S6 E13: The Werewolf of Bedburg - The True Story of Peter Stumpp

In this episode of That Would Be Rad, we dive into one of the darkest, strangest, and most infamous werewolf stories in recorded history: The Werewolf of Bedburg.

In 1589, a farmer named Peter Stumpp was accused of terrorizing the German countryside for decades. According to the accounts of the time, Stumpp had made a pact with the Devil, received a mysterious belt that allowed him to transform into a monstrous wolf, and used that power to commit a series of horrifying crimes.

But this story is much more than a werewolf legend.

It is a nightmare pulled from a world of religious panic, witch trials, public executions, folklore, fear, and violence.

Join Woody and Tyler as they travel back to late sixteenth-century Germany, a time when belief in demons, witchcraft, magic, and monsters wasn’t just superstition. It was part of everyday life. In that world, people didn’t ask whether werewolves were real.

They asked where they were hiding.

Together, we explore the terrifying legend of Peter Stumpp, the giant wolf said to stalk the countryside near Bedburg, the infamous Devil’s belt, the alleged transformation, the missing hand, the brutal confession, and one of the most shocking public executions you’ve probably never heard of.

Along the way, we dig into the deeper mystery at the heart of the case:

Was Peter Stumpp truly a monster?

Was he a murderer whose crimes became wrapped in folklore?

Was he a victim of torture, fear, and religious hysteria?

Or did the legend of the Werewolf of Bedburg become so powerful that it swallowed the truth completely?

If you love werewolf folklore, dark history, witch trials, true crime, cryptids, monster legends, demonic pacts, medieval punishment, or stories that live somewhere between history and nightmare, this episode is for you.

This isn’t just a story about a werewolf.

It’s about fear.

The kind of fear that spreads through villages.

The kind of fear that turns rumors into accusations.

The kind of fear that can transform a man into a monster.

So lock the doors, keep away from the woods after dark, and whatever you do...

Don’t put on the belt.

Be Rad.

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SHOW INFO:

🎧 Written & Produced by: Woody Brown & Tyler Bence

🎧 Recorded at: Midnight Radio Studios

🎧 Sound Design, Editing, & Music by: Woody Brown

🎧 Mixing & Mastering by: Tyler Bence

🎧 Art Design by: Tyler Bence

🎧 Outro Song: “Ghost Story” by The Modern Society

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