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Footsteps in the Attic: A true account of the slayings at the Hinterkaifeck Farmstead
"He told me that in the snow a track of two sets of footprints led up to his estate. He believed that rogues were in his house. I offered to help him to search the property, to which Gruber replied that he was not afraid.”
Sometime during the evening of the 31st March 1922, at an isolated farmstead deep in rural Germany, five members of the same family, alongside their maid, were brutally slain in their own home, hacked to death with a short handled pickaxe. The killings stunned a Bavaria already racked by the aftermath of war and hyper-inflation. Almost a century on the murders remain unsolved. In this, the first in depth English language investigation into the slayings, Edward Chilvers attempts to separate myth from fact, relying on contemporary police sources and witness statements to paint a picture of an insular, incestuous family who, for reasons as yet unknown, took it upon themselves to ignore the numerous warnings of what was to come in the days leading up to their demise.
Sometime during the evening of the 31st March 1922, at an isolated farmstead deep in rural Germany, five members of the same family, alongside their maid, were brutally slain in their own home, hacked to death with a short handled pickaxe. The killings stunned a Bavaria already racked by the aftermath of war and hyper-inflation. Almost a century on the murders remain unsolved. In this, the first in depth English language investigation into the slayings, Edward Chilvers attempts to separate myth from fact, relying on contemporary police sources and witness statements to paint a picture of an insular, incestuous family who, for reasons as yet unknown, took it upon themselves to ignore the numerous warnings of what was to come in the days leading up to their demise.
53 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 16, 2016
This is the story of the murders at the Hinterkaifeck Farm murders in rural Germany in 1922. 6 people were brutally beaten to death (including a 2 year old boy) by someone unknown who had apparently been staying in their attic. Not a lot is known of the crime and the author does a good job putting together a narrative of the crimes and various theories proposed over the years. Unfortunately that is all they will ever be because thee just is not enough information to solve this crime, which the author does acknowledge. Well worth the read
June 20, 2016
This is a self-published little true-crime book about the famous Hinterkaifeck mystery murders in Germany of the 1920s. Since I knew in advance it was self-published, I expected some low quality, so I wasn't too offended by all the typos and grammar issues in the book. Generally speaking it is quite informative, and it was the only account in English that I could find. I loved the fact that the writer insisted on sticking to what is known, and did not fall into supporting conspiracy theories or supernatural explanations. Even so, the "conclusions" part at the end of the book offered some great questions, but no real conclusions, so it was a little bit disappointing. Maybe there isn't much more to know or say about the events, but I would have wished to learn a little more about them from this book. Good research and analysis were certainly done here, so I'm pretty satisfied with the book all in all.
April 26, 2016
This is an unsolved crime that happened in Germany on an isolated farm in 1922. Overall, it was well written and a pretty thorough retelling of the crime. What kept me from giving it 4 stars was that the author discussed details of the crime scene but apparently forgot to put the photos in the book. This is extremely annoying as I needed to look for them on the internet to understand what he was talking about. I would recommend this book if you're interested in this case and don't know much about it. The author doesn't try to find the solution, but does go over the various suspects and motives.
December 20, 2017
Intriguing!
This is a 5-star unsolved crime, but the book about it barely rated the 3 stars I gave it. The text is full of goofy errors -- my favorite being the place where the author said a victim was struck with "the pointed end of a blunt object" -- and after translating the German documents he made no attempt to "English" them, so they read as if someone threw a bunch of random words in a blender. With all that said, the case itself is fascinating and well worth looking into.
This is a 5-star unsolved crime, but the book about it barely rated the 3 stars I gave it. The text is full of goofy errors -- my favorite being the place where the author said a victim was struck with "the pointed end of a blunt object" -- and after translating the German documents he made no attempt to "English" them, so they read as if someone threw a bunch of random words in a blender. With all that said, the case itself is fascinating and well worth looking into.
June 6, 2016
Picked this book as part of Shaunesay's Birthday Readathon.
I had heard of these killings before and had looked at the pictures of the crime scene. There are 4 photos al over the internet
It was interesting but alas they still do not know who did it and I can't stand unsolved killings. I had hoped he had thought of a theory but he had not. Still interesting.
I had heard of these killings before and had looked at the pictures of the crime scene. There are 4 photos al over the internet
It was interesting but alas they still do not know who did it and I can't stand unsolved killings. I had hoped he had thought of a theory but he had not. Still interesting.
July 7, 2016
While this is a very interesting case, this book is brought down by the significant spelling and grammatical errors all throughout is book. I will do research on my own of this case.
February 14, 2016
Vintage unsolved murder
Many times I have seen the cover photograph and wondered about the story behind it. Now I know.
