The Lady Who Bathed In Blood

Beauty is only skin deep, there lived a woman who failed to acknowledge this. And so did her spectators. Her bejewelled garbs and exquisite pearls concealed her true identity: A Monster who preyed on young girls.

Let me walk you through the life of history’s most notorious female serial killer. The Middle Age was full of murder and gory and gave birth to nothing but pure evil. Elizabeth Bathory was a woman of fine riches, bewitching smile and a heart of perversion. Born on 1560 to Hungarian nobilities, Baron George Bathory and Baroness Anna Bathory, she mastered courteous manners and foreign education. She was an inbred consequence of her blood-related parents’ political marriage. Her inbred status led to a weak immune system which in turn caused seizures and fits time to time. Elizabeth remained a sick child, all her life. Her bloodline was tainted with torture, inhumane sins and depravity. It was even rumoured that her uncle taught her Satanism and her aunt enlightened her about the wicked joy of Sadomasochism. Elizabeth was a true, vile progeny of her twisted family.

The young Elizabeth was married to Count Ferenc Nadasdy, who was fond in her family’s aristocracy circle at a tender age of 15. The child bride then moved to her new home in Nadasdy Estate while her husband pursued his education at Vienna. The newlyweds soon earned a bad reputation for treating their servants inhumanely. It was told that her husband, Count Nadasdy loved his young bride. He did everything possible to impress her and seek her approval and that’s why he even went to the lengths where he taught her harsh ways to punish their servants. From such a young age, Countess Elizabeth was trained with all the cruel ways of torture by her family which developed in to something unthinkable. To please his wife, Count Ferenc took part in her torture sessions too. After 29 years of marriage and four children later, the Count passed away due to an unknown illness which crippled him both physically and mentally.

The death of her beloved husband triggered Countess Elizabeth to indulge in more cruel activities. She moved to her Cachtice castle, which was a wedding gift for her from her husband and recruited trustworthy servants who snatched young girls from their bed and presented them to their mistress. One fine night, the Countess came to an illusion that human blood replenished her skin and made her look more youthful. It was then she decided to bathe in blood of virgin girls to retain her beauty.

The Wicked Witch of West who plucked pretty, young girls who were lost on their way was none other than the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. With a promise of a decent job and a pocketful of gold coins, naïve young girls were lured to the castle, but sadly, they never returned home. The girls were locked up and severely beat by Elizabeth herself. She loved to inflict pain upon others. It was also rumoured that Elizabeth took part in cannibalism. The girls were tied up and their mouths were sewn shut. They were either left out to freeze out or their genitals were burned. The Countess flayed the tender skin of pretty girls and bathed in their blood. The Countess forced her victims to take a bite of her own fingers. One of her punishments included slathering honey all over the victim’s body and exposing them to ants or bees. Soon, the word about the Countess’ vicious deeds reached the village and they began to hide their daughters.

With no more village girls to torture, Elizabeth finally laid her hands on a young noble girl which stirred major trouble for her. Even though she tried to stage it as suicide, no one bought her act. Between 1602 and 1604, the rumours of the Blood Countess’ crimes, spread through the kingdom, Lutheran Minister, Istvan Magyari placed complaints against her cruel acts at the Court of Vienna and urged other nobles to take action against her. Finally, in 1610,King Mathias IIassignedGyorgy Thurzo to investigate the case.Thurzo ordered twonotaries to collect evidence against the Countess at March, 1610. In 1610 and 1611, the notaries collected testimony from more than 300 witnesses. They surprised her with a night raid on her castle and found decaying bodies of girls everywhere their head turned. The castle was said to be full of rotting stench and blood. They found bodies missing various body parts and was subject to severe torture. Two trials were held in the wake of Báthory's arrest; the first was held on January 2, 1611 and the second on January 7, 1611. Dozens of witnesses and survivors testified to end the era of death. The royal guards arrested Bathory and judgement was finally served. Bathory was confined in the same castle which she loved with all her heart and also where she mudered hundreds of innocent souls. After four short years, on 21st of August, 1614, Elizabeth Bathory, the lady who bathed in blood, passed away.