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This article is about one of the few female vampires in history, Elizabeth Bathroy.I have tried to include only historical fact. Any mistakes and/ or errors are of my own making.
Elizabeth (or Erzsébet) Bathroy was born in the year 1560, in Hungary. Her family were very rich and well connected, and wanted a good marriage for her. In 1575, Elizabeth was married to the twenty-five year old Count Ferencz Nadasdy. Elizabeth was just fifteen.
They lived at Castle Cséjthe. Count Ferencz spent a lot of time away from home, fighting in the wars. Subsequently Elizabeth learned how to deal with and run the estate; and soon got bored. To amuse herself, she took on lovers. She was known to have ran away with one, but later returned to Castle Cséjthe. Ferencz forgave her, and life returned to normal.
Then, Elizabeth became interested in the occult. A maid, named Dorothea Szentes, encouraged this interest. Slowly but surely Elizabeth became interested in torture, and was aided by Iloona Joo, her old nurse.
In 1600 Elizabeth had bore Ferencz four children, Anna, Ursula, Katherina and Paul. Count Ferencz had died in battle, and Elizabeth's dark side emerged. Reputedly, a servant girl was brushing Elizabeth's hair and tugged it too hard. Elizabeth slapped her hard enough to draw blood.
Some of the servant girl's blood fell onto Elizabeth. She thought her skin had taken on the youth of the servant girl, and thus her reign of terror began. She then bathed in that same servant girl's blood. More and more peasant girls from the surrounding communities were brought to the castle, for Elizabeth's needs.
Soon, the body count was too large to be ignored. King Mátyás of Hungary ordered Elizabeth's cousin, Count György, to raid the castle. On December 30th, 1610 that raid happened. They exhumed the bodies of fifty girls, and found some near death.
In 1611, a trial was held. Elizabeth did not plead guilty or innocent. Due to the damning evidence against her, she should have been executed. But because she was a Noble, she could not be. Instead, she was placed under house arrest.She was bricked up in her torture chamber, with only a small hole for food to be passed into her.
In 1614 Elizabeth made her last will and testament.
The family holdings were divided up between her children. In august of the same year, one of her jailers, remembering her reputation as the most beautiful woman in Hungary; decided to look at her. Looking through the hole, he saw Elizabeth's inert body. The 'Bloody Countess' was dead. Her reign of terror over.
sources: http://bathory.org/shyla.html
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