On March 31, 1922, six people were viciously attacked and killed at the Hinterkaifeck farm. The father and mother, Andreas and Casilia Gruber, their daughter, Viktoria Gabriel, Viktoria's two children, ages 6 and 2, and the maid who had begun her employment that very day were the victims.
The story is interesting and the suspects were many, but the case remains unsolved. Although only 53 pages, the book contains 35 to 40 typos (excluding punctuation) for which a star was deducted.
If you like unsolved mysteries, this one is sure to have you guessing.
Many times I have seen the cover photograph and wondered about the story behind it. Now I know.
On March 31, 1922, six people were viciously attacked and killed at the Hinterkaifeck farm. The father and mother, Andreas and Casilia Gruber, their daughter, Viktoria Gabriel, Viktoria's two children, ages 6 and 2, and the maid who had begun her employment that very day were the victims.
The story is interesting and the suspects were many, but the case remains unsolved. Although only 53 pages, the book contains 35 to 40 typos (excluding punctuation) for which a star was deducted.
If you like unsolved mysteries, this one is sure to have you guessing.
May 30, 2017
Horrific True Crime Story
The information contained in the story was interesting but not well translated. The author did a good job of describing what occurred leading up to the murders, but there seemed to be a total lack of emotion regarding the incident. At the end there was all this addition information just kind of thrown in as an afterthought, which quite frankly confused me. There is no resolution to the crime so the story just kind of ends with no further explanation. It was a quick read but somewhat jumbled and confusing.
The information contained in the story was interesting but not well translated. The author did a good job of describing what occurred leading up to the murders, but there seemed to be a total lack of emotion regarding the incident. At the end there was all this addition information just kind of thrown in as an afterthought, which quite frankly confused me. There is no resolution to the crime so the story just kind of ends with no further explanation. It was a quick read but somewhat jumbled and confusing.
November 11, 2017
While clearly well researched, it's difficult to read, odd phrasing, muddled writing.
March 19, 2019
Interessante para quem quer saber mais sobre esse estranho caso Alemão. Não traz luz sobre o caso e nem há um esforço para se fazer uma grande obra (há alguns erros de digitação e faltam imagens que o autor discute durante o livro). Porém, traz bastante informação sobre o que aconteceu na época, assim como o que diziam alguns relatórios policiais e analis de alguns suspeitos.
July 10, 2018
Highly recommended
This book is extremely interesting.The author did an amazing job with the research for this book. I love true stories, especially those with well documented facts like this one.
This book is extremely interesting.The author did an amazing job with the research for this book. I love true stories, especially those with well documented facts like this one.
December 21, 2016
fascinating subject matter,bland composition
I've always been interested in this particularly gruesome historical crime, so i couldn't resist when i saw the book. However I struggled through what should have been a fast read, because the authors writing style is dry, and confusing. All translation from german sounds like gibberish, the order in which the information was presented made things worse, and the end drops off like the end of a paragraph, not the close of a book. still worth a once over, but I'm glad it didn't cost me anything.
I've always been interested in this particularly gruesome historical crime, so i couldn't resist when i saw the book. However I struggled through what should have been a fast read, because the authors writing style is dry, and confusing. All translation from german sounds like gibberish, the order in which the information was presented made things worse, and the end drops off like the end of a paragraph, not the close of a book. still worth a once over, but I'm glad it didn't cost me anything.
April 2, 2016
Interesting case
Sounds like the makings for a great true crime whodunit. Sadly, there aren't enough facts to reach a firm conclusion. The author did a great job bringing together what info was available.
Sounds like the makings for a great true crime whodunit. Sadly, there aren't enough facts to reach a firm conclusion. The author did a great job bringing together what info was available.
May 27, 2016
Scary because it is true.
It is one of the few books I have read that gave me the 'Willies' due to the events and the unresolved issues of the story.
I couldn't lay down for a while thinking of someone in my house and how I would have reacted.
It is one of the few books I have read that gave me the 'Willies' due to the events and the unresolved issues of the story.
I couldn't lay down for a while thinking of someone in my house and how I would have reacted.
June 1, 2016
True murder
This was a great story about a true murder of 6 people in Bavaria. The language was a little off in places. Maybe because of translation. The story was fascinating though.
This was a great story about a true murder of 6 people in Bavaria. The language was a little off in places. Maybe because of translation. The story was fascinating though.
August 4, 2016
Interesting case
The case is of interest to a true crime reader ,yet the book leaves you flat. Given most records were destroyed during the war and no arrests it leaves on frustrated at the ending. Historic murder of entire family .
The case is of interest to a true crime reader ,yet the book leaves you flat. Given most records were destroyed during the war and no arrests it leaves on frustrated at the ending. Historic murder of entire family .
November 8, 2016
Footsteps in the attic
This story went too much into detail which drug the story out to where it got uninteresting at least to me.
This story went too much into detail which drug the story out to where it got uninteresting at least to me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews