The city of Ansbach, in what is now Bavaria, was ruled by the iron hand of Bürgermeister Michael Leicht, a deceitful and tyrannical overlord, up until his death in 1685. It was right about the time of Leicht's death that livestock attacks by wolves began, followed by attacks on children. The witnesses of such attacks described a wolf larger than any seen before.
It only made sense to the citizens of Ansbach that this was no ordinary wolf, but a werewolf. It had to be the Leicht himself, attacking the citizens he had abused for years. They planned to catch the werewolf by digging a hole in the ground as a trap, with a chicken at the bottom. The plan, pictured above, worked, and the wolf was killed. But what was truly gruesome was the way enraged citizens treated the wolf's corpse. It was a disturbing display of revenge and a warning to anyone who considered transferring his soul into a wolf in the future. Read the story of the werewolf of Ansbach at Amusing Planet. -via Strange Company