The Rat King of Altenburg
A knot of 32 rats with their tails tangled together is kept in a German museum, and no one is sure how it formed.
What was reported
A rat king is a group of rats whose tails have become knotted together so that they can't separate. Reports come mainly from Germany and northern Europe from the 16th century onwards, and they were seen as a bad omen, even linked to plague.
The largest known, found in 1828 in a miller's fireplace at Buchheim, in Thuringia, is made up of 32 rats and is preserved in alcohol at the Mauritianum museum in Altenburg.
Explanations offered
How they form is debated. Some think rats huddled in cold, crowded nests can become entangled when their tails get sticky with dirt or sap, and can't pull free; others suspect some specimens were faked. A 'squirrel king', with tails stuck together by tree sap, has been documented, which supports a natural explanation.
- When
- Found in 1828
- Where
- Mauritianum Museum, Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany
- Witnesses
- A miller, then museum curators
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.