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    Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men
    Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men
    Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men
    Audiobook8 hours

    Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men

    Written by Harold Schechter

    Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “A deeply researched and morbidly fascinating chronicle of one of America’s most notorious female killers.” —The New York Times Book Review

    An Amazon Charts bestseller.

    In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm.” Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn’t merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They’d been butchered.

    Hell’s Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter’s gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery—and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 2018
    ISBN9781543602012
    Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men
    Author

    Harold Schechter

    Harold Schechter is a professor of American literature and culture. Renowned for his true-crime writing, he is the author of the nonfiction books Fatal, Fiend, Bestial, Deviant, Deranged, Depraved, and, with David Everitt, The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. He is also the author of Nevermore and The Hum Bug, the acclaimed historical novels featuring Edgar Allan Poe. He lives in New York State.

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    Reviews for Hell's Princess

    4/5

    257 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This was an excellent book. It was surprising to me that I have never heard of Bell Gunness and that she isn't more wildly known. This true story is written very well and makes you balance the facts to try to understand the truth that may never fully be known.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Engaging story on a fascinating subject well-researched. Great narrator too
    • 5/5
      Great book! Love the full background and history of the main character. She was a wicked soul,and left plenty of room to make your own conclusions of how the end really went. A must read!!.
    • 5/5
      I've always been interested by this story & along with many others, I've always believed that Belle made a substitution of herself, in the fire.
      This book was very interesting & shed light on another aspect of the tale.
    • 4/5
      This was an interesting read. Clearly well researched. However, the author sometimes takes dramatic license describing the inner thoughts and feelings of the figures.
    • 5/5
      The original version of a Craigslist killer. This woman, Belle got away with murder for so long! I am a huge fan of Harold Schechter and this did not leave me disappointed. It did however creep into my dreams so that was fun. I dont recommend listening to this while going to bed.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating story of a women who equaled the likes of Jack the Ripper, whose methods are something apparently rare in women killers. To find a great mystery was left at the end was a bit disappointing.
    • 4/5
      A true crime speed read about Belle Gunness, a serial killer of gullible Norwegian immigrants whose money and lives she stole after soliciting their aid in running her farm through ads in Norwegian newspapers, promising marriage and property if they came to her with all their cash and no inconvenient personal encumberments (like inquisitive family members who might miss them if they disappeared). Not overly graphic, but not sparing of details as she dismembered and buried the hapless fellers in rapid succession on her "lovely farm" in Indiana during the first decade of the 20th century. In addition to the prospective husbands, there is also a distinct possibility that Belle murdered several children entrusted to her care. I was disappointed that there were no photographs except the one on the cover in the library edition I read, especially after one review particularly mentioned "cool graphics and evidence and photos throughout the book". Most non-fiction needs illustrations, I find. And references to photographs of main actors in the drama should always be accompanied by those photographs,no? Schechter has a reads-easy style, doesn't play sensationalist games with the reader (although the chapter headings are a bit of a tease), and readily admits that even though he had hoped to solve the mystery of Belle's own uncertain demise, the facts are simply not conclusive.
    • 4/5
      The story of Gunness, a Norwegian immigrant who married twice, took in many children, ran a mid-sized farm, and murdered her husbands, children, and lots of lonely men who answered her lonely hearts newspaper ads in the early 1900s.Believed to have killed around 28 people, she is likely still the record holder as the most prolific female serial killer in America. When it looked like she was about to be found out, her house burned to the ground, along with her children and a conveniently headless female body, leading to decades of speculation as to whether or not she had actually died in the fire (blamed on a disgruntled ex-employee) or set it herself and escaped.It's strange that her name isn't as known as her fellow male psychopaths. Even in her fifties and nearly 300 pounds, with what is described as a "frog face", she possessed a strong seductive quality, noted by surviving paramours, that allowed her to lure men to their deaths. Her letters to lonely Norwegian men from all over the country drew them to cash out their stocks, sell farms, leave their families, and want to marry her even after seeing her. Even the young farm hand who was sentenced for the fire, while insisting that he was innocent, said her had fallen in love with Belle. Bizarre story that has been heavily researched by the author, including the "sightings" of Belle decades later. Very cool graphics and evidence and photos throughout the book.
