Judge Holden

Judge Holden was a possible historical outlaw who partnered with John Joel Glanton as a professional scalp-hunter in Mexico and the American Southwest during the mid-19th century. To date, the only attestation of his existence is Samuel Chamberlain's My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue, an autobiographical account of Chamberlain's life as a soldier during the Mexican–American War.

Chamberlain described Holden as the most ruthless of the roving band of mercenaries led by Glanton, with whom Chamberlain had traveled briefly after the war: "[he] had a fleshy frame, [and] a dull tallow colored face destitute of hair and all expression"; "a man of gigantic size"; "by far the best educated man in northern Mexico"; "in short another Admirable Crichton, and with all an arrant coward". Chamberlain disliked Holden intensely.

He inspired a fictional character of the same name from the novel Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. The Mexican-American war was the source from which McCarthy derived his Blood Meridian character, who is speculated to be one of the most evil characters in fiction. Brent Edwin Cusher describes McCarthy's variation on the character as "a massive, hairless, albino man who excels in shooting, languages, horsemanship, dancing, music, drawing, diplomacy, science and anything else he seems to put his mind to. Despite his almost infinite knowledge, which he can use to achieve anything he desires, Holden favours a life of murder and hate... he is also the chief proponent and philosopher of the Glanton gang's lawless warfare." Judge Holden has been described as "perhaps the most haunting character in all of American literature".