In the year this literary work was published, 1612, Peter Stumpps story was widely known throughout Europe.
Composite woodcut print by Lukas Mayer of the execution of Peter Stumpp.
Almost everything we know about this event comes from these 16 pages.
No copy of the original German pamphlet survive.
Who was Peter Stumpp?
Another alias that is associated with his name is Abal Griswold.
He was a widower.
The villagers naturally suspected wolves.
These sights sent panic through the populace.
In 1589, there was an extraordinary incident.
An outcry was raised and the wolf let go his hold and ran away.
Capture and Execution
Illustrations that accompanied the English pamphlet.
Stumpp claimed that he had been practicing black magic since he was 12 years old.
Removing the belt would change him back to his human form.
Stumpp claimed he had tossed the belt into a certain valley.
The magistrate sent for it to be retrieved but no such belt was ever found.
Stumpp even confessed to killing his own son, whose brain he was reported to have devoured.
Stumpp was also accused of and later confessed to having an incestuous relationship with his daughter.
His son is thought to be the result of this relation.
His body was decapitated and then burned in a pyre.
It’s unclear why Stumpp became the prime suspect for the villagers.
Some historians believe its possible that Stump was a murderer.
It is also possible that Stumpp was made a scapegoat.
Stumpp was a known Catholic who had converted to Protestantism.
The execution of Peter Stumpp was not an isolated incident in the history of werewolf trials.
