Joseph Vacher was known as Vach the Ripper, Ripper of the South East, the Killer Count and the French Ripper. Concidered a real life werewolf or vampire. The son of a poor peasent family of France, the youngest of 15 children. Born in Beaufort, Isere. To escape poverty at an early age, he joined the French Army, but was slow to be promoted, so tried committing suicide by slitting his own throat, out of depression and dire straits. In 1893 he attempted to shoot a young woman out of humiliation and revenge, after she rejected his advances. He again tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, he couldn't even successfully kill himself. The bullet lodged in his ear, causing paralysis of the right side of his face, damage to one eye, and mental instability, which only increased his emotional psychosis. He was sent to spend months at a local French Asylum at Saint Robert. He was discharged in April of 1894 and became a disgruntled homeless vagrant, living in the woods. During the next 3 1/2 years he butchered seven women and four young men, which included killing a boy and girl, removing their genitalia. He had sex with one woman's corpse after killing her. He sexually mutilated the bodies, ate some of the body parts, and even sucked blood from their necks. On August 4th, 1897, he assaulted a woman who was collecting pine cones in the woods near Touman, France. But her husband ran to her rescue who had been working nearby and overpowered him, summoning the police. He was sentenced to 3 months for public indecency. For no apparent reason, he then confessed to his other crimes which was checked out. Admitting he committed the acts in moments of frenzy, trying to plead insane, but was eventually proven sane. He tried to explain his bazaar behavior and murderous rampage...in 1877 at the age of 8, he had been bitten by a rabid dog, believing his blood had been permanently poisened. His trial began in October of 1898, at Ain Assizes, starting with the killing of a young shepard boy. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. On December 31st of 1898 he was led to the guillotine, he had to be half-dragged and half-carried, as he resisted his fate. He was 29 at age of death. Died at Bourg-En-Bresse, Ain.