What is Worse than a Cannibal? Find out Here

Years before the term “serial killer” existed, Albert Fish roamed 1920s New York sending shivers through tenements and police precincts alike. Known as the Gray Man, he boasted of stabbing, strangling and consuming children—a nightmare crowned by the handwritten letter sent to Grace Budd’s parents describing their daughter’s final moments. This short takes viewers from Fish’s abusive orphanage upbringing to his bizarre self‑flagellation habits, outlines the 1935 circus‑like trial where jurors balanced insanity against evil, and ends with his January 1936 electrocution at Sing Sing. We highlight modern forensic psychiatry that revisits Fish’s paraphilias, discuss why his case launched America’s first missing‑child photo campaign, and explain how the media of the day refined the “monster” template later applied to Gacy or Dahmer. A closing note considers 2025 genetic genealogy efforts to re‑examine unsolved child disappearances from the era that may—not definitively—match Fish’s travel records.

Chapters
00:00 The Gray Man
00:20 Crimes & Letter
00:55 Trial Spectacle
01:25 Legacy & DNA Hopes
01:45 End