Albert Fish: The Vampire of Brooklyn

By Queuebot in Crime & Law on Aug 13, 2009 at 4:41 pm

In 1920s, mutilated bodies of murdered children turned up in the streets of New York City. The crimes were so horrific that they were quickly attributed to a boogieman.

The truth was more mundane but much more disturbing – the murders were perpetrated by a man named Albert Fish, who aptly earned the nickname of the Vampire of Brooklyn:

At this time, Albert H. Fish was working at the nearby YMCA and the center for mentally challenged children. He was fired when “things about these children came out”. He was quoted as saying he “liked killing disabled and black boys because no one would miss them”.

February 11, 1927 Billy Gaffrey was snatched from a hallway in an apartment building. A witness said “it was the Boogieman that got him”. Albert Fish had taken the boy back to the boarding house he was staying at and got right to work. Using a saw, knife, and cleaver he dismembered and drained the blood of Billy Gaffrey. He drank the blood and saved the meat for food. He took the ears and face and made it into a stew with carrots and onions and his behind was roasted in the oven.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.


Email This Post
Tweet This Post 
Share This Post on Facebook

Tags: , , , , ,


Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:


  1. lannaxe96
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    It’s like Hansel and Gretel only worse.

  2. star4589
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    He puts Jeffrey Dahmer to shame. I wonder what happened to his own children? The letter to the girl’s parents is awful. Amazing that a person’s mind can get so distorted.

  3. sc0tty
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    He looks like the elderly guy from Home Alone.

  4. Steohawk
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    This story really takes the “neat” out of Neatorama.

  5. The Manticore
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 7:33 pm

    that guy is messed up. the psychologist who was analyzing his fitness for trial said, in response to whether a man who ate children could even possibly be sane, that “there’s no accounting for taste”

  6. felixthecat
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Good ol’ Albert Fish. “Apparently Schechter, while writing his book Deviant about Ed Gein, asked Robert Bloch (author of Psycho), “Why are people so fascinated by Ed Gein?” Bloch answered, “Because they haven’t heard about Albert Fish.” Schechter claims that Albert ate 15 children, not 5.

  7. ted
    Aug 13th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Gross story.
    Yes, its neatness is debatable, but I never knew about this, so I don’t mind it here.

  8. eb
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 1:25 am

    Why give any further mention to this monster especially here on this site?

    Could have done without this one.

  9. Foreigner1
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 2:35 am

    Read this story before breakfast.
    Bad move. ….Very bad move…. Made me lose my appetite completely. Only now a few hours later I feel compelled to comment.

    Why -how- can humans get so distorted, so devilish?
    I mean- Somehow I can understand that some people do not have any problems with plain and simple killing of other humans when those others are foes, enemies. In war, you kill. I can understand that.
    But just savagely and happily torture and kill innocent people? And then children…?

    And no please do not try to explain- I am very happy NOT -never- to understand some things in life…

  10. seefish3
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 4:06 am

    I’d heard about Albert years ago, since we share a last name.

    Can’t wait to find out what else happened in the 1920′s !

  11. Bret Hammond
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am

    This isn’t neat, it’s horrifying. What’s the point of posting it here?

  12. Tamahome Jenkins
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 10:03 am

    I would have to say that this article definitely qualifies as *neat*. Just because it’s not a clean, feel good story doesn’t mean it’s not fascinating.

  13. anonymoussss
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 10:26 am

    He had a wife and 6 children????!!! HOW???

  14. kercules
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am

    the slice of pizza i was eating as i read this post became something i didn’t want anything to do with by the end

  15. M
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    This story feels totally out-of-place and unnecessary on this site. If you need a reference for what I expect, use the “potato duck” post.

  16. horned_one24
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Boo Hoo Hoo. Why is this on this site. Shut the hell up. Just because it involves death and torture doesnt mean it isnt neat. I find this kind of stuff WAY more interesting then “Rubber duck shaped potato.”

  17. Mac-attack
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    @anonymoussss
    Well, he had ten to start off with…

  18. Petite Poi
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    i think i’m gonna be sick…

  19. Johnny Cat
    Aug 14th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    Reminder: This was voted up in the queue, so apparently a lot of people found it Neatworthy. I’m not sure which is older, people claiming “not neat”, or dirt.

  20. AJW
    Aug 15th, 2009 at 12:12 am

    Fish was not the first or the last murderer to use the common good as subterfuge. The men who ran Boys Town in the 70′s would sometimes murder 20 children at a time after yearlong charades to convince their families that they had died of cancer or some other illness/accident.
    Nobody ever went to prison for their direct involvement in what was really happening. There were a lot of cover-ups just to put a stop to it that compromised justice to this day.

  21. SMO
    Aug 15th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    This story sounds terrifyingly similar to the excellent fiction book The Alienist by Caleb Carr.

    http://www.amazon.com/Alienist-Novel-Caleb-Carr/dp/0812976142/ref=sr_1 _1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250386858&sr=1-1

  22. snotty
    Aug 16th, 2009 at 8:08 am

    i wonder why the (usually brilliant) neatorama would feature a posting that is markedly shorter and less well written than the wikipedia article it is based on. not up to your usual standards, sorry.

  23. Jenna
    Aug 19th, 2009 at 11:21 am

    Reference to this guy is made regarding a killer in Black House, the sequel to Stephen King/Peter Straub’s Talisman
    both excellent books
    exceedingly creepy

  24. Gage
    Feb 19th, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    The least evil monster to have ever walked the Earth.


Keep track of the comments with Comment RSS

Don't Miss: New Stuff | Bestsellers | The Cute Store
                   Funny T-Shirts

Need a gift? Get unforgettable gifts for:
Geeks | Pranksters | Kids | Hipsters | Shutterbugs

Lijit Search

Old school? Bookmark us! RSS Feed Twitter Facebook Page