Countess Elizabeth Bathory

(1560-1614)

Elizabeth Bathory is considered one of the true vampires for she was the countess who tortured and murdered numerous young women. Elizabeth was born in 1560 to George and Anna Bathory. Though frequently believed to be Hungarian, Elizabeth was actually of what is now the Slovak Republic.  Bathory grew up during a time of disruption in Hungary. Much of that country had been taken over by the Turkish forces of the Ottoman Empire. Religious differences also split the land. The Bathories sided with the new wave of Protestantism that opposed traditional Roman Catholicism.

Elizabeth's family resided at the Bathory Family Estate at Esced in Transylvania. As a child Elizabeth experienced severe seizures accompanied by intense rage and uncontrollable behavior. In 1571, her cousin Stephen became the prince of Transylvania and eventually assumed the throne of Poland. Although an effective ruler, Stephan's plans to unite Europe was thwarted by his turning of attention to Ivan the Terrible who desired Stephan's territory.

Elizabeth became pregnant in 1574 as a result of a brief affair with a peasant man. She was sequestered as soon as her condition became evident because she was engaged to marry Count Ferenc Nadasdy. She was finally married to the Count in 1575. Because he was a soilder, he was frequently away. Elizabeth managed Castle Savar, the Nadasdy family estate with an iron hand, and her evil truly began. She took great delight in disciplining of the large household staff, particularly young girls.

Cruelty and severity towards servants was common, but Elizabeth's cruelties were outstanding. She not only punished when rules were broken, she also created excuses to beat her servants. She delighted in the torture and eventual death of her victims. She would stick pins underneath the fingernails and, in the winter, she would literally freeze her victims by leading them out into the snow and dousing them with water until they froze to death.

Elizabeth's husband also took part in some of her torture, and taught her new varieties of punishment. He would have women stripped covered in honey and placed outside for insects to attack. After the counts death in 1604 Elizabeth moved to Vienna.  She also spent time at her estate in Beckov and at the manor house at Chatice.

Elizabeth practiced her torture with a woman named Anna Darvulia. When Darvulia's health failed in 1609 Bathory turned to Erzsi Majorova, the widow of a local farmer. It was Majorova who induced Elizabeth's downfall. Because she was having trouble finding young women that wanted to work as servants for her, Elizabeth eventually used noble women for torture at the advice of Majorova. She covered up the deaths with claims of suicide.

In the summer of 1610 an questions had been raised as to Elizabeth's acts. She was a target because of political affairs. The crown hoped to confiscate Elizabeth's large landholdings to escape having to pay the large loan that her husband had made to the king. Elizabeth Bathory was arrested on December 29, 1610.

Elizabeth attended her trial a few days later. The trial was conducted by Count Thurzo, an agent of the King. This first trial was to confiscate her lands. The second trial, which convened on January 7, 1611, was when evidence from Elizabeth's living quarters was introduced as evidence. Items listed in evidence included the names of 650 victims, all recorded in Elizabeth's handwriting. Furthermore, she was accused of being a Werewolf and a Vampire, as well as a sadistic killer. Accusations that she bit the flesh of young girls to spill their blood lead to accusations of her being a werewolf. In Slavic lands, it was a popular belief that those who were werewolves in life became Vampires in Death. Elizabeth's accomplices were sentenced to death, but Elizabeth was sentenced to solitary imprisonment for life. She was placed in a room at her castle without windows or doors and only a few small slots for food and air. She remained their for three years. She died on August 21, 1614 and was buried at Esced in the Bathory lands.

"It was said that one day, the aging countess was having her hair combed by a young servant girl. The girl accidentally pulled her hair, and Elizabeth turned and slapped the servant. Blood was drawn and some of it spurted onto Elizabeth's hands. As she rubbed it on her hands, they seemed to take on the girl's youthful appearance. It was from this incident that Elizabeth developed her reputation for desiring the blood of young virgins."

  email / forums / chat / links / gallery / magick / vampyres / goth fiction / home