American Gothic
 Inspired by the case of real life serial killer H. H. Holmes, the story follows maniacal surgeon G. Gordon Gregg, who preys on young beautiful women and, luring them into his labyrinthine castle, kills them in the most precise, painless way possible, thus orchestrating the perfect series of crimes. However, an ambitious journalist called Crystal becomes suspicious of Gregg, a feeling made much more complicated by her growing attraction to him and vice versa. Bloch also wrote a 40,000 word essay based on his research for the novel, "Dr Holmes' Murder Castle" (first published in Reader's Digest Tales of the Uncanny, 1977; since reprinted in Crimes and Punishments: The Lost Bloch, Vol 3, 2002).