Biography of Albert Fish: The Serial Killer

Tap to Read ➤ Priya Johnson

Albert Fish was a cold-blooded serial killer and cannibal of the early 1900's. This American serial killer was known by many names - The Gray Man, The Werewolf of Wysteria, etc. He claimed to have 100 victims. Journalists didn’t even want to publish the details of the murders, because of their atrocious nature.

Albert Fish: An Alias

His real name was Hamilton Howard Fish. He changed his name to Albert to stop children from calling him ‘Ham and Eggs’ at school. He took on the name Albert after a dead sibling.

Family Background

Fish’s family members were all victims of different forms of mental illness and psychotic disorders. His mother, uncle, brother, and sister were all mental health patients.

Disturbed Childhood

When Fish was around 8 years old, his father died. His mother put him in an orphanage because she couldn’t take care of him. Orphanage life was tough on Fish, and he was often beaten up there. His twisted, deranged mind soon realized that he actually enjoyed being tortured. This was the beginning of a serial killer in the making.

Failed Marriage

Yes, surprisingly Fish did get married and have kids. He was married to a woman nine years younger to him, and had six children with her. His wife left him and their six children behind, and took off with another man. According to Fish, he never abused his children, although he did feed them cooked human meat.

Self Mutilation

He took great pleasure in inflicting pain upon himself, and developed a twisted interest in cutting and hurting himself. He would beat himself and insert all kinds of sharp objects and needles into his abdomen, pelvis, and genitals.

Child Molester and Mutilator

He targeted mostly vulnerable, handicapped children. He brutally murdered them and mutilated their bodies with saws and other tools. Though it was not proven, Fish confessed to have been responsible for over 100 murders.

Cannibal

Albert Fish was introduced to consumption of human flesh, by a friend in his early teens. He then developed a fetish for raw meat. He then moved to cannibalism, eating the meat and drinking the blood of his victims. He confessed to have cooked human meat into a stew along with vegetables and feed it to his kids.

Final Capture

His own pride resulted in his capture. He sent a letter to the mother of ten-year-old girl he abducted and murdered, telling her how gruesomely he murdered her child. The cops traced that paper, and finally caught the deranged criminal who had eluded them for so long.

Electric-Chair Execution

In January 16, 1936, at the age of 65, Fish was finally executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison.