The Beast of Morbach

Morbach is a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.  The terrain is one of rolling hills with  stretches of forest interspersed with farmland. Near Morbach is Baldenau Castle,the only moated castle in Hunsrück —built around 1320 by Balduin of Luxemburg. There is an airforce base near the village of Wittlich.The area is said to be the home of a monster.

Thomas Johannes Baptist Schwytzer, a deserter from Napoleon’s Army  is fleeing to his homeland in Alsace. With him are a group of Russians, also deserters. While passing by the village of Wittlich, the hungry soldiers spy a farmhouse and decide to take what they want. In the midst of their scavenging they are discovered by the farmer, whom they  murder along with his sons. The farmer's wife, seeing this  lets out a wail and curses Schwitzer. "From now on at each full moon you will change into a rabid wolf!" .Schwytzer kills her but the curse works. Gradually a change comes over Schwytzer. Then the tales of a wolf that walks like a man  spread throughout the countryside and no beast or person was safe. Many were killed..According to the legend they moved the town since they could not get rid of the werewolf menace. There is a shrine outside of the new town where a candle burns to keep the werewolf from coming to the new village. If it goes out the werewolf will return. A munitions site stands where the old village was.

Men stationed at the Hahn airforce base told a story that happened in 1988.  A group of men were on the way to their posts  at the munitions site.when they noticed that the candle was out at the shrine .They  joked about the monster and carried on their way.Later that night the alarms at the perimeter fence went off. When security went to  investigate  one of them saw a huge "dog-like" animal stand up on its back legs, looking  at him. A military guard  dog was brought to the where the creature was last seen. The dog refused to go any further or follow the trail. There were more reports in 1992 and dead deer  and rips in the fence were found.

Various theories have been put forward for the beast. Wild boar are known in the area and are quite fierce but do not normally stand up right. A wolf or wild dog is a possibility. A soldier from WW 2 is said to live in the woods ,like a Wildman ,and still thinks he is at war.Or is there really a werewolf in Morbach forest ?