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Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound, sparked much debate and controversy. Theories propounded at the time identified him as a member of the grand ducal House of Baden, hidden away because of royal intrigue. These opinions may or may not have been documented by later investigations. Other theories proposed that Hauser had been a fraud. History First appearance On 26 May 1828, a teenage boy appeared in the streets of Nuremberg, Germany. He carried a letter with him addressed to the captain of the 4th squadron of the 6th cavalry regiment, Captain von Wessenig. Its heading read: The anonymous author said that the boy was given into his custody as an infant on 7 October 1812 and that he instructed him in reading, writing and the Christian religion, but never let him "take a single step out of my house." The letter stated that the boy would now like to be a cavalryman "as his father was" and invited the captain either to take him in or to hang him. There was another short letter enclosed, purporting to be from his mother to his prior caretaker. It stated that his name was Kaspar, that he was born on 30 April 1812 and that his father, a cavalryman of the 6th regiment, was dead. In fact, this letter was found to have been written by the same hand as the other one (whose line "he writes my handwriting exactly as I do" led later analysts to assume that Kaspar Hauser himself wrote both of them). A shoemaker named Weickmann took the boy to the house of Captain von Wessenig, where he repeated only the words "I want to be a cavalryman, as my father was" and "Horse! Horse!" Further demands elicited only tears or the obstinate proclamation of "Don't know." He was taken to a police station, where he wrote a name: Kaspar Hauser. He showed that he was familiar with money, could say some prayers and read a little, but he answered few questions and his vocabulary appeared to be rather limited. Because he provided no account of himself, he was imprisoned as a vagabond. He spent the following two months in Luginsland Tower in Nuremberg Castle in the care of a jailer named Andreas Hiltel. Despite what many later accounts would say, he was in good physical condition and could walk well; for example, he climbed over 90 steps to his room. He was of a "healthy facial complexion" and approximately 16 years old, but appeared to be intellectually impaired. Mayor Binder, however, claimed that the boy had an excellent memory and was learning quickly. Various curious people visited him to his apparent delight. He refused all food except bread and water. Hauser's account of life in a dungeon At first, it was assumed that Hauser was a half-wild child from the forests. During the course of many conversations with Mayor Binder, Hauser told a different version of his past life, which he later wrote down in more detail. According to the story, Hauser had as long as he could remember spent his life in solitary confinement in a darkened cell. He gave the cell's dimensions as approximately two metres long, one metre wide and one and a half high, with only a straw bed to sleep on, and four toys, two horses and a dog carved out of wood. Hauser claimed that he found rye bread and water next to his bed each morning. At times, the water would taste bitter and drinking it would cause him to sleep more deeply than usual. On such occasions, upon awakening, his straw had been changed and his hair and nails cut. Hauser claimed that the first human being he had ever met was a man who visited him not long before his release. The man took great care not to reveal his face to him. This man taught him to write his own name by leading his hand. After learning to stand and walk, Hauser was brought to Nuremberg. The stranger allegedly taught him to say the phrase "I want to be a cavalryman, as my father was" (in Old Bavarian dialect), but Hauser claimed that he did not understand what the words meant. This tale aroused great curiosity and made Hauser an object of international attention. Rumours arose that he was of princely parentage, possibly of Baden origin, but there were also allegations that he was an impostor. Further life in Nuremberg Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach, president of the Bavarian court of appeals, began to investigate the case. Hauser was formally adopted by the town of Nuremberg and money was donated for his upkeep and education. He was given into the care of Friedrich Daumer, a schoolmaster and speculative philosopher, who taught him various subjects and who thereby discovered his talent for drawing. He appeared to flourish in this environment. Daumer also subjected him to homeopathy and magnetic experiments. As Feuerbach told the story, "When Professor Daumer held the north pole [of a magnet] towards him, Kaspar put his hand to the pit of his stomach, and, drawing his waistcoat in an outward direction, said that it drew him thus; and that a current of air seemed to proceed from him. The south pole affected him less powerfully; and he said that it blew upon him." The wound On 17 October 1829, Hauser was found in the cellar of Daumer's house bleeding from a newly cut wound on the forehead. He asserted that while sitting on the privy, he had been attacked and hurt by a hooded man who also threatened him with the words: "You still have to die before you leave the city of Nuremberg." Hauser related he recognised the speaker as the man who had brought him to Nuremberg. As was obvious from his blood trail, Hauser at first fled to the first floor where his room was, but then, rather than moving on to find his caretakers, had gone downstairs and climbed through a trap door into the cellar. Alarmed officials called for a police escort and transferred him to the care of Johann Biberbach, a municipal authority. The alleged attack on Hauser also fueled rumours about his possible ancestry from Hungary, England or the House of Baden. Doubters of Hauser's story are of the opinion that he had self-inflicted the wound with a razor, which he then took back to his room before going to the cellar. He might have done so to arouse pity and thus escape chiding for a recent quarrel with Daumer, who had come to believe that the boy had a tendency to lie. The pistol accident On 3 April 1830, a pistol shot went off in Hauser's room at the Biberbachs' house. His escort hurriedly entered the room and found him bleeding from a wound to the right side of his head. Hauser soon revived and stated that he climbed on a chair to get some books, the chair had fallen, and then, while trying to find a handhold, he had by mistake torn down the pistol hanging on the wall and caused the shot to go off. There are doubts whether the superficial wound was actually caused by the shot. Some authors associate the incident with a preceding quarrel in which, again, Hause.... Discover the G A Hauser popular books. Find the top 100 most popular G A Hauser books.