Harold Schechter

It is impossible to say who first christened the building with its byname. Perhaps it was a neighborhood resident, paying tribute to the imposing look of Holmes's creation. Or perhaps it was Holmes itself, whose talent for self-promotion matched his grandiose ambitions. Whatever the case, soon after its completion, Englewood's citizens began referring to the new building as 'the Castle'.

In later years, of course, that name would be modified, and the looming structure at the corner of Wallace and Sixty-third streets would become known to the world by other phrases:

Bluebeard's Castle. Murder Castle. Nightmare Castle. The Castle of Horror.