-Elizabeth Bathory-

The Life of Elizabeth Bathory


Born, August 7, 1560
Elizabeth was born Erzebet Bathory to a wealthy and prominent family. She
was the daughter of Baron and Baroness George and Anna Bathory.
Highly educated, spoke Hungarian, German and Latin.
Engaged to Ferenc Nadasdy, the "Black Hero of Hungary" at age 11.
Because the Nadasdy family was of a lesser social status, Elizabeth kept her
name and her husband hyphenated his.
Elizabeth went to live with her future mother-in-law and while there a brief
affair with peasant man produced a daughter, who was given, along with
money, to a peasant.
Becomes aware of effects of blood.
While getting ready for her husband's homecoming, Elizabeth was being helped
by one of her maids. The maid saw that something was wrong with Elizabeth's
hairdress, but when she went to fix it, Elizabeth hit her with a brush. So
hard in fact, that blood was drawn. Some of the maid's blood fell onto
Elizabeth, who cleaned it away in disgust. However, Elizabeth noticed that
the skin below the blood seemed to be younger and more vibrant.
Married, May 8, 1575.
Taking time off from the ever-present war with the Turks, Ferenc came home
to marry his bride.
Husband teaches different forms of torture.
Honey torture, involving stripping a girl naked, smearing honey over her,
and leaving her outside to be the victim of any insect that happens by.
Later, Elizabeth would use her own version of this involving water and a
cold winter night.
Reputed to be one of the most beautiful women in all of Europe, beneath is a
portrait of the Countess.



Torture devices of Elizabeth An iron maiden, I've been told
is like a coffin with spikes in it. The spikes don't impale
you, but do cause bleeding. There are then two spikes that
are driven into the eyes causing (obviously) blindness. The
victem then slowly bleeds to death. Thanks to those of you
who wrote me and let me know!

A cyndrical cage, that is too narrow to sit in, and too
small to stand in. It has spikes on it, and when the cage is
hoisted and rocked, the vicitm will skewer themselves on it.

Variation: The cage is hoisted, but the victim is poked at
with a red hot poker, and impales themselves.
Eliabeth would sit under this cage, shout obscenities at her
victim and "soak" up the blood that dripped down.

Elizabeth was eventually caught and brought to justice. Some say it was because
officials could no longer ignore rumors circulating around the peasant
community. Others say that it was because Elizabeth, bored with common blood,
turned to that of royalty, who were missed more than thier peasant counterparts.
Whichever the reason, Elizabeth was given two trials:
First trial, held on January 2, 1611 at Bytca (pronounced Byt-cha)
Seventeen testomonies including her four accomplices, Helena Jo, Dorka,
Katharina, and Ficzko.
Elizabeth was not alone in her acts. She had four known accomplices, perhaps
others.
A maid, identified as "Zusanna" testified that she was aware of a list,
written in the Countess's own handwriting, of the names of six hundred
victims.
This probably wouldn't stand up in modern, American courts. So far as I
know, the list does not still exist today.
Second trial held on January 7, 1611.
Elizabeth was not allowed at either trial. She was also never convicted at
either trial. This may have been to protect the family name. It may have
also been to keep away the king. The king at the time owed a great deal of
money to the Bathory family, and if she had been convicted, all debts would
have been cancelled
Three of her cohorts were senctenced to horrible deaths and mutilations.
Helena Jo and Dorka were sentenced "to have all the fingers on their
hands, which they used as instruments in so much torture and butcherings
and which they dipped in the blood of Christians, torn out by the public
executioner with a pair of red-hot pincers; thereafter they shall be
thrown alive on the fire" (McNally)
Ficzko, her only male accomplice, was sentenced to "decapitation. His
body, drained of blood... reunited wiht his two fellow accomplices
where... he [would] be burned" (McNally)
Katharina was exonerated by Dorka, Helena Jo and Zusanna, and was left
to be dealt with at a later date.
Elizabeth never having been convicted of anything, remained for the rest of
her life walled up inside of her room, under "Castle Arrest." The room was
small, and the only link to the outside world was through a small opening
for air and food to be passed through.
On August 21, 1614, a guard, who had never seen the countess, wanted to get
a look at the Countess who was still, at the age of 54, reputed to be one of
the most beautiful women in all of Europe. Looking in through one of the
slots left open for food and air, he discovered Elizabeth lying face down.
The Blood Countess was dead.
Life of Elizabeth Bathory taken from http://enteract.com/~chipagan/elizabeth/



