The Satanic Cannibal Bandit | Peter Niers

What's up guys, it's Oli from History Profiles and welcome to another video. Today's video will be about Peter Niers, a German serial killing bandit who is one of the most depraved people I've ever read about. Let's dive in. Peter Niers was born into a poor family in the 16th century. He grew up in Germany and saw from when he was a child that even if he worked, he would just get by and he would be looked down on by the richer and higher members of society. As he grew up, he did realise that he and his family were peasants and the lowest class of society living in inhumane conditions. He would quickly come to realise that there was no opportunities for someone in his position and thus he became a bandit. Peter Niers began his murder spree after a country-wide peasant uprising that started in 1525. This was also known as the German Peasants' War. During this war, peasant hordes would storm the castles of wealthy men and carry away anything that they could get their hands on, as well as dishing out their own community justice. During this time, the crime rate in Germany rose significantly. Surviving records say that the crime of murder accounted for up to 15% of the country's crime between the years of 1570 and 1590. It was during these years of chaos that Peter Niers emerged. The revolution forged a hostile and chaotic environment around the country, in which thieving bandits were littered around the dark and dangerous places of the country. This would lead Peter to form his own gang. Peter met a man named Martin Stier who was a shepherd and he got together 50 more shepherds who then became a gang of bandits. Martin Stier and Peter Niers travelled all the way to the murdering, robbing and mutilating people on the way. After a 22-year crime spree, Martin Stier was executed, but he had already taught Peter Niers about the life and made him into a cold-hearted, sociopathic killer. Apparently, before Martin Stier's death, he would train Peter in the art of black magic and the occult. Peter would also be present at several devil-worshipping sessions where the group would attempt to summon the devil and other supernatural entities in order to gain more knowledge of the occult. However, these ceremonies required a sacrifice which motivated Peter more to kill. Peter Niers would later threaten the European countryside, robbing travellers on the road as the opportunity came and if he felt like it, he would murder them without hesitation. He was still part of the gang of bandits that would sometimes work together for bigger robberies and murders. However, they became so bold that they would march into villages and murder, steal and do other unspeakable acts. They would travel many miles across southern Germany, western France and Bavaria. By the year 1577, Peter Niers and many other members of his gang managed to get imprisoned after over a decade of committing the worst crimes known to man. Peter himself was arrested and tortured in Gersbach. There he confessed to 75 acts of murder but somehow managed to escape from prison. Over the next few years, stories were written and circulated detailing his cannibalism and dealings with the black arts. He was credited with supernatural powers. People believed that he had the ability to transform physically and shapeshift into a log, stone or a goat, dog or cat. A more believable account would be that Peter Niers was the master of disguise. It is thought that he frequently changed his appearance, sometimes looking like a common soldier and at other times a leper. He was the master of disguise. He also always had a lot of money on him and carried around two loaded pistols and a huge sword. People described him as looking rather old, with him having two crooked fingers and he had a long scar on his chin. His depravity knew no bounds as historians reported that the black magic practitioners from that era would make candles from fetus skin and fat in order to grant them some kind of supernatural power. It was also believed that devouring fetuses could give one the ability of transformation, allowing one to shapeshift at will. This would lead Peter to kill pregnant women and commit horrific acts on them. In addition to all this, he would skin infants and make candles out of their skin that he believed would allow him to break into people's homes, remaining unseen. He would then hack the heads and hands off these infants and eat their hearts. One day, Peter arrived at an inn named The Bells. When he desired to wash himself and go to the public bathhouse, he left his bag with his magical objects inside it with the innkeeper. At this time, Peter Niers had achieved notoriety and his physical appearance was circulating in the arrest warrants and pamphlets. A random man in the bathhouse recognised him and gradually the mumbling and whispering spread around the bathhouse until everyone was directly looking at Peter Niers. The random people were all thinking that this man could be the wanted, satanic, insane serial killer. Apparently, Peter Niers was completely oblivious to the changing mood and the atmosphere in the inn, and two citizens slipped out of the bathhouse and went back to the inn. There, on request, the innkeeper gave the citizens Peter's bag and they opened it. It contained several cut off hands and hearts from murdered fetuses. The men reacted quickly and left the inn to spread the word around the town. A force of eight men were gathered and there they apprehended Peter Niers. When they presented him with his sack of human body parts, he admitted his identity and confessed to 544 murders that included 24 pregnant women. Peter Niers was then tortured and executed over the course of three days on September 1581. On the first day, strips of flesh were torn from his body and heated oil was poured into the gashes that were left on his body. On the second day, his feet were smeared with boiling oil and then held above glowing coal. And on the third day, he was dragged to the final place of execution. He would be placed on the wheel. It was slammed down upon him 42 times and it must have broken nearly every bone in his body. Finally, still alive, he was dismembered by quartering. And then he finally succumbed to death. Thanks for listening to the video guys. If you enjoyed it, make sure to like and subscribe and also share the video and let me know what kind of content you like in the comment box down below. Have a great day now, bye.