Many women throughout history have been accused of witchcraft and subjected to torture until they have confessed what their accusers wanted. In many cases they were victims of envy, they were affected by some kind of mental illness or they simply refused to submit to the absurd laws and customs of their time. In Supercurioso we have seen some cases like the witch Agnes Waterhouse and her cat Satan or the one Alice Kyteler, the first Irish witch, accused of having relations with an incubus and on this occasion we want to approach a new and terrible episode: Walpurga Hausmännin accused of witchcraft, infanticide and sex with the devil.
Walpurga Hausmännin
Walpurga Hausmännin was an old widow who worked as a midwife in the city of Dillingen in Germany . It is believed that she was born around 1510 and had been working as a midwife for 19 years when she was accused of witchcraft, murder of children and vampirism and burned at the stake in 1587.
During the beginning of the Modern Age, in Central Europe , there was a phenomenon known as Witch hunt that took to the pyre to numerous people, especially women, accused of witchcraft and to which it was made confess by means of torture. In case of Walpurga Hausmännin It is one of them. What makes it different is that due to the atrocious tortures, the woman confessed real barbarities and one of those who attended the confession leaked what the woman had said. The story was published in several publications of the time and became famous.
Witchcraft
Walpurga Hausmännin She was denounced as a witch, possibly by one of her neighbors. This fact was not extraordinary if one takes into account that at the time it was very common for babies and mothers to die during childbirth and blame for what happened to the midwife. Furthermore, these women used to have knowledge about herbs and their healing properties, which made them even more suspicious of being in contact with dark forces.
Sex with the devil
After the arrest she was tortured and confessed that having been a widow for over 31 years had hired a neighbor for the work of the field and had stayed with him at night to have sex. The laborer appeared, they lay together, and it was not until the end that he realized that the place of one foot had a hoof. It was not his neighbor, but a demon with his physiognomy and clothes. He said the name of Jesus and the devil fled. In spite of knowing that he had committed a great sin and wanting to make amends, he could not resist and the next day and the next he sinned again.
The devil in exchange for ridding her of poverty made him sign a contract and made a mark on his back. Gave an ointment to kill people, animals and plants. The number of victims needed to be charged better. She explained that she had been forced to deny Jesus after a great beating that was given to her by Beelzebub and to participate in meals in which she drank wine and ate fried children. Although, yes, without salt.
Infanticide and vampirism
He confessed to having killed at least 40 newborn children without baptism and having sucked the blood of several of them. He killed them with the ointment that the devil had given him. He also said that he had dug up the children and used his bones and hair to make magic potions with which to do even more damage, such as producing hailstorms that damaged crops. He blamed himself for the death of those 40 children, 5 adults and a large number of animals, including cows, goats, sheep, chickens and ducks, especially.
The end of Walpurga Hausmännin
As they tortured her, the old woman added new episodes and outrages to the story she explained. As he had gone to Mass during those 30 years, they asked him what he did with the sacred form. She said that he did not swallow her and that he took her to the devil, who said that his name was Federlin, so that they would profane her. When reading the statements of Walpurga Hausmännin it is clear how he is inventing the answers as the interrogations increase and even in many cases he contradicts himself.
Finally, Walpurga Hausmännin she was condemned to the stake for witchcraft and murder, but before dying she was paraded throughout the town and subjected to atrocious tortures in several public places. They burned it with plates, shelled it, and cut off the hand with which she had taken her oath as a midwife before gutting it. After all this they threw her on the pyre, which seems to me that, if she was still alive, it must have been a liberation.
Did you know the terrible story of this poor midwife? Do you know of other cases such as Walpurga Hausmännin ? Discuss them with us! If you want to know more cases of women victims of the witch hunt that took place in the countries of central Europe during the Modern Age, we invite you to read the post: The terrifying story of Anna Göldin, the last witch in Europe.