Episode 19
The Footprints Led In... But Never Out
The documented facts
- Andreas Gruber found tracks in the snow leading from the treeline to his farm's machine room with no tracks leading back, days before the murders.
- On March 31, 1922, six people were killed at the Hinterkaifeck farm: Andreas, 63, his wife Cazilia, 72, Viktoria Gabriel, 35, her children aged 7 and 2, and new maid Maria Baumgartner, 44.
- The victims were struck with a mattock; afterward the killer stayed for days, feeding the cattle and eating the family's food.
- The bodies were found on April 4, 1922; no one was ever arrested, and the case was closed in 1955 without a conviction.
The Draugr does not invent. He documents.
The Hinterkaifeck Murders, 1922
The facts
- Days before the murdersAndreas Gruber finds tracks in the snow leading from the treeline to his farm's machine room, with no tracks leading back.
- March 31, 1922Six people are killed at the Hinterkaifeck farm: Andreas, 63, his wife Cazilia, 72, Viktoria Gabriel, 35, her children aged 7 and 2, and new maid Maria Baumgartner, 44.
- After the murdersThe killer stays for days, feeding the cattle and eating the family's food.
- April 4, 1922The bodies are found. No one is ever arrested, and the case is closed in 1955 without a conviction.
The evidence
- The victims were struck with a mattock, yet the killer lingered for days afterward, tending the farm like he owned it.
- Snow showed someone walked to the farm and never walked back. The footprints arrived. They did not leave.
Sources
The words, as I spoke them.
Transcript
Heh heh! Bavaria, 1922. I'm Andreas Gruber. Footprints in the snow this morning, from the forest to my farmhouse, but none leading back. Heh heh heh.
Then footsteps in my attic, creaking at midnight. On my table, a newspaper I never bought. Somebody had been INSIDE my house, boils and ghouls!
My house keys vanished. I searched every room, every stall, nothing. Just eyes on my back. Someone was living here, watching me.
Tonight the farm is silent. Too silent. Snow falling, and I hear footsteps in the attic, coming down the stairs. Heh heh... to DIE for!
Dramatized for the telling. The facts above are documented; the narration is the Draugr’s retelling of them.
Wear the nightmare
The Dreaded wear the mark.
Enter the shop
