Armin Meiwes the German Cannibal (Franky the Master Butcher)

The name Armin Meiwes might not ring a bell for most of you, but I can assure you this man is not someone you want to end up around a dinner table with. Especially not when he's cooking!

Mr Meiwes was a computer repair technician, infamous for murdering and eating Bernd Brandes; a man who voluntarily offered himself up as a meal to Mr Meiwes via a website known as the Cannibal Cafe. The website clearly states that it's just for FANTASY and ROLE PLAY. I guess our dearest technician didn't get the memo!

Even though the website was taken down by the government years ago, you can still access it via this wonderful thing known as Wayback Web. (I'll get back to this part a little later.)

Armin posted under the name "Franky" on the Cannibal Cafe website, requesting someone who wants to be eaten. He met up with someone who replied but the man backed out and Armin had to continue looking. That's when Bernd came along. He too had a cannibalism fetish, but in a different way, his was to be consumed instead of consuming.

Killer: Notorious German cannibal Armin Meiwes (pictured) has described how he killed and ate his gay lover 'with his permission' in 2001, in a shocking interview for a new documentary
Infamous German Cannibal, Armin Meiwes also known as "Franky the Master Butcher".

Here is a brief summary of the events.

If you're sensitive I would advise you to stop reading right about here. 


Armin and Bernd

When the two met up and went back to Armin's home they got straight to business. After having sex, Bernd requested that Armin bites his penis off, but that was too hard so Armin ended up having to cut it off. Bernd then attempted to eat his own penis raw but that was also not possible as it was described as being too "chewy". (Yeah, I know, I know. My stomach isn't strong enough for this shit either.)

Being the great host he is, Armin cooked Bernd's penis for him in his own fat and even some spices, but burned it, leaving it inedible so he chopped it up and fed it to his dog. Where's Gordon Ramsay when you need him?

After a failed attempt to bite off, cook and feed Bernd's penis to him he put Bernd in a bathtub and gave him alcohol, sleeping pills and painkillers. By this point Bernd was already in pretty bad shape from losing all the blood after having his genitalia removed so I'm sure he welcomed the medication and alcohol.

The plan was to have Bernd bleed out in the bathtub. Before stabbing Bernd in the throat, Armin gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Interesting Fact: While waiting for Bernd to bleed out he read a Star Trek novel.

Scene of the crime: Meiwes became the first person in Germany to be charged with 'love cannibalism'. The pair went to Meiwes' isolated farmhouse (pictured) before they had sex and Meiwes killed and ate Brandes
The crime scene. 

The tape

Yes, like all great serial killers he caught it all on tape. A two-hour long tape actually. After watching this tape some people had to undergo therapy to recover from what they saw.

The tape depicts Armin hanging and dismantling the body in a special room prepared for this event. He stored the flesh of Bernd in his freezer and reportedly consumed about 20 kg of his flesh.

The tape was ceased by authorities in December 2002 but somehow screenshots were leaked onto 4chan by a user.

The screenshots

The following four screenshots were leaked onto 4chan.

I am now warning you again, if you are under 18 or sensitive DO NOT view these. These images are extremely graphic and not for the fainthearted.

(These screenshots have not been officially validated.)

The arrest

Someone who saw Armin's post on the Cannibal Cafe website tipped off the police. They went to Armin's farmhouse and found the human meat in his freezer.

On 30 January 2004 he was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for eight years. During his eight years in prison Armin has reportedly become vegetarian.

Cannibal Cafe

The forum where like-minded individuals came together to discuss their cannibalism fantasies was used as a platform for Armin to find a volunteer who wished to be consumed.

The website can still be viewed here, and you can see some of his posts under the name "Franky".

On there you can see the "Cows" offering themselves up as meals. The creator of this website, Perro Loco, also put up a picture of his daughter with info on her stating that she too wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and star in her own snuff film one day.

Where is he now?


