1925: Fritz Haarmann, Hanover vampire

On this date in 1925, German serial killer Fritz Haarmann dropped his head in a basket in Hanover.

One of the most iconic and most terrifying among Weimar Germany’s ample crop of mass murderers, Haarmann is thought to have slain dozens of boys and young men from 1918 to 1924. (He was charged with 27 murders and convicted in 24 of them; Haarmann himself suggested the true number might be north of 50.)

Such gaudy statistics require teamwork.

This predatory pedophile partnered with one Hans Grans, a younger lover-slash-confederate; together they would lure fresh “game” (Haarmann’s word) for a meal and more.

Everyone dined well — Haarmann especially. Notorious as one of the most prolific “vampire” killers (the press also favored him with this moniker its its search for some epithet equal to the offenses; “werewolf” and “butcher” were also current), Haarmann liked to gnaw through his victims’ throats.

A chilling ditty paid tribute to the unsubstantiated rumor that Haarmann would even butcher the human flesh and sell it as “pork” on the black market. (He was known to trade in black-market meat.)

Just you wait ’til it’s your time,
Haarmann will come after you,
With his chopper, oh so fine,
He’ll make mincemeat out of you.

In the 1931 Fritz Lang classic M, for which Haarmann is one of several influences on the fictional serial killer at the center of the action, this rhyme appears with the name “Haarmann” replaced by “black man”.

Much deeper delves into the mind of this particular madman are to be had here, here and here.

And here:

That accomplice of his, Hans Grans, drew a death sentence too, but Haarmann somehow exculpated him successfully. Not only did Grans get out of prison, the once-notorious homosexual killer lived out the Nazi regime in Hanover un-tortured.

On this day..

4 thoughts on “1925: Fritz Haarmann, Hanover vampire

  1. The game sounds simple but it takes a lot of practice to be able to drift well around corners. Join the game now to prove that you are the best racer and score the most points.

  2. Fritz Haarmann, beter bekend als de Vampier van Hannover, was ooit getrouwd maar hij bleek later meer homotrekjes te hebben en een lust naar menselijk bloed en vlees van vooral jongemannen! Omdat hij een slager was had Haarmann er na WO I geen moeite mee om zijn slachtoffers (die hij naar zijn huis lokte voor seks), nadat hij hen letterlijk de keel doorbeet, als vee te slachten, hun bloed te op te drinken en hun lichamen gedeeltelijk te consumeren! Zo vraag ik me af wat er was gebeurd als Haarmann had weten te ontsnappen aan de guillotine in 1925 en een kleine vijf jaar later naar Düsseldorf was vertrokken. Was hij daar Peter Kürten, de beruchte Vampier van Düsseldorf, tegengekomen dan vraag ik me af of ze elkaar hadden omgebrachtr om elklaars bloed letterlijk op te drinken. Alleen wenste Haarmann weer niet, in tegenstelling tot Kürten, dat hij na zijn onthoofding misschien zijn bloed nog kon horen gorgelen uit zijn hals!

  3. Pingback: Peter Kurten: The Vampire of Düsseldorf | Blood Bytes

  4. Pingback: ExecutedToday.com » 1931: Peter Kürten, the Vampire of Düsseldorf

Comments are closed.