BUDAPEST, Hungary: Bela Kiss was a pillar of his community until the strange disappearance of his beautiful, blond wife. The prosperous tinsmith from the village of Czinkota became bitterly reclusive. It shocked his neighbors when shortly after the outbreak of WWI, Kiss enlisted in the Hungarian Army.
In the days before the war, more strange disappearances occurred. The niece of the Minister of Commerce, Isabelle Koblitz, vanished from her home. A young woman, Luisa Ruszt, reported being attacked by a wild-eyed monster with fangs. She claimed he'd jumped out on her as she walked along a moonlit street.
Six months after Kiss signed up with the Army, the village was notified that he'd been killed in action. During the disposal of his property, neighbors discovered a large number of fuel drums that contained industrial alcohol and the meticulously preserved body of Maria Kiss, Bela's missing wife. Four more drums held bodies and a search of the property revealed twenty-six more young women.
Like his wife Maria, all the women died of strangulation, but also had a series of sharp slashes on their throats. And each had been drained of blood. Soon after, other women began to come forward, identifying Kiss as their attacker.
When police detectives went to the hospital where Kiss was supposed to have died from his wounds, the nurse told them the patient who died could not have been Bela Kiss, he was no more than twenty years old.
It is presumed that Kiss traded identities with the unfortunate young man in order to escape prosecution. He was never caught, and police files on the case remain open even today. Many villagers believe that Bela Kiss is an ageless, predatory demon who still walks among us, choosing his prey on moonlit streets.