There was a retrial back in April 2005 and Armin is now serving a life sentence in a German jail.

"At his retrial, a psychologist stated that Meiwes could reoffend and still "had fantasies about devouring the flesh of young people"." - quoted from a Wikipedia article about Armin Meiwes.

The story of his horrendous crime is now immortalized all over the internet, in various books and he even has his own movie.

The Volunteer, Bernd Brandes.

Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (The Blood Countess)

Let's kick things off with my favorite serial killer, the lady in red you DON'T want to pick up from the bar if you're, I don't know, a  beautiful young girl who doesn't want to be tortured and murdered by the infamous Blood Countess. The story of the not-so-dear Vampire Queen is not exactly your conventional campfire tale; especially not when your eyes light up like mine at the mention of her name. Apparently being fascinated with an infamous serial killer earns you the title "weirdo".

If you think that Elizabeth Bathory is just "that woman from Stay Alive", I have some news for you. She was an actual living, breathing, cruel as fuck, non-fictional human being. She liked Piña coladas, getting caught in the rain and bathing in the blood of virgins.

A portrait of the Blood Countess Elizabeth Bathory the serial killer
The infamous Vampire Queen - Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth Bathory was born in Transylvania in 1560 into a family of Kings, Cardinals, Knights and Judges. It is said that while growing up her uncle instructed her in satanism.

At the ripe age of only 15 she married Count Nadady who built a torture chamber according to her specifications to please his dearest wife. Bathory was a ruthless killer who lost all restraint once her husband died. More and more girls started dissapearing from the village and later she started luring girls from higher born families to their deaths.

I mean, who could blame her? It's not like her family was a group of saints. There is also some rumored incest, but we'll leave that for another day!

Kill Count

Before being walled in in Cachtice Castle back in 1610, she is reported to have tortured and killed between 80 and 650 people. Now that's a kill-death ratio to live up to! I know what you're thinking, how can someone kill between 80 and 650 people? Because officials could only prove 80 out of the 650, the official count stands at 80 instead of the 650 she kept count of.

Her crimes were ignored until 1610 as her family headed the local government.

The Torture

Bathory and her right hand, Dorka, began disciplining the servants by torturing them in an underground torture chamber built by Bathory's husband. The torture allegedly included tying the servants down and sticking needles under their fingernails. It's also said that she smeared them with honey and left them there while ants and bees attacked them. 

How was she caught?

A Hungarian King sent his second in command to investigate Elizabeth Bathory after she began torturing and murdering girls from higher born families to satiate her habit. Her cohorts were executed but she escaped the death penalty and, as mentioned above, was walled in Cachtice Castle in 1610.

Cachtice Castle - The Historic "Horror House" where the torture and murder took place.

Why the Blood Countess?

The name "Blood Countess" was given to her because she bathed in the blood of her victims believing that it will keep her skin looking youthful.


What happened to the Blood Countess after she was placed under house arrest?

A mere four years after she was walled in Cachtice Castle she was found dead. The 21st of August commemorates her death. For a couple of generations after Elizabeth Bathory was found dead it was against Hungarian law to use her name in public. The non-fictional version of He who must not be named!

Today you can see her immortalized in video games, books, movies and featured all over the internet. There is no doubt that the story of the Blood Countess is a hair raising yet extremely fascinating one.

A statue of Elizabeth Bathory erected in Cachtice square

Fun Facts About Elizabeth Bathory

1. Her uncle, Stephen Bathory was apparently friends with Vlad the Impaler.
2. Dorothea Szentes (Dorka) instructed Bathory in witchcraft and later encouraged Bathory's sadistic actions.
3. She is said to have bitten chunks of meat from her victims and once forced a girl to cook and eat her own flesh.
4. Elizabeth spoke and wrote in Hungarian, Latin and German.

Sources

2. On the trail of the 'Blood Countess' in Slovakia
3. Badass of the Week: Elizabeth Bathory
4. Erzsebet Bathory