In 1908 a farmhouse destroyed by fire revealed the horrific scene of three children and a headless female adult that had been murdered. At first, it was believed that a fired farmhand and former lover of the property owner named Ray Lamphere was the perpetrator of the crimes of arson & murder. It was believed he decapitated the woman believed to be the owner of the property, Belle Gunness. 

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Gunness was known to put out lonely hearts advertisements in newspapers throughout the midwest. Men were tantalized by the prospect of home-cooked meals, the comfort of a woman's embrace, and, especially, the prospect of owning a 48-acre farm near Chicago.

 

As the investigation into the murders and fire continued, a brother of one of her prospective suitors, Asle Helgelien, came to see if there were any trace of his missing brother, Andrew. As he looked over the property he soon dug up the dismembered remains of Andrew. Soon thereafter, at least another 12 bodies were discovered on the property.

 

Suspicion soon began to point away from Lamphere as rumors of Gunness began to circulate. She was suspected of planting a headless woman's body in her place before poisoning her children, striking their heads with a hammer, and placing them all in the cellar before setting her home on fire and running away with her ill-gotten gains.

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This story has been dramatized below. In telling it, I have modeled the characters as characters from comic strips, comic books, and cartoons that predate the 1950s. I have done my best to keep the story as true to the known facts as possible and have documented all of this in my research. I have also presented information about the characters and their creators that the story has modeled them after. 

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I hope you enjoy.