The Werewolf of Bedburg

In 1589, Peter Stumpp, a wealthy farmer near Bedburg, Germany, was executed for allegedly being a werewolf who had killed and cannibalized numerous victims over twenty-five years. His case is one of the most notorious in werewolf trial history.

The Accusations

Stumpp confessed under torture to having made a pact with the Devil, who gave him a magic belt that transformed him into a wolf. In wolf form, he claimed to have killed and eaten livestock, men, women, and children.

Among his alleged victims were two pregnant women and thirteen children, including his own son, whose brain he claimed to have eaten.

The Trial

Stumpp’s confession, obtained through brutal torture, included satanic pact, murder, cannibalism, incest, and lycanthropy. His daughter and mistress were also accused and convicted.

The trial attracted enormous attention and was documented in pamphlets distributed across Europe.

The Execution

On October 31, 1589, Stumpp was executed through being broken on the wheel, having flesh torn with heated pincers, having his limbs broken, decapitation, and burning. His daughter and mistress were also executed.

A wooden likeness of a wolf was attached to the execution wheel as a warning.

Assessment

Whether Stumpp was a genuine serial killer who believed he was a werewolf, a mentally ill man who confessed under torture, or a victim of political persecution remains debated. His case represents the werewolf panic that gripped Europe in the late sixteenth century.