Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed (The Blood Countess)
09:09:00
Let's kick things off with my favorite serial killer, the lady in red you DON'T want to pick up from the bar if you're, I don't know, a beautiful young girl who doesn't want to be tortured and murdered by the infamous Blood Countess. The story of the not-so-dear Vampire Queen is not exactly your conventional campfire tale; especially not when your eyes light up like mine at the mention of her name. Apparently being fascinated with an infamous serial killer earns you the title "weirdo".
If you think that Elizabeth Bathory is just "that woman from Stay Alive", I have some news for you. She was an actual living, breathing, cruel as fuck, non-fictional human being. She liked Piña coladas, getting caught in the rain and bathing in the blood of virgins.
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| The infamous Vampire Queen - Elizabeth Bathory |
Elizabeth Bathory was born in Transylvania in 1560 into a family of Kings, Cardinals, Knights and Judges. It is said that while growing up her uncle instructed her in satanism.
At the ripe age of only 15 she married Count Nadady who built a torture chamber according to her specifications to please his dearest wife. Bathory was a ruthless killer who lost all restraint once her husband died. More and more girls started dissapearing from the village and later she started luring girls from higher born families to their deaths.
I mean, who could blame her? It's not like her family was a group of saints. There is also some rumored incest, but we'll leave that for another day!
At the ripe age of only 15 she married Count Nadady who built a torture chamber according to her specifications to please his dearest wife. Bathory was a ruthless killer who lost all restraint once her husband died. More and more girls started dissapearing from the village and later she started luring girls from higher born families to their deaths.
I mean, who could blame her? It's not like her family was a group of saints. There is also some rumored incest, but we'll leave that for another day!
Kill Count
Before being walled in in Cachtice Castle back in 1610, she is reported to have tortured and killed between 80 and 650 people. Now that's a kill-death ratio to live up to! I know what you're thinking, how can someone kill between 80 and 650 people? Because officials could only prove 80 out of the 650, the official count stands at 80 instead of the 650 she kept count of.Her crimes were ignored until 1610 as her family headed the local government.
The Torture
Bathory and her right hand, Dorka, began disciplining the servants by torturing them in an underground torture chamber built by Bathory's husband. The torture allegedly included tying the servants down and sticking needles under their fingernails. It's also said that she smeared them with honey and left them there while ants and bees attacked them.
How was she caught?
A Hungarian King sent his second in command to investigate Elizabeth Bathory after she began torturing and murdering girls from higher born families to satiate her habit. Her cohorts were executed but she escaped the death penalty and, as mentioned above, was walled in Cachtice Castle in 1610. |
| Cachtice Castle - The Historic "Horror House" where the torture and murder took place. |
Why the Blood Countess?
The name "Blood Countess" was given to her because she bathed in the blood of her victims believing that it will keep her skin looking youthful.
What happened to the Blood Countess after she was placed under house arrest?
A mere four years after she was walled in Cachtice Castle she was found dead. The 21st of August commemorates her death. For a couple of generations after Elizabeth Bathory was found dead it was against Hungarian law to use her name in public. The non-fictional version of He who must not be named!Today you can see her immortalized in video games, books, movies and featured all over the internet. There is no doubt that the story of the Blood Countess is a hair raising yet extremely fascinating one.
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| A statue of Elizabeth Bathory erected in Cachtice square |
Fun Facts About Elizabeth Bathory
1. Her uncle, Stephen Bathory was apparently friends with Vlad the Impaler.
2. Dorothea Szentes (Dorka) instructed Bathory in witchcraft and later encouraged Bathory's sadistic actions.
3. She is said to have bitten chunks of meat from her victims and once forced a girl to cook and eat her own flesh.
4. Elizabeth spoke and wrote in Hungarian, Latin and German.
2. On the trail of the 'Blood Countess' in Slovakia2. Dorothea Szentes (Dorka) instructed Bathory in witchcraft and later encouraged Bathory's sadistic actions.
3. She is said to have bitten chunks of meat from her victims and once forced a girl to cook and eat her own flesh.
4. Elizabeth spoke and wrote in Hungarian, Latin and German.
Sources
3. Badass of the Week: Elizabeth Bathory
4. Erzsebet Bathory
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