It is enough to make your hair stand on end and your blood curdle. But for many the legend of the werewolf was born out of popular myth and the fabrication of darkest tales emanating from the best creative minds that occupied the studios of Hollywood.

Image courtesy of musikitty.com/Images

 

But apart from what we hear and see today about the subject there are true stories. Some so chilling and evil that anyone reading about such events may in fact question if the myths are true. Stories have continued to frighten us for centuries and no doubt into the long and distant future.

But history holds the best stories and those that are based on fact bring the most alarming and disturbing nightmares to all that read or hear of them.

 

One such tale is of Peter Stumpp, whose famous macabre killings spurned the Werewolf of Bedburg story.

 

Peter Stumpp was born in the village of Epprath which was close to the country town of Bedburg which is in the electorate of Cologne, Germany. He went by other aliases such as Peter Stube, Peter Stumpf and others such as Abal Griswold, Abil Griswold and Ubel Griswold.

 

Stumpp’s exact date of birth is not known as this was due to the registers at the local church being destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th Century. However what is known is Stumpp were a relatively wealthy farmer and also an influential member of the rural community.

 

According to recorded history what is known of Stumpp is that during the 1580’s he was a widower with two children. Of the children he had a daughter named Beele (Sybil) who was known to be fifteen or over. He also had a son of an unknown age. He was also known to be having an intimate relationship with a distant relative called Katharina Trump.

 

What made Stumpp famous was his confession that he was a real life werewolf. This was after he was caught and held responsible for many deaths.

 

It was in 1589 that Stumpp was famously known for one of the most barbaric werewolf trials in history.

 

Stumpp confessed that he had practised black magic since he was at the tender age of 12. He was quick to point out that Satan had given him a magical belt. This allowed him to transform into the “likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.”

 

He then stated if he was to remove the belt he would metamorphose back into human form.

 

According to historians and the tales, Stumpp had for over twenty five years been an alleged “insatiable bloodsucker” who gorged on the flesh of sheep, goats, men women and most disturbing, children.

 

Gruesome Confessions

 

Upon Stumpp being identified as the killer of many he was threatened with torture. This is where he confessed to killing and eating fourteen children. Of his child victims one was his son with whom he was noted by locals to have adored. It was his intention upon knowing his son suspected him of being a savage murderer that he misled his son into the local woods where he attacked and devoured him. What is horrifically gory about that killing of his own son is he gloated he enjoyed eating his brain.

Of his other victims he stated two were pregnant women and he enjoyed not just devouring them, but also their foetuses.

 

Apart from being labelled a barbaric and ruthless serial killer ad cannibal, Stumpp was also accused of having an incestuous relationship with his own daughter. The irony of all of this was she was to be burned alive next to the dismembered body of Stumpp along with his distant relative lover as it was believed they had the blood of the Devil being Stumpp’s relatives.

 

It didn’t stop there. Whilst on trial, this evil man also confessed that he had sex with a Succubus who was sent to him by Satan himself. A Succubus was usually in the form of a beautiful woman and a demon whose power was to seduce men.

 

It was a shocking confession to the local folk and rocked the whole of Germany and Europe. A real life werewolf had stalked and butchered men, women and children.

 

Execution of a Werewolf

 

Stumpp’s actual execution after his trial was probably as barbaric as the crimes in which he committed. It is to this day one of the most brutal in human history. He was placed on a wheel where his flesh was torn from his body in ten places with red hot pincers. It was almost as if each piece of flesh acted as retribution for individual victims, though if that were the case it would appear his executioners ran out of places in which to tear flesh from as his victims were far higher than the pieces of flesh torn from his body.

It didn’t stop there. His limbs were broken with the blunt side of an axe-head. This was, according to the executioners, to prevent him from rising from the grave and continuing his evil murdering. 

 

picture courtesy of Amoeba.com

 

Stumpp was then beheaded and burned on a pyre. As a reminder to anyone who practiced witchcraft or who thought they were a werewolf, a pole with the torture wheel and a wolf figure attached was put on public display. What was more chilling was that Stumpp’s severed head was placed at the very top. It was a warning the same fate would follow anyone caught and found to be a witch or werewolf.

 

The fact remains that it is almost impossible to actually determine for sure if Stumpp committed such crimes. There was no doubt he was a serial killer and a brutal and barbaric one at that. But certain details written about him were inconsistent with true historical facts.

 

Political Motive?

 

What is known is that Stumppwas converted to follow Protestantism and his crimes (1582 – 89) were in conjunction with the internal wars in the Electorate of Cologne. Armies fought bloody battles and plague was common. Even locals appeared to embrace that violence and even murder was the rule.

 

The Protestants were defeated in 1587 and Bedburg Castle became the main headquarters for Catholic Mercenaries. They were ruled by the new lord of Bedburg-Werner, Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck. This ruler was a staunch Catholic who was hell-bent on reintroducing and establishing Roman faith.

 

 

Rumours followed that Stumpp’s gruesome crimes and satanic worship meant the trial was more political than fact. This was backed up by key members attending his trial and execution. There had been many executions in Germany based on werewolves and usually the higher aristocracy would not normally attend.

 

So today this man would probably have been tried on suffering from lycanthropy, the mental disorder where sufferers claim they transform into animals, mainly the wolf by the term lycan.

 

But for whatever reasons or motives drove Stumpp to commit such terrifying crimes, this story set the stall for others to follow where the legend of the werewolf could roam and stalk his next victims…