A Pied Piper “wearing multicolored clothes” leads 130 children out of the village of Hamelin, Germany in 1284 and are never seen again. The real life basis for the Brothers Grimm tale remains the subject of different theories as to what exactly happened. Whether socioeconomic, political, victims of the Plague, mass hysteria or something more sinister, the loss of the children leaves a lasting trauma on the village for centuries.
This Day in Halloween: A Pied Piper “wearing multicolored clothes” leads 130 children out of the village of Hamelin, Germany in 1284 and are never seen again. / Illustration by Annika Krein