Elizabeth Bathory

I am feeling a bit cheeky this morning so when I was looking at my list of women to highlight Countess Bathory stood out. Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian Countess and Serial Killer in the late 1500s until the early 1600s. Protected by her title and powerful friends she is believed to have tortured and killed her young servant girls. The number of her victims range from 60-650 the number provided in court documents during her trial puts the number at 80. There are many rumors surrounding her cruelty the most famous being her routine of bathing in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth and beauty, a routine which led her to be called a vampire. While her servants and believed accomplices were tried, convicted and executed for their part in the killings (finding and obtaining the young girls ages around 10-14) Elizabeth never went to trial and lived the remaining years of her life under house arrest.

Sources:

https://justhistoryposts.com/2018/10/31/legendary-people-elizabeth-bathory-mass-murderer-vampire-innocent/

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-29/bathorys-torturous-escapades-are-exposed

Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory