Elizabeth Bathory

She came from a wealthy and royal family. Her uncle was Poland’s King, and her nephew was Transylvania’s Prince. Elizabeth was charged with several murders in 1610. She was imprisoned in her castle and remained there until her death. At least 650 people were killed by Elizabeth. Her name is listed as one of the most well-known serial killers in the Guinness Book of World Records. She is said to have bathed in human blood to keep her youth and beauty. As a result, she is also known as Blood Countess. She was under the influence of Dracula. She was accused of killing and torturing maid girls and town residents in the fort when she was arrested in 1610. She was imprisoned in her own castle for four years before dying.

Although no concrete evidence of Elizabeth’s crimes was discovered, many crimes were recorded in her own diary. This diary was never made public. Elizabeth was sentenced to death for her crimes, but due to her strong background, the decision to hang her was commuted to life in prison.

Early Life

Elizabeth was born in 1560 to a royal family in Hungary (now Slovakia). Elizabeth spent her childhood in Ecsed Castle. As a child, Elizabeth is said to have had epileptic seizures, which were treated with blood transfusions on her lips. This blood was drawn from healthy individuals. So Elizabeth can be healed with this good blood. This was most likely a factor in her brutal serial killing.

Another reason is that Elizabeth was rigorously trained since childhood. She was taught violence from the start. Elizabeth spoke Latin, Greek, German, and Hungarian fluently. She came from a well-known and powerful family. Because of this, many of her crimes were never proven.

Married life

Elizabeth had a child at the age of thirteen before marrying. To avoid public scrutiny, the child was given to a farming family, who were paid a high price to keep their mouths shut and raise the child.

On May 8, 1575, Elizabeth, then 15, married Nádasdy. Ten years later, in 1585, the couple had their first child. Bathory was the mother of five children. Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son lived and died naturally. Her husband was a soldier who frequently fought the Ottoman Turks, so the couple spent the majority of their marriage apart.

Nadasi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Army in 1578. He fought numerous lengthy wars against the Ottomans. Elizabeth oversaw the rest of the castle and social affairs while she was away. Elizabeth took over the entire system after Nadasi died in January 1604.

Crimes

Elizabeth was accused of sexually abusing mostly underage girls and maids who sought education and training from her. Elizabeth may have been involved in these crimes before her husband’s death in 1604, but she allegedly became involved after his death. As stated at the outset, “Elizabeth was hard trained and made violent from the start.”
Elizabeth put her training to the test on a variety of her prey. She used to smear honey all over people’s bodies and tie them up in a public place. She would force them to lie on the ice or take a bath in very cold water.

She would sometimes beat the girls with needles, cut their noses or lips, or suffocate them with barbed wire. She also scorched their shoulders and breasts. Elizabeth’s violent behaviour resembled that of a sexual patient, but it is unclear what caused her violent temperament.

The lust for “youth and beauty” is said to be the driving force behind Elizabeth’s crimes. She would murder young girls and bathe them in their blood to keep them young and beautiful.

Capture

A delegation from the Hungarian High Court arrived at Elizabeth’s castle on December 29, 1610, to investigate various allegations against Elizabeth.

When they saw Elizabeth severely beating a man there, they took immediate action and locked Elizabeth up. (Because of her prominent family background, they were unable to arrest her.)

They then detained and questioned eight Elizabeth employees. There were three women and five men among them. They were tortured severely in prison. The employees denied knowing anything about the killings, but they did admit to burying several victims. However, there was a significant difference in the figures they reported. Some employees admitted to burying 36 bodies, while others admitted to burying 50 bodies.

Some of these employees were executed right away, while others were imprisoned. A witch was among those who assisted Elizabeth. She, too, was murdered soon after Elizabeth’s arrest.

The jury continued to investigate even after these decisions were made. According to a witness, Elizabeth had written about 650 victims in her diary. Unfortunately, the investigating officer was unable to locate the diary.

Isolation

Elizabeth, a member of a powerful family, was never called to court. On the contrary, she was imprisoned in Castle and remained there until her death. Elizabeth died at the age of 54 on August 21, 1614.

Her property was distributed among relatives after her death rather than being taken over by the government because she was not intentionally convicted.

It will never be known whether Elizabeth was truly such a dangerous woman, but there are many reasons to suspect her.

Like the statements of Elizabeth’s employees.

Those who sympathise with Elizabeth, on the other hand, deny the allegations, saying:

“These employees were tortured and forced to make statements on the authority of the government.

But Elizabeth was unable to be acquitted because a letter from a pastor against her was discovered.

He detailed many of Elizabeth’s crimes in his writing.

In any case, Elizabeth’s name will be near the top of the list of history’s most brutal women.