Deadline is reporting that actor Leonardo DiCaprio will star in The Devil in the White City, which will tell the tale of an early American serial killer.

Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way Production partner Jennifer Davisson Killoran have acquired the rights to Erik Larson's 2003 non-fiction book, along with Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher of Double Features.

The plot revolves around Dr. HH Holmes, who will be portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Holmes built The World's Fair Hotel during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, which he used to lure young women to their death. It was believed that Holmes murdered anywhere between 27 and 200 people at the hotel, which became known as the "murder castle" and housed a crematorium, gas chamber and a dissecting table. It was said that he would murder the victims and sell their skeletons off for medical and scientific studies.

No studio is attached to the project. Producers will seek out a writer to adapt the book and put together a package to shop around to the studios.