The Werewolf of Bedburg — Peter Stumpp and Germany's Most Gruesome Trial (1589)

In 1589, Peter Stumpp (also spelled Stump, Stübbe, or Stumpf), a wealthy farmer from the town of Bedburg near Cologne in the Rhineland, was arrested, tried, and executed for allegedly being a werewolf who had terrorized the countryside for 25 years. Under torture on the rack, Stumpp confessed to making a pact with the Devil, who gave him a magical belt that 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 unto brands of fire.' He confessed to killing and eating 14 children, two pregnant women, and numerous livestock over a quarter century. His execution on October 31, 1589, was one of the most gruesome in recorded history: he was placed on a wheel, had flesh torn from his body with red-hot pincers, had his limbs broken with a wooden axe, was beheaded, and finally burned at the stake alongside his daughter and mistress. A contemporary pamphlet describing the case was widely circulated and remains one of the most detailed primary sources on European werewolf belief.