Simon Bingelhelm was reportedly born around 1565 in Halberstadt. Little is known about his upbringing, family, or how he came to a life of criminality. He emerges into historical record when, in spring 1600, a man presumed to be the notorious “Thousand Devils of Halberstadt” was arrested in the Diocese of Halberstadt, then centered in Gröningen under Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick. During interrogations—often under torture—he admitted that he had personally committed numerous crimes across the region.

During grueling interrogations in 1600, Simon Bingelhelm confessed to a staggering 71 crimes, including 26 murders, spanning a wide swath of what’s now Saxony-Anhalt. He admitted to burglarizing and stealing in towns like Halberstadt, Wernigerode, Falkenstein, Aschersleben, Salzwedel, and others. His criminal record also included the arson of Drübeck Abbey monastery in 1599, witnessed from a nearby hill, as well as thefts from churches—stealing chalices and money meant for the poor.

He confessed to horrific acts of violence: in Benzingerode, a young woman was murdered eight days before Pentecost 1599; near Hornburg and Osterwieck, he raped and killed an 18-year-old girl; in another atrocity, he and accomplices slaughtered a pregnant woman and extracted her unborn child’s entrails to craft candles used in burglaries. He also admitted to killing at least five infants.

On June 2, 1600, Simon Bingelhelm was executed in Gröningen. His death was gruesome and symbolic: he was attacked with pincers for honor, dragged to the town court, then quartered.