Christman Genipperteinga

Christman Genipperteinga (died c. 26 June 1581) was a possibly fictitious German serial killer and bandit of the 16th century. He reportedly murdered 964 individuals over a 13-year period, from 1568 until his capture in 1581.^[1][2] Although records of Genipperteinga's alleged crimes first emerged shortly after his death, starting in 1581, historians are uncertain of Genipperteinga's existence.^[3][4][5] Similar tales of other serial-killing bandits were circulated in the Holy Roman Empire during and after his alleged life.

The earliest known and most commonly cited account of Christmann Genipperteinga appeared in 1582, written by Caspar Herber, a resident of Lochem an der Mussel (Cochem) and printed by Caspar Behem in Mentz (Mainz).^[6]

Genipperteinga was born in Körpen (Kerpen),^[7] a town two German miles (c. 15 km) from Cologne.^[1] Around 1568, then still a youth,^[1] he began killing people as a bandit in Lützelburg (Luxembourg), then part of the Spanish Netherlands, and the area around Simeonstift Trier. Eight-and-a-half years^[8] prior to his execution, Genipperteinga settled near Bergkessel (Bernkastel), in a wooded upland area called Fraßberg. On a mountain, he took residence in a man-made mining cave, rumored to have been dug by dwarves. Genipperteinga discovered that the high position gave him a good view of the roads going to and from Lützburg, as well as those leading to or passing by Trier, Metz, Diedenhofen,^[1] Simmern im Hunsrück, Saarbrücken, Bad Kreuznach, Bacharach,^[8] and Zweibrücken.^[9] Genipperteiga furnished the cave, initially with bare necessities such as a bed and weapons,^[8] with the hide-out being described as a "fortification" by the time of his capture.^[1] As a highway robber, he attacked and killed travellers, targeting those who were alone or in small groups of up to five people, carrying back any valuables to the cave.^[10] He was reported to have committed mass murder and infanticide, with the bodies of his victims allegedly being thrown down a mine shaft connected with his cave complex.^[11]

Genipperteinga robbed a young female traveller from Boppert (Boppard), described as the daughter of a cooper on her way to visit her brother in Trier.^[7] Afterwards, he forced the woman to make vow of loyalty to him before abducting her and forcing her to accompany him to his cave. For the next seven years, the woman was kept as a sex slave, giving birth to six children, each of which was killed by Genipperteinga after conception. She stated that Genipperteinga would break the newborn's neck,^[7] removed their heart, which he then ate,^[8] before hanging the bodies up to be move around by the wind. Herber's account includes a line of verse alleged to have been said by Genipperteinga while watching the children's bodies flailing about:

"Tanzt liebe Kindlein tanzt, Gnipperteinga euer Vater macht euch den Tanz"
("Dance, dear little children, dance, Gnipperteinga your father is making the dance for you")^[11]

Genipperteinga also began frequenting marketplaces in nearby towns, hiring journeymen to deliver various goods to his cave, only to kill the men with poison and keep the items without paying.^[8] Whenever he was out, Genipperteinga chained the woman up to ensure she wouldn't flee.^[7]

On 27 May 1581, the hostage woman convinced her captor to let her visit Bergkessel, under the condition that she told no one where she was from and how she was. She wandered around inside Bergkessel, when she saw children playing in the streets and reminded of her own murdered off-spring, she broke down in tears, attracting the attention of several townsfolk. The woman refused to tell anyone about her situation, stating she could only tell "God in his throne and this stone" she was sitting on. The mayor subsequently enlisted the help of two priests and other scholars, who successfully persuaded the woman to talk. Town officials told her to return to Genipperteinga, giving her sack of peas, both as food and to leave as a trail on the way back, followed by thirty armed soldiers.^[7] Outside the cave entrance, the woman lured Genipperteinga into the open, inviting him to sleep in her lap. Once he was in position, the soldiers captured Genipperteinga.^[8][10] He is alleged to have told his former prisoner either "You perjuring whore, this is the oath you swore to me?"^[8] or "Oh you disloyal traitress, had I known, I would have strangled you long ago".^[7]

A search of his cave found various stolen items in the form of wine, salted meat, suits of armour, weaponry, coins, and other valuables. The minimum value was estimated at 70,000 Gulden.^[1][2][7] While Herber's account stated that it was "uncertain" what would happen to both the loot and the now free woman,^[7] it was later reported that part of the loot was donated to charity for the poor and a hospital, while another part was given to the woman.^[8]

Chronicles assert that Genipperteinga kept a diary in which he detailed the murders of 964 individuals, as well as a tally of the loot gained from them.^[1] In addition to this evidence, he readily admitted to the murders, adding that if he had reached his goal of a thousand victims, he would have quit killing, abandoned dark magic and spent the rest of his life living off his ill-gotten wealth.^[2][10][8]

On 17 June 1581 Christman Genipperteinga was found guilty and condemned to death by breaking on the wheel. Allegedly, he survived nine days of torture before he perished^[12][13] and was kept conscious throughout with "strong drink" administered by his tortureres each day.^[14]

Whether Genipperteinga actually existed remains uncertain. The sensational story is not attested to in contemporary local records, and the only accounts of his life come from a series of late 16th century pamphlets, all derivative from a 1581 publication by Caspar Herber of Cochem. No other publications of or references to Caspar Herber survive.^[15] Genipperteinga is one of the most prominent of a series of 16th-century German alleged serial killers, and his story shares attributes with those of a handful of other bandits. Genipperteinga's story entered local folklore, and was reprinted in altered forms on several occasions as late as the 19th century.^[16][2] Notably, compared to other 16th-century bandit's tales, depictions of supernatural abilities, contracts with the devil, and cannibalism are absent from the 1581 account of Genipperteinga,^[11] while claims of cannibalism appeared in some later versions of his life story.^[17] Similarly, it was claimed later that Genipperteinga was taught dark magic by Peter Nirsch, another possibly apocryphal bandit, having supposedly served as an apprentice to him for two years, and that both practiced rituals for the Devil, believing this would grant them invisibility during their crimes.^[8]

• Sawney Bean, contemporary possibly fictional Scottish bandit and cannibal
• List of serial killers before 1900