Countess Elisabeth Báthory de Echedo
Elizabeth Báthory, known as "Blood Countess" and "Countess Dracula," is considered the most prolific serial killer in history, with over 650 murders directly related to her name.
Báthory's coat of arms
Báthory, who held the title of Count, was born into a highly influential Hungarian noble family. Known as an intellectual and learned woman, she was initially very popular among her subjects. At the age of 15, in 1575, she married Ferenc Nádasdy, the son of a baron. The wedding took place in Vallenno and was attended by over 4,500 guests.
Her husband spent much of his time studying in Vienna, leaving Elisabeth to live alone. She made Čavutice Castle, located in what is now Slovakia, her home.
Years later, as she approached middle age, Elisabeth began to experience tantrums and fits of rage. She would attack her young female servants. Legend has it that she punched a clumsy servant who was brushing her hair, and when she pulled a little too hard, blood dripped from the girl's nose, and she realized that she could maintain her youth with the blood of virgins.
Thus began a 20-year-long ordeal of terror. Hundreds of girls hired to work in Elisabeth's castle disappeared one after another, their whereabouts never to be heard again. The villagers grew suspicious, but because of Elisabeth's position, they could do nothing.
Eventually, suspicions about the disappearance reached the King of Hungary, who demanded an investigation. The king's followers arrived at the castle in Transylvania and demanded to see the secret chamber beneath Elisabeth's residence. What they discovered was horrifying.
Beneath her castle lay a vast and intricate torture chamber run by Elisabeth. With the help of several key accomplices, she imprisoned her female servants and extracted their blood through horrific surgeries.
Báthory's first victims were local peasant girls, many of whom were abducted to Čachtice with offers of lucrative servant jobs at the castle. Later, she began killing daughters of nobles, who were sent by their parents to her palace school to learn court etiquette. Abductions are also said to have taken place. The most consistently described atrocities included brutal beatings, burning hands, biting off flesh from faces and arms, and death by freezing or starvation. Among the testimonies of her accomplices in court were mentions of the use of needles. The longest-lasting accusation is that Elisabeth bathed in the blood of young virgins at court to maintain her youthful appearance, which is the origin of her name.
Some reports claim that Elisabeth was captured while being tortured by inspectors who visited her, but there is little evidence to support this.
Needless to say, the king was not impressed. Elisabeth did not receive a severe punishment because of her position, but she was immediately placed under house arrest. At her trial that followed, more than 300 witnesses testified to the atrocities she had committed, some claiming to have seen her bathing in blood. Numerous bones were discovered, which served as evidence of the crime. Three of her accomplices were sentenced to death, and Báthory was imprisoned in Čachtice Castle, where she was confined in solitude. She died there in 1614.
Today, Elisabeth Báthory is one of the most (infamous) Hungarians in history, and many books, television shows, and films have been made about her twisted life. Because of her ruthlessness and vampire-like tendencies, she is to me the most evil person of all time.