Between 1564 and 1589, the German town of Bedburg was gripped by terror. A series of brutal attacks, initially on livestock and escalating to monstrous killings of humans, instilled fear in the community. While early investigations considered wolf attacks, by the 1580s, whispers of lycanthropy – the transformation of humans into wolves – began to circulate, setting the stage for the extraordinary trial of Peter Stumpp in 1589. The genesis of these rumors can be traced back to an incident where a local girl, invoking divine aid, was saved from a wolf attack by a cattle stampede. During this chaotic event, villagers encountered a wolf and severed its left forepaw, a detail that would become chillingly relevant in the unfolding narrative of Peter Stumpp.
Image depicting the beheading of Peter Stumpp in Cologne, 1589, highlighting the public nature of his execution as a warning against witchcraft and lycanthropy.
The Many Names of a Monster: Peter Stumpp’s Identity
Peter Stumpp, also known under various aliases including Peter Stube, Peter Stumpf, Abalm Griswold, Abil Groswold, and Ubel Griswold, was a figure shrouded in mystery even before the werewolf accusations. Born in Cperadt, near Bedburg, he was a prosperous farmer and a father of two. It’s believed he became a widower sometime in the 1580s. The exact year of his birth remains uncertain due to the destruction of records during the Thirty Years War, but estimations place it between 1545 and 1550. For decades, the tale of Peter Stumpp existed primarily in local folklore until occultist Montague Summers rediscovered “The Most Damnable Life and Death of Stubbe Peeter” in 1920. This pamphlet, detailing Peter Stumpp‘s gruesome crimes and subsequent execution, painted a terrifying picture of him as:
“a most wicked Sorcerer who… transfourmed into the likness of a greedy deuouring Woolf. Strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkeled like vnto brandes of fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharpe and cruell teeth, A huge body, and mightye pawes.”
This vivid description fueled the growing panic and solidified the image of Peter Stumpp as a monstrous werewolf in the public imagination. Different versions of the 16-page German pamphlet circulated, including one in the Netherlands that drew a connection between the wolf with the severed paw and Stumpp‘s missing hand, further cementing the accusations of lycanthropy. The pamphlet’s influence extended beyond popular belief, even being referenced by Edward Fairfax in Daemonologia: A Discourse on Witchcraft in 1621, during the witchcraft persecution of his own daughters, demonstrating the period’s widespread anxieties about witchcraft and demonic pacts.
Terror in Bedburg: A Community Under Siege
Bedburg in the late 16th century was already a town grappling with significant religious and political turmoil due to the Cologne War (1583-88). Against this backdrop of instability, the escalating violence – targeting livestock, children, and even unborn fetuses – plunged the community into deeper chaos. The unpredictable and savage nature of these attacks galvanized the villagers to form a hunting party in 1589, determined to track down the suspected werewolf that was terrorizing their lives.
Their pursuit led them into the woods, where they cornered a wolf conspicuously missing its left forepaw. The villagers were immediately struck by the resemblance to the wolf from the earlier incident, the one whose paw they had themselves cut off. As if confirming their deepest fears, the wolf vanished, and in its place stood Peter Stumpp, missing his left hand. For the terrified villagers, this was irrefutable proof. Peter Stumpp was apprehended, accused of being the werewolf responsible for the monstrous crimes that had plagued Bedburg.
Woodcut print from circa 1512 depicting a werewolf, illustrating the long-standing cultural fascination and fear surrounding werewolves in European folklore which contributed to the Peter Stumpp narrative.
Confession Under Torture: Unraveling the Werewolf’s Tale
Following the pattern of other European werewolf trials, such as those of Pierre Burgot, Michel Verdun, and Jacques Roulet in France, Peter Stumpp faced accusations of heinous acts. Child murder, rape, incest, and cannibalism, all allegedly committed in werewolf form over a period of “fiue and twenty yeerers,” were laid at his feet. Described as a sociable man, this characteristic was twisted into accusations of luring victims into traps, leading to charges of mutilating numerous men, women, and children. The pamphlet vividly recounts particularly gruesome acts, including tearing unborn children from pregnant women and devouring their “hartes panting hotte and rawe.”
Under the excruciating torture of the rack, Stumpp confessed. He admitted to practicing lycanthropy, sorcery, and necromancy since the age of twelve. He recounted a pact with the devil, claiming the devil had gifted him a magical girdle that enabled his transformation into the Werewolf of Bedburg. He confessed to using this girdle to commit a litany of atrocities in wolf form, including at least sixteen murders, the rape of young women, and incest with his sister and daughter, with whom he claimed to have fathered a child. The girdle itself was never found, Stumpp claiming he had discarded it and returned it to the devil upon his capture.
In a particularly chilling confession, Stumpp admitted to the murder of his own son. He described luring the boy into the forest under false pretenses, transforming into a wolf, and then “cruelly slewe him…[and] eat the brains out of his head.” This confession was especially impactful because the earlier murder of his son had initially deflected suspicion from Stumpp, as villagers believed him incapable of such an act so soon after his wife’s death.
A Gruesome End and a Lingering Question
Torture was integral not only to extracting Peter Stumpp’s confession but also to his execution, a public spectacle intended to reinforce the authority of the ecclesiastical principality and deter others from similar “diabolical” pacts. Stumpp was executed on October 31, 1589, alongside his mistress, Katherine Trompin, and his daughter, Sybil. Katherine was believed to be a “she-wolf” sent by the devil, and Sybil was punished for concealing Stumpp’s crimes. Katherine and Sybil were flayed and strangled. Peter Stumpp endured a more brutal fate: strapped to a breaking wheel, his flesh was torn, and his limbs were broken with an axe. Further dehumanizing him, he was then beheaded, his body burned, and his head impaled on a spear as a stark warning to the populace against maleficia, sorcery, and dealings with the devil in an era rife with anxiety.
The sensational trial of Peter Stumpp reverberated across Europe, recounted in pamphlets in England, the Netherlands, and France. Despite the extensive documentation, the true nature of Peter Stumpp remains elusive. Popular culture has embraced his story, blurring the lines between historical fact and terrifying myth. What is certain is that Peter Stumpp lived in a time of religious division, heightened anxieties, and commonplace violence. This volatile mix of political tension, deeply ingrained folklore, and the horrifying crimes of what may have been a serial killer created the perfect storm for the extraordinary and disturbing case of Peter Stumpp – the Werewolf of Bedburg.
