The Horrific Crimes of Depraved Serial Killer Albert Fish

True Crime Nightmares
13 min readJul 15, 2024
Albert Fish looking dapper in the first of his many mugshots.

An Abomination of Nature is Unleashed Upon the World

Hamilton Fish was born in 1870 in Washington, D.C. His elderly father passed away when the boy was five, leaving him and his siblings to be raised by their mentally unstable mother. Unable to handle the stresses of being a single parent, she had sent her offspring away to an orphanage that catered to the indigent.

At some point, Hamilton had changed his name to Albert in an attempt to escape the taunts of his peers, who teasingly referred to him as “Ham and Eggs.” Owing to his small stature and off-putting demeanor, he would assume the role of perpetual victim throughout much of his childhood.

During his time at the orphanage, harsh physical punishment was regularly meted out in order to keep the children in line. What set Fish apart from the other charges was that he enjoyed the beatings to such an extent that he would purposely act out, hoping to receive a good lashing.

Fish’s mother suffered from severe bouts of depression, as well as hallucinations which rendered her unfit to mother her children. Even so, at the age of ten, he was returned to her care.

Shortly after being reunited, it became apparent to the beleaguered Mrs. Fish that the boy she got back was not the same one she had…

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