Was Medieval Cannibal And Black Magician Peter Niers History’s Most Prolific Serial Killer?

Was Medieval Cannibal And Black Magician Peter Niers History’s Most Prolific Serial Killer?

If his own confession before his brutal execution is to be believed, then Peter Niers slaughtered 544 people — 24 of which were pregnant women he killed for their fetuses. If his confession is true, 15th-century German murderer Peter Niers could be the most prolific serial killer in history with 544 victims — 24 of which were pregnant women who he murdered for their fetuses. From skinning infants to make candles for the devil to carrying around their body parts in a purse, these are the crimes of the medieval boogeyman before he was caught and tortured to death on the breaking wheel The legends of Peter Niers may be lesser-known than those of Vlad the Impaler or Elizabeth Báthory, but they are no less horrifying. It was said that Niers was a master black magician who could render himself invisible, transform into a cat, a dog, or a goat. It was said that he garnered these powers through the cannibalization of fetuses and he kept the severed hands and feet of infants in a leather pouch at all times. It’s no wonder, then, why the German robber-bandit has since been solidly rooted among some of the worst serial killers in history. This is the tale of the medieval Boogeyman. Peter Niers Is Born Into A Class War Niers was born into a peasant family in 16th-century Germany. During the heyday of serfdom, Niers saw firsthand the struggles of rampant classism. No doubt the inhumane living conditions and treatment of the peasant class were a catalyst for his later sociopathy. Niers’ murder spree took place in the aftermath of a country-wide peasant uprising that began in 1525. Also known as the German Peasants’ War, this revolt was the largest uprising in Europe until the French Revolution. Peasant armies stormed the castles of wealthy landowners, monasteries, and cities. As a result, crime rates in Germany soared. Surviving records reveal that murder accounted for anywhere from 11 to 15 percent of the country’s crime between the 1570s and 1590s. And it was from this backdrop of violence and chaos that Peter Niers emerged. The Crimes Of The Hellish Highwaymen The revolution naturally fostered a hostile environment in which groups of thieving highwaymen roved. Niers formed a gang of his own in Alsace, France, a town situated in the middle of the conflict. It is believed Niers was inspired by fellow murderer Martin Stier, a shepherd and murderer who organized 48 fellow shepherds into a gang of bandits. Stier and his gang claimed to have traveled all the way to the Netherlands. After a 22-year crime spree, Stier was executed in 1572, but not before mentoring Niers. Niers and his rotating group of 24 bandits terrorized the European countryside for years as they stole from and murdered travelers on remote highways. The gang split up to target smaller attacks or banded together to take down larger ones. Eventually, the gang became emboldened enough to march into towns and villages to murder, rape, and attack citizens for their goods. Niers’ gang traveled hundreds of miles across southern Germany, western France, the Rhineland, and Bavaria. The gang’s widespread network of crime extended the stories of their misdeeds across Europe and created the lore around Peter Nier and his crimes that persists today Fact Or Folklore? The combination of popular, contemporary folklore and the passage of time have rendered the details of Niers’ life and crimes somewhat unreliable. His crimes and kill count could be exaggerated. Separating fact from fiction in Niers’ tale is all the more complicated by the accounts of two contemporaries, serial killers Christman Genipperteinga and Peter Stumpp. Genipperteinga allegedly murdered 964 people and was also executed via the breaking wheel. Stumpp believed himself to be a werewolf and allegedly ate 14 kids. He was also known, like Niers, for having made a pact with the Devil. Based on his inflated kill count, in particular, historians believe Genipperteinga was a fictitious combination of Niers and similar murderers of the time. As there seem to be no accounts that claim Niers was fake, and because his victim count appears legitimate, this medieval boogeyman could very well be considered one of the most prolific serial killers of all time.