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Modern Serial Killers Have Nothing On The Middle Ages

Modern Serial Killers Have Nothing On The Middle Ages

Author: Softcore History August 17, 2026 Duration: 1:00:29
Softcore History
HistoryComedyImprov
Forget Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. Forget Jack the Ripper. One serial killer in 16th-century Germany was so prolific and horrifying that he puts all our modern true crime subject matter to shame. Peter Niers confessed to taking the lives of over 500 victims, both while robbing and looting as a bandit and, apparently, for love of the game as well. Not only was Niers a killer, he was also, according to stories at the time, a practitioner of dark magic. He made deals with the devil and specifically targeted pregnant women and their unborn children in order to make his dark magical powers stronger. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours of extra history content including episodes like this, listener voicemails, movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.  Rob Fox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/robfoxthree/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/RobFoxThree ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@robfoxthree ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dan Regester ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/danregester/ ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A podcast for the casual fan of history. The Wikipedia reader. The kids who grew up with a dad who watched the same 10 hours of World War II specials on The History Channel. Join Dan Regester, Rob Fox, and a weekly guest as they tastefully insert themselves into the past. The only thing we don’t show is our research.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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Softcore History
Podcast Episodes
The Time An Immigrant Took The President's Job [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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David and the Goliath-Sized Pile of Foreskin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:38
One of the most famous stories of the Old Testament is David's slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath. But, that's not even the most impressive thing David did. After taking down Goliath David, at the behest of King Sau…
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Duration: 1:04:16
Jack Mandaville joins the show to talk about a forgotten terrorist attack on American soil that helped push the US into war. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Softcore History Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for hundreds of hours…
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Herbert Hoover is remembered as a total bozo whose term in office is defined by the Great Depression. But, Herbie lived an insanely eventful and rewarding life before and after his time at the White House that included s…
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Duration: 1:04:25
Bob Crane was known best for his titular role on the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. But behind the scenes the man was a s*x addicted freak who filmed nearly every one of his conquests, carried personal p*rn on him at all times,…
The King Addicted To Gooning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:30
Christian VII of Denmark is a relatively unknown monarch from the 1700s, save for one thing — he loved cranking it. The gooning addiction got so bad his advisors had to hide it from King George III of Great Britain so th…
When Cross-Dressers Took Down The Spartans [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:51
In 379 BC, exiled government officials from Thebes devised a plan to retake the city-state from their Spartan captors. It involved a seven man military crew who disguised themselves as high end prostitutes for a winter b…
Why Bastille Day Is Stupid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:38
Much like the French Revolution as a whole, the event that kicked it all off, the Storming of the Bastille, was a sh*tshow that was in no way about what everyone involved claimed it was about. And, as was tradition durin…
The Peg Legged Playboy Who Helped Write The Constitution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:00
Gouverneur Morris was an American statesman, framer of the Constitution, and one of the most under appreciated Founding Fathers of the United States. He also had a peg leg, loved messing around with married women, became…

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