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22. The Macabre Karl Denke
In the long annals of macabre people, few were more macabre than Karl Denke (1860 – 1924). Little in his background hinted at what he would become. Denke was born into a wealthy family of farmers in the Kingdom of Prussia near Munsterberg, Silesia – today’s Ziebice, Poland. His early life is shrouded in mystery, but he ran away from home when he was twelve-years-old, and apprenticed himself to a gardener. Over the years, he worked a variety of jobs, and eventually took a stab at agriculture and decided to follow in the family’s tradition, and become a farmer.
After his father died, Denke used his share of the inheritance to buy a plot of land. Farm life and Denke were not a great match, however, and it did not take long before work on the fields reminded him why had why he had run away from home and the family farm as a child. So he sold his land and bounced around various occupations for a few years. He eventually bought a small house in Munsterberg, and became an organ player in his local church.