Large Fierce Mammal

Erzsébet (Elizabeth) Bathory was an infamous Hungarian noblewoman generally held to have been responsible for the torture and murder of at least 600 young women, and for bathing or showering in their blood as a means of retaining her youthful vigour and beauty. A variety of period portraits are claimed to have been of her, and each bears some resemblance to the others, but one thing is consistent – she was known to be one of the most beautiful women in Hungary; well educated and fluent in several languages.

In keeping with the modern need to equate evil with the supernatural, it has been erroneously reported that Erzsébet Bathory either was, or became, a vampire, and that she is also known as “Lady Dracula”. Well, I often explain to people that, if you are an intelligent person who prefers to behave as though you are an idiot, then for all practical purposes you are an idiot and the world will both see you and treat you as such until you prove yourself otherwise. Similarly, if you define a vampire as a creature requiring blood for its survival, and a person believes and embraces the belief that they are, in fact, such a creature, then it could be argued that the ingestion of the blood is a moot point and only the fact that they are a consumer matters. However you slice it, history says that Erzsébet Bathory believed bathing in the blood of young women would keep her young, and it is for this reason that she came to be referred to as the Blood Countess. As for the “Lady Dracula” title, whoever is responsible for that little bit of revisionist history is cordially invited  to bite me, and enjoy my loving delivery of the silver bullet I have waiting for them when they come to take me up on my offer.

Erzsébet was born on the seventh day of August, 1560 and grew up in turbulent times. From an early age she was prone to violent seizures and sudden fits of anger. In 1575, at the  age of 15, and in keeping with the style of her times, Erzsébet was married off to 26 year old Count Ferenc Nadasdy. He was a professional soldier who was often away for long periods of time, but it was he who allegedly introduced Erzsébet to the joys of inflicting torment.

All the stories point to young females being the target of what today would be considered atrocities but were, at the time, no surprise at all unless taken to excess. Before leaving her in control of the household, Erzsébet’s husband taught her some entertaining ways of punishing serving girls who attracted her ire. For example, in winter a young woman would be tied naked outside and water poured over her until her skin froze. A summer alternative involved a similarly naked and tied woman, and honey, and insects, and time. Lots of time.

Erzsébet’s husband died in 1604. After that, she really got started.

Erzsébet’s epiphany is said to have come on the day one of her female servants pulled her hair while brushing it, resulting in a beating that drew blood, some of which splashed onto Erzsébet’s hand. The story further goes that Erzsébet noticed the blood almost instantly restored a youthful tightening and a more healthy glow to her skin. The die was cast.

Erzsébet did not act alone. She enlisted the aid of a variety of servants and associates about some of whom very little is known. In the course of her reign of terror, she also grew progressively more perverse and creative in the tortures she devised for her victims. With the help of her confederates, she acquired her livestock, warehoused and tortured them, sometimes for weeks or even months. She had their bodies drained into a bathtub in which she bathed. She had an “iron maiden” style housing devised with blades that when closed on its living contents would permit anyone who stood below to enjoy a blood shower.

As time and disappearances went on, it became progressively more difficult to replace her household staff, and it’s said that Erzsébet began to prey on lesser members of her own class, in at least one case blaming the death on suicide. But this was a slippery slope in a time when nobles could, for the most part, do what they wanted with their minions. Complaints began to mount, and things became impossible to ignore.

An investigation was launched in the summer of 1610 that resulted in a trial the following year. Motivated by the allegations that Erzsébet had facilitated or directly caused the violent deaths of at least 600 young women? Not exactly. To be accurate, her acts were used against her as the catalyst for avoiding repayment of a substantial loan her late husband had made to the King. She had also been left a substantial inheritance of land, all of which would be forfeit if she were found to be guilty.

Erzsébet was only charged with 80 counts because on entering her home only that many dead women were found. It is alleged that her dungeon contained a number of the nearly dead, with bodies pierced, slashed, burned, and bitten; each with her own story to tell.

Erzsébet refused to cooperate. There were two trials, the last of which saw her personal journal admitted as evidence. Allegedly in her own hand writing, it contained details of her deeds, and named over 600 victims.

According to one chronicler:

“At this trial Johannes Ujvary, major-domo, testified that about 37 unmarried girls has been killed, six of whom he had personally recruited to work at the castle. The trial revealed that most of the girls were tortured for weeks or even months. They were cut with scissors, pricked with pins, even prodded with burning irons onto short spikes in a cage hung from the ceiling to provide Bathory with a “blood shower”. Sometimes the two witches tortured these girls, or the Countess did it herself. Elizabeth’s old nurse testified that about 40 girls had been tortured and killed. In fact, Elizabeth killed 612 women — and in her diary, she documented their deaths. A complete transcript of the trial was made at the time and it survives today in Hungary. Of the people involved in these killings, all but Countess Bathory and the two witches were beheaded and cremated. Due to her nobility, Elizabeth was not allowed by law to be executed. The two accomplices had their fingers torn out and were burned alive. The court never convicted Countess Elizabeth of any crime, however she was put under house arrest. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in her torture chamber and stonemasons were brought to wall up the windows and doors of the room with the Countess inside. They left a small hole through which food could be passed. King Mátyás II demanded the death penalty for Elizabeth but because of her cousin, the prime minister, he agreed to an indefinitely delayed sentence, which really meant solitary confinement for life.”

And so it was decreed that Erzsébet Bathory was walled up in her own chamber of horrors, with an opening to the outside world only large enough to receive her meals. On 21 August 1614 , after three and a half years of imprisonment, she was found dead by one of her jailers who, it is said, described her as still one of the most beautiful women in Hungary. Or perhaps he was misquoted and actually said she was one of the most beautiful still women in Hungary. The visual acuity of the jailer has never been documented.