There are so many legends about Elizabeth Bathory that it is difficult to distinguish them from fiction straight out of a cheap horror movie. The “Bloody Countess”, “The Beast of Čachtice”, the greatest serial killer, who was said to be two heads taller than even the most famous criminals in America, was born on August 7, 1560, as the daughter of George Báthory and Anna, sister of the Polish king, Stephen Báthory. From childhood, she was distinguished by exceptional intelligence and equally exceptional beauty. She spoke five languages fluently, had a talent for mathematics, and was spoiled, vain, and had constant temper tantrums and mood swings. She grew up surrounded by almost constant violence. As a 6-year-old, she was to attend a public execution, and as a teenager she saw one of her cousins cut off the ears and noses of 54 rebellious peasants. However, little is known about Elizabeth Bathory’s childhood.
Elizabeth Bathory: the story of her crimes is chilling. But murders are not everything
In 1573, Elizabeth and François Nádasdy became engaged and married two years later. Earlier, as Count Turzon later claimed, she had given birth out of wedlock to a local peasant. She must have been about 12 years old at the time of birth. This includes: Turzon will be responsible for the “bloody legend” of Elizabeth, but before the details of her macabre crimes come to light, 15-year-old Batory will get married. The wedding lasted three days and was attended by over four thousand guests. According to letters and notes analyzed by modern historians, Bathory was a caring wife and mother. According to Turzon, both she and her husband delighted in abusing the servants. Batory was also said to have had countless lovers and was a frequent guest at orgies organized by her aunt.
From time to time, she also visited Vienna with her aunt Klara, a bisexual murderer of four husbands. The aunt allegedly organized orgies in her palace that would make Nero blush
– wrote Katarzyna Wężyk. Bathory dabbled in black magic and even cast spells. She brewed poisons and potions on her own and was in the company of sorcerers and alchemists. And she tortured the servants, but not only that. For Elizabeth, who suffered from migraines, the only effective cure for pain were the screams of tortured victims. She also liked to cut off her fingers and stick pins under her nails. She poured water on the maids and threw them out into the frost to die in agony. Her cruelty increased every year, and in increasingly brutal and terrifying tortures she was helped by her trusted servant, the dwarf Jan Ujvári, and… “witches”.
Baths and showers in blood, torture and black magic. The allegations sound absurd
As the legends say, during one of such sessions of violence (provoked by the servant’s badly arranged hairstyle) a drop of blood fell on the face of the aging Elizabeth, she realized that it was acting on her like the most expensive cosmetic. This is how the idea for rejuvenating baths in the blood of virgins was born. Blood baths and even showers (the countess had to stand under the grate on which the bleeding woman was placed) and torture did not satisfy Elizabeth’s bloodlust, and she even attacked her victims with her teeth. In the castle in Čachtice, Báthory founded a school for noblewomen to make it easier to obtain more valuable blood.
The countess ‘cannot eat or drink unless she sees the maiden being bloodily murdered’
– one of the witnesses was supposed to say during the trial. Eventually, the rising number of deaths, which could no longer be explained solely by disease, began to arouse suspicion. Elizabeth’s cruelty was to be revealed thanks to the bodies pouring out of the castle.
Something started to stink here, literally and figuratively: there was no space for graves in the castle basements, so the girls’ bodies were buried in shallow graves in the courtyard or even thrown into the castle moat, from where the dogs dragged them out.
Elizabeth Bathory Elizabeth Batory, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
How many people did Elizabeth Bathory kill? It was included in the Guinness Book of Records, although there is no evidence
How did the arrest happen? Complaints against Elizabeth were brought to King Matthias II. So the ruler sent George Thurzo with a mission to investigate. In 1610, after questioning witnesses, Elizabeth Bathory was arrested. When Turzon burst into the castle with the officials to arrest the countess, corpses littered the castle corridors. In addition to the evidence in the form of a pile of bodies scattered throughout the castle, in Batory’s bedroom they found her meticulously kept “crime register”, according to which the vampire countess murdered 650 people.
Thanks to it, she entered the Guinness Book of Records, but Batory had never heard of the book or Guinness. After her arrest, although she faced accusations that today sound absurd, she was ultimately placed under house arrest, or more precisely, a bricked-up cell with one hole through which she was given food. Her helpers weren’t so lucky. They were burned at the stake. Batory stayed in prison for three years. She died on August 21, 1614, but was soon reborn as a “bloody countess”.
Was Elizabeth Bathory a murderer? Historians have doubts
There is no evidence of her crimes. It is certain that in 1610 Elizabeth Bathory was accused of dabbling in black magic. Six years earlier, Francis died, and the countess moved to the castle in Čachtice. She managed a considerable fortune on her own, while politically hot events were taking place in Europe. It was the Habsburgs, fearing the growing influence of the Báthorys, who, as historians claim today, hatched a conspiracy to weaken their position. The king of Hungary, who was heavily in financial debt to Elizabeth, also joined the conspiracy.
In 17th century Europe, servants were too valuable to be disposed of on such a scale and in such a manner. Not to mention the fact that epidemics of plague and typhus were raging at that time and decimating the population, so every servant was worth his weight in gold. As for the accusations of black magic, Batory was interested in medicine, herbs and healing. This provoked legends about witches and witchcraft, which in turn unleashed an avalanche of stories about Elizabeth Bathory’s torture and madness. Today, Hungarians say that there was no question of torture, and Batory simply treated people, although not always effectively, by bleeding the sick, applying leeches or using cups. Others say there may be a grain of truth in these bloody legends. The countess could simply be crueler than other noblewomen.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
