Elizabeth Bathory

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

One of the few images available of Elizabeth Bathory.

Elizabeth Bathory was born in Hungary on August 7, 1560.^[1] She would become engaged to Ferenc Nadasky when she was fifteen and later wed In 1575. She moved to his home in the Carpathian mountains, a large castle that overlooked approximately seventeen towns. Elizabeth was said to keep her last name as her family was more powerful than her new husband's.

Ferenc Nadasky was the chief officer of the Hungarian troops and at the time they were at war with the Ottoman Turks.^[2] This left poor Elizabeth home alone in a big castle with only her servants and a lot of time to look at her vain self in the large mirrors that only come with being a countess. Although, Elizabeth was an intelligent woman and ran the business affairs of the estate while her husband was away. Her husband would eventually die due to a wound thought to be from during his years in the army; Elizabeth was never a suspect for his death.

Tales of the Blood Countess

Stories say that Elizabeth had hit a young servant girl so hard that the girl’s nose bled and some of the blood hit Elizabeth’s face. After she had washed her face she looked in the mirror to see that the skin where the young girl’s blood had landed looked younger and more beautiful.^[1] Being as vain as she was Elizabeth would soon murder young girls and women to enjoy a rejuvenating blood bath. Many believe that it was the blood of virgins that she thought would make her beautiful. Some stories say that she would torture her victims by starving them; beating them over long periods of time; burning or mutilating hands, faces, and sometimes genitalia; freezing them to death; biting flesh off of arms, face, and other body parts; sexual abuse; and sometimes often fatal attempts of surgery.

Trial and Death

By the time anyone had decided to look into the reason for missing girls and servants in the Countess’s home it is debated that Elizabeth and her accomplices had murdered approximately fifty to over six hundred and fifty victims.^[1] Her accomplices would later be tried and arrested for the deaths of only eighty women. It is said that over three hundred witnesses testified against them. Some would even accuse the Countess of practicing witchcraft. The Countess herself was never put on trial for fear that she would be put to death and it would give the nobility a bad name. Although, Elizabeth Bathory was put under house arrest and placed in a room with no windows or doors and only a small hole in the wall to slide food to her. She would eventually die on August 21, 1614 in her prison.

The Legend

Elizabeth Bathory would become known as the "Blood Countess." Some people have called her Countess Dracula and made comparisons to her and Vlad the Impaler.^[1] Although there is no conclusive proof that Elizabeth Bathory ever drank her victims' blood like a vampire, she is still considered one of the most horrific serial killers that ever lived.

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Konstantinos. (2005). Vampires: The Occult Truth. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications.
2. ↑ Bunson, M. (2000). The Vampire Encyclopedia. New York: Gramercy Books.