19. The Black Arts Bandit
Medieval German outlaw Peter Niers (died 1581) was a highwayman, black arts practitioner, and one of history’s most prolific serial killers. Over a fifteen-year period, as he confessed after his arrest, Niers murdered 544 people, and cut the fetuses out of the wombs of 24 pregnant women. The fetuses were used as ingredients in black magic rituals, then consumed in cannibalistic acts.
Niers began his criminal career as a highwayman in Alsace, present day France. He eventually headed a gang of bandits that numbered about 24 cutthroats. He also became a leading figure in a loose network of outlaws and highwayman gangs, that joined forces on occasion to conduct major operations requiring large numbers of men. Niers’ criminal activities spanned a large territory that included western France, the Rhineland, and Bavaria in southern Germany.
