Did You Know Cleveland Once Had Its Own Serial Killer—And Eliot Ness Couldn’t Catch Him?

If you thought Cleveland’s weirdest mystery was why West Side Market doesn’t have better parking, buckle up. Because back in the 1930s, the city was literally being haunted by a serial killer.

I had never heard of this disturbing nugget of history, but my nephew pointed it out to me and it’s too creepy not to share. 🔪😱

Known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, this unidentified murderer usually killed by beheading or dismembering his victims—usually during the Great Depression when people were already struggling to survive—and scattered their body parts around the city like a real-life horror movie. 🤢😭

Most of the victims were never even identified, and many were found in or near Kingsbury Run, a hardscrabble area full of shantytowns built by people who were out of work and out of luck. The Butcher specifically targeted society’s most vulnerable: transients, the homeless, and sex workers. And he always left the same calling card—decapitation.

His victims numbered from anywhere between 12 and 20 between the years of 1935 and 1938, all over the area from Cleveland, to Pittsburgh, to Youngstown. But nobody’s exactly sure how many times he struck since the crime was never solved, although some claim that the killer was identified but never charged due to lack of evidence.

Enter Eliot Ness—yes, that Eliot Ness, fresh off his Chicago gangster-fighting days. He’d just become Cleveland’s Safety Director, and he was determined to clean up the city. But this case? It stumped him.

Even after he ordered the infamous 1938 raid that burned down the shantytown in Kingsbury Run (in hopes of flushing out the killer), the murders continued. Ness may have had Hollywood clout, but the Butcher made sure Cleveland never got its happy ending.

To this day, no one knows who the killer was. There were suspects, of course—one even failed a lie detector test and then killed himself—but nothing stuck. The case just… fizzled. It remains one of America’s most chilling unsolved serial murder cases, and has inspired articles, books, and more since the years of the investigation.

And if you think Kingsbury Run has changed, just ask a local train conductor. Some say there are still parts of the area that feel off. Like the city remembers. Like it’s holding its breath. 👻

So, yeah—next time you find yourself near East 49th and Broadway, maybe don’t go poking around too much. Cleveland has a lot of stories. But this one? It never got an ending. 😱

Cleveland’s got secrets—and I’m digging ‘em up one weird story at a time. Want more creepy local lore, haunted history, and unsolved mysteries? Stick with Clevelandish and I’ll keep the flashlight on. 🔦🕵️‍♀️