The story of the ‘Werewolf of Bedburg’: A true story from the 16th century - mini documentary

It was in the autumn of 1589 when the small community of Bedburg in the Rhineland in Germany was gripped by an eerie fear. For months, sheep and goats had been mysteriously disappearing, found torn apart and covered in blood in the woods. But not only animals were affected: A young mother reported that a wolf-like creature with ‘human eyes’ had attacked her at night, and children swore they had seen a figure walking in the moonlight ‘on two legs like a man, but with the head of an animal’.
The villagers whispered of a werewolf - a demon in human form. Suspicions soon centred on a man named Peter S., a wealthy farmer who lived on the outskirts of the village. Peter S. was unpopular; rumour had it that he had gained his wealth through incest and pacts with the devil. When two children were found dead in the forest, their livers torn out, the hysteria escalated.
Under torture, Peter S. finally confessed the unbelievable: He claimed to have had a ‘blood-red belt’ since the age of 12, which turned him into a wolf-sized demon. He confessed to murders, cannibalism and alliances with the devil. The judges, convinced of his guilt, sentenced him to a cruel execution. On 31 October 1589, Peter S. was bound to the wheel, his limbs torn apart with red-hot tongs and his head impaled on a stake. His daughter and his mistress were also executed as ‘accomplices’.

The case of the ‘Werewolf of Bedburg’ is one of the most notorious witch and werewolf trials in Europe. Today, historians suspect that Peter S. was the victim of a hunt - possibly for political or inheritance motives. His ‘confessions’ were coerced and the ‘werewolf’ legend was used to explain real crimes or even rabies outbreaks.
The files of the trial have been preserved and bear witness to a time when superstition and fear overgrew reason. Whether Peter S. was actually a murderer remains uncertain. But his fate is a reminder of how easily a person can become a monster in the darkness of ignorance - with or without fur.

This story is based on historical trial records. What do you think of werewolves? I would look forward to a like and a subscription.

I am constantly creating videos about mythical creatures and general facts about animals.

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