Béla Kiss (; ; c. 1877 – after 4 October 1916) was a Hungarian serial killer. He is thought to have murdered at least 23 young women]]

In 1877, Béla Kiss was born in Izsák, Austria-Hungary, to János Kiss and Verona Varga.

Since 1900, Kiss lived in Cinkota (then a town near Budapest, now a neighbourhood of the 16th district within the city itself). According to Magyar Nemzet in 1907: "Béla Kiss, a tinsmith in Cinkota, unmarried, lives in a furnished apartment, has his own business as a tinsmith, is regularly employed by his business partners. He is of good character, he is not in debt, he was not insolvent, he always fulfils his obligations, his lifestyle is solid, can be offered for credit."

In 1912, Kiss hired a housekeeper, Mrs. Jakubec. She noticed that Kiss corresponded with a number of women, typically through advertisements he would place in newspapers offering his services as either a matrimonial agent or a fortune teller, Townsfolk also noticed that Kiss had collected a number of metal drums. When the town police questioned him about the drums, he told them that he filled them with fuel in order to prepare for rationing in the oncoming war.

When World War I began in 1914, he was conscripted and left his house in Jakubec's care.

Each woman who came to the house was strangled. Kiss conserved their corpses in alcohol inside sealed airtight metal drums. That year, homicide detective Henry Oswald was certain he had observed Kiss emerging from the New York City Subway at Times Square. There were also rumours that Kiss was living in the city and working as a janitor, although these could not be verified. When the police went to interview the janitor, he had already left. was inspired by Béla Kiss. The stories "Béla Kiss Goes to the Theatre" and "Béla Kiss Goes to War" are excerpts from his novella.

  • The German horror movie ' (English: The Kiss of a Killer) by director Lucien Förstner released in 2013 is based on Kiss' biography.
  • The novel Hill House by Gopi Kottoor was inspired by the true events in the life of Béla Kiss.
  • The band Bela Kiss, a metal/hardcore band from Long Island, USA, named themselves after the murderer.
  • Songs inspired by the Béla Kiss murder case:
  • "The Alphabet Serial Song" by Amoree Lovell lists Béla Kiss as the B
  • "Bela Kiss" by Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space
  • "Bela Kiss" by Gazpacho
  • "Bella Kiss" by John 5
  • "Bella's Kiss" by Funke and the Two Tone Baby

See also

  • List of serial killers by country
  • List of serial killers by number of victims
  • List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
  • Elizabeth Báthory
  • Vera Renczi

References