.

Even the electric chair did not daunt Fish. After learning of his fate, he shouted, "What a thrill it will be to die in the electric chair! It will be the supreme thrill - the only one I haven't tried!" Witnesses at the execution reported that he assisted attendants in strapping him to the chair.

Sources:
The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers; Schechter, Harold and Everitt, David; Pocket Books, 2006.
The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings; Steiger, Brad; Visible Ink Press, 1999.