Hans Schmidt: The Vampire Priest of New York City

Podcast: Southern Ghost Stories · Southern Ghost Stories

Opublikowano: 2026-10-29

In September 1913, the dismembered remains of pregnant German immigrant Anna Aumüller washed ashore along the Hudson River, leading New York detectives to an ordained Catholic priest named Father Hans Schmidt. When questioned, Schmidt confessed to slitting his secret lover's throat, horrifying the nation by claiming God demanded a human sacrifice and alleging he drank her blood before tossing her severed remains into the water. Dubbed "The Vampire Priest," his trial exposed a tangled web of lies, counterfeiting schemes, and an explosive insanity defense that ultimately failed, making him the only Catholic priest legally executed in American history. In this e...