Peter Niers was born around 1540 in the Palatinate region of the Holy Roman Empire. He dabbled in banditry during a volatile era that saw highways and forests ripe for violent opportunists. Unlike typical criminals, Niers was enveloped in supernatural infamy—tales describe him as a master of black magic, believed to shape-shift into animals or even stones, armed with disappearance spells fueled by infant flesh.

Niers was said to have followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Martin Stier, who led a gang disguised as shepherds—nomadic, unmonitored, and thus perfect for clandestine raids. Stier traveled from the Netherlands to Württemberg, reportedly pillaging and killing with impunity until his execution in 1572.

Peter Niers stalked the unsettled landscapes of 16th-century Germany, an era where highways and forests became his hunting grounds. He wasn’t a lone outlaw—but the ringleader of a shifting network of bandits. Sometimes they merged into larger squads; other times, they splintered into pairs or trios, launching terror in remote villages, fields, and along deserted roads. Historian Joy Wiltenburg notes how these bands, like the one led by Niers and his partner Sumer, congregated in Alsace and near Pfalzburg—only to scatter across the region afterward to strike unpredictably. This flexibility made their crimes chaotic and frightening. Arrests were spread out: one in Landau, another in Kirchweyler, a few in Strasbourg, others in Pfalzburg and Koblenz. This mobile model allowed them to evade capture for years.

Niers’ style of crime would have roots in his mentor’s legacy. Martin Stier, allegedly his predecessor, led a band of 49 “shepherds” turned killers from the Netherlands to Württemberg from the 1550s until his execution in 1572. These shepherds served as an archetype: rural, unmonitored, and feared—even more so because shepherding hooded them with an appearance of harmlessness. Across the social hierarchy, shepherds were seen as low-status and morally questionable.

By the late 1570s, Niers' name had become folklore. In 1577, he was captured in Gersbach and tortured until he confessed to 75 murders—but somehow escaped. His elusiveness inspired a wave of sensational ballads, pamphlets, and broadsheets. These surviving artifacts portray him not only as a killer but as a figure awakened by the Devil—at one alleged gathering at Pfalzburg, the Devil purportedly met Niers and granted him supernatural abilities and a monthly stipend, according to occult-infused reports. 

According to Wiltenburg, Niers was believed to use fetal remains in black magic spells—to render himself invisible or transform into animals or stones. Fetuses' hearts were said to be eaten in the process; sometimes, infant flesh and fat were burned as candles to allow stealthy robberies. Yet, more mundane records—like a 1579 warrant—paint a slightly grounded picture: Niers often disguised himself as a common soldier or a leper. His accomplices reported that he always carried two loaded pistols and a massive two-handed sword, and that he was wealthy.

His end came in early September 1581, at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. Staying at an inn called “The Bells,” Niers left behind his bag of magical paraphernalia when he washed in a public bathhouse. There, a cooper recognized him. Panic spread quietly, and two townsmen retrieved the bag from the innkeeper—it contained severed fetal hearts and tiny dismembered hands. Realizing the bag's contents betrayed him, Niers admitted who he was and confessed to his crimes.

He was subjected to three excruciating days of torture. The first day, his flesh was torn and scalding oil poured into the wounds. On the second day, his feet were roasted over glowing coals. Finally, on September 16, 1581, he was broken on the wheel with 42 agonizing strikes, then immediately quartered alive.