Case file · Witch trials
Peter Stumpp, the werewolf of Bedburg
In 1589, farmer Peter Stumpp was executed at Bedburg near Cologne after confessing under torture to being a werewolf who murdered and ate children.
1589 CE · 51.00, 6.57 · status: account
The account
Pamphlets printed as far away as London spread the case. He claimed the Devil gave him a magic belt to change into a wolf; his daughter and mistress were burned with him.
The sceptical view
The confession was extracted under torture during religious conflict; some historians think he was a scapegoat or a Protestant targeted after the Catholic reconquest.