Count van Breber and his countess Hilda were vacationing in the Harz Mountains in Germany.  One night they stopped over at an inn, and, while talking to the innkeeper, they told him of how they had terrible difficulty crossing a brook on their way.  The innkeeper identified the brook, and then told the couple that they should never drink from the brook.  Realizing that she had taken a drink from the brook, Hilda grew horrified.  Soon after she began to have nightmares, and act peculiarly.  Also around that time, a string of child-snatchings began to take place. 

One night, a woman came into the office of the Count, and begged him to follow her, claiming that she had seen the beast who took her child.  The woman was able to run faster than the Count, and chased the beast into a house.  From the outside, the Count heard screams, mixed with animal noises.  After he got inside, the Count saw the dead body of the woman, along with the hooded beast in the corner.  He noticed the shape of a woman, but also, signs of hair growing rampantly on her body.  The beast went for the window, causing the Count to shoot.  When he found a light, he was able to see clearly that the person he had shot was his countess.