Disclaimer: The article contains mention of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Albert Fish is perhaps one of the most evil men in history. He had several nicknames like, the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, The Boogey Man, the Brooklyn Vampire, and more, and participated in hideous crimes such as murder, rape, molesting children, and cannibalism.
According to Oxygen True Crime, Fish was born in May 1870. He was the youngest child of his family, however, his mother, Ellen, abandoned him at an orphanage after his father’s death. Even though she came back for him when he was 10, Ellen’s actions deeply affected her son. According to, Harold Schechter, the writer of the book Deranged: The Shocking True Story of America’s Most Fiendish Killer, Fish’s time in the orphanage changed him forever.
In an interview with WTOP News, Schechter stated, “While there, he was subjected to all manners of physical and sexual abuse and humiliation and torture, which completely warped his personality out of shape. It turned him into the kind of monstrous being that he was.”
On January 16, 1936, the 65-year-old psychopath was executed by an electric chair at New York’s Sing Sing. The reason behind his execution was the brutal kidnapping and murder of Grace Budd. Furthermore, the girl was only 10 years old at the time of her death.
When was Albert Fish caught?
Officials finally managed to appreciate Albert Fish on December 13, 1934. According to Oxygen True Crime, Fish claimed to dismember, roast, and eat Grace’s body over a week. However, it isn’t clear if his claim is true or not.
Upon learning about Fish’s involvement in Grace Budd’s murder, his family hardly reacted. In addition, his eldest son Albert Fish Jr. spoke to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle where he stated, “The old skunk. I knew something like this would happen sooner or later.”
Apart from the murder of Grace Budd, Fish had connections with the murders of Francis McDonnell and Billy Gaffney.