    • 5/5
      Schecter relays the fascinating and twisted facts of the Belle Gunness case, letting the reader come to their own conclusion.
    • 4/5
      A biographical account about Belle Gunness, a serial killer between 1902 to 1908. Also known as Hell’s Belle, she has approximately 28 dead men to her credit.Belle would advertise for a hired hand to work on her Indiana farm. She preferred “immigrants” with no families. She would con them out of their money, then poison, murder, butcher and bury them.Her violent life didn’t come to light until her farm burnt down and there was a search for her and her three children's bodies. Instead, the searchers found the remains of the men she killed and buried under her pig pens…in pieces.A bit of a grisly tale, but based on Schechter’s deep research into the publications of the era and other items he found. It isn’t just a true crime work, but also a mystery of what happened to Belle and her children after the fire.Author Harold Schechter has written a number of books telling of true life serial killers. If True Crime is your genre, you can’t go wrong reading this book.
    • 3/5
      Belle Gunness lived on a farm in La Porte, IN. When she and her young children died in a horrific fire, her fellow townspeople unearthed 28 bodies on her farm that she had dismembered and buried. It came to light that she was advertising for help on her farm (suggesting marriage), asking the men to bring cash or getting insurance policies, and then murdering them for the money. The gruesome and physical way she murdered these men coupled with the sheer number of men (and some of her adopted children) that she murdered, make her one of the most notorious female serial killers. [[Harold Schechter]] goes through what is known of Belle's life chronologically, using newspaper accounts. He then covers the trial of the man who was convicted of setting Belle's house on fire. He also delves into the sensationalism surrounding the story. While many lament the 24 hour news cycle and voyeurism that are part of life today, it certainly was happening 100 years ago as well. Over 10,000 people showed up at the Gunness farm as the bodies were being unearthed to watch! The story was interesting, but I'd say the book itself is just ok. The writing style got a little tedious for me - I felt the author relied a little too heavily on using newspaper articles and interviews. It was neat in a way to read contemporary accounts, but it tended to interrupt the flow of the narrative.
    • 3/5
      I was really disappointed in Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men. The book is a matter-of-fact retelling of the Belle Guinness story, based on newspaper reporting and historical records, and that's as far as it goes.Oddly, the actual discussion of the murders is a relatively short portion of the book and speeds by with little detail. The balance of the book discusses the aftermath and the trial of the man who was charged with setting a fire that ended the murder spree. While I understand that no author who investigates a historical mystery can travel back and discover new facts and clues, I was disappointed that there was almost no discussion of how modern science and investigation techniques might reveal at least some answers to this mystery.
    • 4/5
      Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American serial killer, may have killed as many as 40 people between the years 1884 and 1908. When the Gunness farmhouse in La Porte, Indiana burned to the ground in April 1908, her crimes were literally unearthed. Mainly men were lured to her home, then never seen again. An interesting (and disturbing) account of Belle and her horrific crimes. Some things that I felt were missing from the story: 1). Detail of the evidence that the woman near the end of the book was not Belle. 2). Investigation into disappearances of women before the fire at Belle's house - did another women fitting her description disappear? - the body (if not Belle's) had to come from somewhere? 3) a detailed list of her known victims and a bit about them would have been a good addition 4) where were the photographs? I was disappointed that not one photograph was included.
    • 4/5
      The concept of a female serial killer is low. Mostly, serial killers are male. Yet, to have a female serial killer back I this time period is very rare. The fact that Belle lured and killed dozens of men not only for money but pleasure is a horrific thought. Yet, as I read about the many disappearances and the concerns of neighbors, I could not help but wonder why authorities did not investigate Belle sooner. Yeah, she hide the bodies and had stories for the disappearances but the stories still drew questions. It was not until a fire broke out at Belle's farm that authorities dug up tons of graves with butchered body parts. If you are a fan of true crime, than you will appreciate this book. Mr. Schechter does not gushy up the story of Belle but lays down the facts of Belle and her reign of bodies left behind. Just when I thought I would grow weary of all of the facts I would read something that just intrigued me.
    • 5/5
      Another great book by Harold Schechter. I was a little hesitant to buy this book about Belle Gunness , a well known serial killer, as I worried there would be no new information. But yes there is! Appears to me plenty of research put into writing this book. Lots I didn't know.
    • 4/5
      After disposing of two husbands, Belle Gunness lured men to her farm through newspaper advertisements and letters. Once the men arrived, they were slaughtered and buried around the farm. When her past began to catch up with her, her farmhouse mysteriously burnt down, and a headless corpse, found with her children. To this day, it is still debated whether she died in the fire. This was a quick read. The book was interesting and well organized. It contained a good blend of fact and storytelling. Overall, highly recommended.