Countess Elizabeth Bathory
c. 1560-1614
There are many legends about vampires. However, there are official documents
proving the existence of an authentic seventeenth-century countess, Elizabeth
Bathory, who was the most bloodthirsty vampiress of all time!!!
Elizabeth Bathory was born in 1560 into one of the oldest and wealthiest
families in Transylvania. She had many powerful relatives - a cardinal, princes,
and a cousin who was prime minister of Hungary. The most famous Bathory was King
Steven of Poland. 1575-86.
Elizabeth was married to Count Ferencz Nasdasdy when she was 15, he was 26. The
count added her surname to his, so the countess kept her name. They lived at
Castle Csejthe in the Nyitra country of Hungary. The count spent a great deal of
time away from home fighting. His nickname was "The Black Hero of Hungary".
While he was away, Elizabeth's manservant Thorko introduced her to the occult.
Elizabeth eloped with a dark stranger briefly, but came home. Luckily the count
forgave her. Back at the castle, Elizabeth couldn't stand her domineering
mother-in-law. She began torturing the servant girls with the help of her old
nurse Iloona Joo. Her other accomplices included the major-domo Johannes Ujvary,
Thorko, a forest witch named Darvula and a witch Dorottya Szentes.
In 1600 Ferencz died and Elizabeth's period of real atrocities began. First, she
sent her hated mother-in-law away. Elizabeth was very vain and afraid of getting
old and losing her beauty. One day a servant girl accidentially pulled her hair
while combing it -- Elizabeth slapped the girl's hand so hard she drew blood,
which fell onto her own hand. She immediately though her skin took on the
freshness of that of her young maid. She was sure she found the secret of
eternal youthful skin!!! She had her major-domo and Thorko strip the maid, cut
her and drain her blood into a huge vat. Elizabeth bathed in it to beautify her
entire body.
Over the next 10 years Elizabeth's evil henchmen provided her with new girls for
the blood-draining ritual and her blood baths. But one of her intended victims
escaped and told the authorities about what was happening at Castle Csejthe.
King Mathias of Hungary ordered Elizabeth's own cousin, Count Cuyorgy Thurzo,
governor of the province to raid the castle. On December 30, 1610 they raided
Castle Csejthe. They were horrified by the terrible sights in the castle - one
dead girl in the main room, drained of blood and another alive whose body had
been pierced with holes; in the dungeon they discoverd several living girls,
some of whose bodies had been pierced. Below the castle, they exhumed the bodies
of some 50 girls.
Elizabeth was put under house arrest. A trial was held in 1611 at Bitcse. She
refused to plead guilty or innocent and never appeared at the trial. A complete
transcript of the trial was made at the time and it survices today in Hungary!
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
victims were tied up and cut with scissors. Sometimes the two witches tortured
these girls, or the Countess herself. Elizabeth's old nurse testified that about
40 girls had been tortured and killed.
All the people involved in the killings, except the Countess Bathory and the two
witches were beheaded and cremated. The tow accomplices had their fingers torn
out and were burned alive. The court never convicted Countess Elizabeth of any
crime. Stonemasons were brought to Castle Csejthe to wall up the windows and
doors of the bedchamber with the Countess inside. They left a small hole through
which food could be passed. King Mathias 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.

In 1614, four years after she was walled in, one of the guards wanted a look at
this famous beauty. He saw her lying face down on the floor. Elizabeth Bathory,
the "Blood Countess" was dead.
There are some connections between the Bathorys and the Draculas. The commander
of the expedition that helped Dracula regain his throne in 1476 was Prince
Steven Bathory. A Dracula fief, Castle Fagaras, became a Bathory possession
during the time of Elizabeth. Both families had a dragon design on their family
crests.
One thing I found out was that the Countess, as a small child (4 or 5) used to
have quite violent seizures where she would pass out. I do not think this was
epilepsy, but most likely some other neurological disorder that may help to
explain her horrific behvior as a young woman.
The second thing is that when her husband, the Count, was alive, he loaned a
large sum of money to the government. After his death, and once the discovery of
Elizabeth's grisley activities was made, the government decided that another reason to wall her up in her castle was to avoid having to pay back the debt they owned to her estate.