Medieval maniac Christman Genipperteinga, who killed 964 people
There have always been maniacs. And they always did their dark deeds in a similar way. Some killed simply for the love of art, while others additionally benefited from this by robbing their victims. In the latter category was the German Christmann Genipperteing, considered by many to be the most prolific serial killer in history. He killed 964 people with his own hands and these are only the victims he personally documented.
The exact place of birth of Christman Genipperteinga is unknown. But many historians are inclined to believe that this villain was born in the city of Kerpen, which now belongs to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The years of Christman's life are also unknown, as are who his parents were and how his childhood passed. We only know that the killer operated from 1568 to 1581 and that allegedly his mentor was another killer - Peter Niers.
In 1568, Christman Genipperteing left his native Kerpen and moved to the area of Frassberg. It was a mountainous, densely forested region where exiles and dashing people often found refuge. The man settled in a spacious cave system that goes deep into the depths of the mountains. Christman equipped himself with living quarters, storage rooms, basements, and emergency exits.
Several entrances to the cave network were carefully disguised with stones. Because of them, Christmann could observe the roads connecting the cities of Trier, Metz and Dietenhofen. The villain's targets were lonely German or French travelers. Sometimes the killer attacked two people. But companies of 3 or more wanderers did not risk anything - Genipperteinga did not contact groups.
No one knows how the killer dealt with his victims. Historical sources only say that he acted for sure and no one managed to avoid death. Historian Caspar Herber, in his work “The Horrifying Story of the Annoying Murderer Christmann, Tried in Bergkessel on June 17, 1581,” writes that the soulbug did not always act alone.
At first, Christman had accomplices. However, they did not live very long. After the first solid catch, Genipperteinga invited his companion to celebrate his success in his caves. During the feast, he poured poisoned wine for his partner or, waiting until he fell asleep, cut his throat.
The serial killer hid the corpses in caves there. In their depths there was a deep shaft where the non-human threw bodies. Not only unlucky comrades, but also wanderers killed on the road went to its bottom. This explains why the killer operated with impunity for so long - people simply disappeared and no one knew where or how it happened. They also said that Christman was not above cannibalism. After his capture, whole piles of gnawed human bones were found in the caves.
The robber operated like this for 6 years. During this time, he managed to accumulate significant wealth. But he was in no hurry to return to the big world, because murder brought him not only money, but also pleasure. Christmann's life changed when he met the daughter of a cooper from Boppard, who was traveling to Trier to visit her brother. There are two versions of her name - Amarina or Dorothea Teichner.
The girl had the imprudence to travel alone. Christman attacked her, dragged her into his lair and raped her. Then he chained her to the wall with a long chain and began to call her his wife. During seven years of captivity, she gave birth to 6 children to the maniac. Christman killed all of them immediately after birth. Caspar Herber writes that the murderer also ate children's hearts.
Christman tied the bodies of the babies on ropes near the entrance to the cave. They dried out and the wind played with them like rag dolls. The monster really liked this and said: “Dance, dear children, dance, Genipperteinga, your father, makes you dance.”
Folklore collector and storyteller Jules Shantz shared terrible details in one of his books in 1855. When the unfortunate mother heard her children's bones rattling in the wind, she sobbed uncontrollably. Christman, in response to this, mockingly stated: “What are you whining about? Our children are dancing and playing, so stop crying!
Perhaps this maniac would have continued to operate, killing countless people, but stupidity ruined him. Christman believed so much in his undivided power over the captive that he let her go to see her family. At the same time, he made the unfortunate woman swear that she would not tell anyone about him and would definitely return.
Today such an oath seems stupid. But don’t forget that this was the 16th century and such things were taken seriously. The killer's partner was not going to give him away, but when she saw children playing on the street, she fell into hysterics. The woman wailed:
These words interested people, and they began to question the unfortunate woman. She resisted for a long time, but the priest managed to get her to talk. The woman’s story was immediately reported to the authorities, who developed a plan to capture the villain. The monster's cohabitant was sent back, handing her a bundle of peas. She used it to mark her path along the mountain paths.
Returning to the cave, she invited Christman to drink wine. He drank and, drunk, fell asleep. At this time, a detachment of armed townspeople burst into the cave, walking along the path marked with peas. The maniac was tied up and he shouted in rage: “Oh, you treacherous traitor and whore, if I had known this, I would have strangled you a long time ago!”
They examined Christman's cave and what they saw impressed everyone. Over the years of robbery, the killer accumulated a huge amount of 70 thousand guilders. In addition, clothing, weapons, jewelry, and food were stored in underground rooms. Ours and the diary of a maniac. In it he diligently recorded each of his murders. The dirty notebook contained the stories of 964 murders!
Locked in the dungeon, Christman Genipperteinga was not depressed by his situation. On the contrary, he basked in the glory. The maniac willingly talked about his crimes, savoring the details. He didn't even have to be tortured - he was surprisingly talkative. He also admitted that he planned to kill 1000 people and then leave his terrible business.
Of course, the court sentenced the killer to death. Simple beheading or hanging would have been too light a punishment. Therefore, Christman was sentenced to nine days on the wheel. He was tied to a large wheel and then his arms and legs were broken in several places. The mutilated killer, along with the wheel, was placed on a pole and raised above the city square.
To prevent Christman from dying from painful shock, he was given strong wine to drink every day. Folklorist Jules Shantz wrote that when the executioner broke the bones of a criminal with a hammer, he began to scream. To this, the master calmly said to him: “What are you whining about? Your bones are dancing and playing, so stop crying! They say that on the eighth day Christman went crazy and, lying on the wheel, screamed songs. On the ninth day, the executed man was removed from the pole and his head was cut off.
The story of Christmann Genipperteinga was very popular in German folklore. It was overgrown with many details and conjectures. Writers also turned to her. For example, the Brothers Grimm wrote the fairy tale “The Robber Bridegroom” based on it.