I read a true crime novel years ago about him called 'Depraved: The Shocking True Story of America's First Serial Killer'. It was a grisly, but fascinating read.
His name was H. H. Holmes, and the dude is actually pretty fascinating to study. Not only was he a serial killer, he was a heck of a conman. He got his buddy WHO KNEW HE WAS A SERIAL KILLER to let him "fake" his death so he and his wife could collect the life insurance money. Of course, Holmes killed him for real and collected the money, but then managed to convince the guy's wife to give him custody of three of her kids! He ran a lot of other cons, and also got a lot of money by wooing rich young heiress women before killing them. Plus, there's a bit of a ghost story to go with him. The only guy who could've testified and given concrete solid facts about the operations of Holmes's "Murder Castle" claimed to be haunted after Holmes's death and committed suicide before he could give the information.
Hold ooooooooon hold on
It's an amazing read