On a warm spring day in 1928, Albert Fish walked up 8th Avenue. Wearing a heavy suit and carrying a leather hand satchel along with a carton containing cheese and strawberries, his destination was 406 West 15th St., the home of the Budd Family. His stride was somewhat stiff, as his rectum was scarred thickly from repeated self-inflicted burns. In addition, the multiple straight pins he had inserted so deeply into his perineal area that they were irretrievable, would also be making themselves known on a walk of any length. Albert gently placed his satchel behind a newsstand near his destination, planning to retrieve it later. The butcher knife, cleaver and saws inside clinked softly as they touched the pavement. He called them his “implements of hell,” and he had an inordinate affection for them.
Albert was a grandfatherly man in his sixties by this time. He was the sort of man that you would trust to watch your children, the sort of man who may have reminded you of your own father or grandparent. Albert had already raped over 400 children, murdering at least six at this point. He ultimately confessed to victims in almost every state in the union – experiences collected over a lifetime of travel.
Today he was planning on visiting Edward Budd, a young man of fifteen, who he planned to lure away with the promise of a fictitious job as a farm hand. Albert did not own a farm. His objective was to take Edward to an abandoned cottage in upper Westchester, bind him, cut off his genitals and leave him to bleed to death. The “monkey and pee wees” (his term for the penis and testicles) would be carried back to Albert’s rented room in the city, cooked and devoured.
When Albert arrived at the Budd home, he found himself entranced by young Grace Budd, to the extent that he abandoned his plans for Edward. Thinking quickly, he stated that he had to attend a birthday party for his niece at his sister’s house on 137th St. and Columbus Ave., and would return to pick up Edward afterward. (Unbeknownst to the Budd’s, Columbus Avenue only extended to 109th St.) Fish gleefully asked if Grace would like to attend the party with him. The Budd’s, a working class family constantly struggling to make ends meet, were already enamored of Fish who had plied them with the aforementioned cheese and strawberries (fresh from his farm, he claimed), and handed out dollar bills to the children. They readily agreed. Grace was never seen alive again.
Albert took Grace downstairs and walked with her to the newsstand where he retrieved his leather satchel. They took the train up to Westchester, destined for Wisteria Cottage. Upon disembarking, Albert forgot his bag. Fortunately, Grace was alert enough to remind him so his precious tools were not lost.
Wisteria Cottage was a two-story structure. The exterior walls were weathered and gray like Fish himself, and its forbidding appearance could not have been lost on young Grace as they approached on foot. Albert sent her to pick wildflowers in the backyard while he entered the cottage and prepared. Preparation consisted of stripping naked in an upstairs room while watching Grace in the yard from the windows. When he was ready, Albert called to her to come inside. Upon entering the upstairs room and seeing Fish naked, Grace cried out. Quickly, Albert strode across the room. He strangled her and then cut her throat with one of his knives, catching the blood in an old paint can, which had been left in the room by a previous occupant. Once Grace was dead, Albert dismembered her and wrapped the choicest parts of her body in butcher’s paper. The ritual was not quite finished, however. Albert took a wad of absorbent cotton from his topcoat pocket and soaked it in lighter fluid from a small vial he had brought with him. He inserted the cotton into his anus and struck a match. He ignited the cotton and reached orgasm while inhaling the scent of his own burning flesh. He then took his package and returned home. Albert cooked Grace in a stew with onions and carrots in his room at 409 East 100th St. He spent the next week slowly consuming it while in a psychosexual haze – eating Grace’s cooked body, masturbating, and torturing himself with pins and fire.
Albert may never have been apprehended for this crime had he not felt the need to torment the already devastated Budd Family several years later. He was living in a rooming house at 200 East 52nd St. in Manhattan when he wrote the famous (in some circles) Budd letter.
Unfortunately, Albert chose to use stationary he found in his room, left there by the previous occupant. The envelope bore the letterhead of the Private Chauffeurs’ Benevolent Association on the back flap. It had been crossed out heavily with pencil but was still discernable. Detectives traced the stationary to a member of the organization who had stolen it for personal use. This person led them to the address of his previous lodgings. Detective William King went there, but Albert had vacated the room several weeks before. The landlady informed Detective King that she expected him back any day to pick up a regular check from his son. King was on hand the day Albert returned for his mail and took him into custody with only one minor incident – Albert removed a straight razor from his pocket when confronted. He was easily and gently disarmed.
Albert’s confessions once in custody enumerated a life of intense perversity. One psychiatrist who interviewed him stated that he was the only person he had ever encountered who practiced all known forms of human perversion and practiced them frequently.
Albert was executed by electrocution on January 16, 1936. Before his death he stated that he was looking forward to the experience.
Albert was a grandfatherly man in his sixties by this time. He was the sort of man that you would trust to watch your children, the sort of man who may have reminded you of your own father or grandparent. Albert had already raped over 400 children, murdering at least six at this point. He ultimately confessed to victims in almost every state in the union – experiences collected over a lifetime of travel.
Today he was planning on visiting Edward Budd, a young man of fifteen, who he planned to lure away with the promise of a fictitious job as a farm hand. Albert did not own a farm. His objective was to take Edward to an abandoned cottage in upper Westchester, bind him, cut off his genitals and leave him to bleed to death. The “monkey and pee wees” (his term for the penis and testicles) would be carried back to Albert’s rented room in the city, cooked and devoured.
When Albert arrived at the Budd home, he found himself entranced by young Grace Budd, to the extent that he abandoned his plans for Edward. Thinking quickly, he stated that he had to attend a birthday party for his niece at his sister’s house on 137th St. and Columbus Ave., and would return to pick up Edward afterward. (Unbeknownst to the Budd’s, Columbus Avenue only extended to 109th St.) Fish gleefully asked if Grace would like to attend the party with him. The Budd’s, a working class family constantly struggling to make ends meet, were already enamored of Fish who had plied them with the aforementioned cheese and strawberries (fresh from his farm, he claimed), and handed out dollar bills to the children. They readily agreed. Grace was never seen alive again.
Albert took Grace downstairs and walked with her to the newsstand where he retrieved his leather satchel. They took the train up to Westchester, destined for Wisteria Cottage. Upon disembarking, Albert forgot his bag. Fortunately, Grace was alert enough to remind him so his precious tools were not lost.
Wisteria Cottage was a two-story structure. The exterior walls were weathered and gray like Fish himself, and its forbidding appearance could not have been lost on young Grace as they approached on foot. Albert sent her to pick wildflowers in the backyard while he entered the cottage and prepared. Preparation consisted of stripping naked in an upstairs room while watching Grace in the yard from the windows. When he was ready, Albert called to her to come inside. Upon entering the upstairs room and seeing Fish naked, Grace cried out. Quickly, Albert strode across the room. He strangled her and then cut her throat with one of his knives, catching the blood in an old paint can, which had been left in the room by a previous occupant. Once Grace was dead, Albert dismembered her and wrapped the choicest parts of her body in butcher’s paper. The ritual was not quite finished, however. Albert took a wad of absorbent cotton from his topcoat pocket and soaked it in lighter fluid from a small vial he had brought with him. He inserted the cotton into his anus and struck a match. He ignited the cotton and reached orgasm while inhaling the scent of his own burning flesh. He then took his package and returned home. Albert cooked Grace in a stew with onions and carrots in his room at 409 East 100th St. He spent the next week slowly consuming it while in a psychosexual haze – eating Grace’s cooked body, masturbating, and torturing himself with pins and fire.
Albert may never have been apprehended for this crime had he not felt the need to torment the already devastated Budd Family several years later. He was living in a rooming house at 200 East 52nd St. in Manhattan when he wrote the famous (in some circles) Budd letter.
Unfortunately, Albert chose to use stationary he found in his room, left there by the previous occupant. The envelope bore the letterhead of the Private Chauffeurs’ Benevolent Association on the back flap. It had been crossed out heavily with pencil but was still discernable. Detectives traced the stationary to a member of the organization who had stolen it for personal use. This person led them to the address of his previous lodgings. Detective William King went there, but Albert had vacated the room several weeks before. The landlady informed Detective King that she expected him back any day to pick up a regular check from his son. King was on hand the day Albert returned for his mail and took him into custody with only one minor incident – Albert removed a straight razor from his pocket when confronted. He was easily and gently disarmed.
Albert’s confessions once in custody enumerated a life of intense perversity. One psychiatrist who interviewed him stated that he was the only person he had ever encountered who practiced all known forms of human perversion and practiced them frequently.
Albert was executed by electrocution on January 16, 1936. Before his death he stated that he was looking forward to the experience.
The Budd apartment location at 406 West 15th Street, NYC - it's a lumberyard now!
The bricks in the side wall of 408 - were they there when Fish was?
Another view of where 406 once was. Note the Fishophiles wandering by!
Matt enjoys a latte at the Starbucks catty corner to the Budd house. We're contacting Starbucks for a promtional tie-in.
409 East 100th Street - The location of the roominghouse where Albert Fish devoured Grace Budd. The old tenament is long gone.
Architectural detail on an old building across the street from 409 E.100th Street. This building looks like it was here back in the 20s, and that lion's head may have seen Albert carrying his wrapped bundle of stew meat back to his room.
A dramatic angle on 409 and the old building across the street.
4 comments:
Excellent story!
you incorrectly spelled stationary wrong...it should be stationEry ( for paper writing etc) stationAry ( for stAnding still).. otherwise, informative article.
Promotional is spelled promtional as well. Sorry for being a grammar nazi. Can't help it though.
These are classic misspellings associated with Dyslexia...you might want to note that within your criticisms (eyes rolling)
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