The alleged murderer, famously named the Bloody Countess, is now considered by some to be the object of a conspiracy. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
Referred to historically as the ‘Bloody Countess’, it is widely thought that Elizabeth Bathory holds the grim record as history’s most prolific female serial murderer, supposedly responsible for the deaths of up to 650 women. Though, more recently, certain academics have put forward the suggestion that Elizabeth was, in reality, innocent of the attributed crimes and the subject of a set-up.
Tales of Bathory’s supposed misdeeds spread throughout the Kingdom of Hungary during her life, with some even asserting that she bathed herself in the blood of her victims, striving to maintain her youth. The countess, together with four of her aides, was accused of having murdered vast numbers of girls between the years 1590 and 1610, with the aides later suffering severe executions. Meanwhile, Elizabeth remained confined to her abode, Čachtice Castle, situated in present-day Slovakia, until her puzzling passing in 1614.
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For centuries, the narrative of the ‘bloody countess’ has held a grip on the public’s imagination, with Bathory often considered as the muse for the Evil Queen within the Snow White fairytale, as made popular by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. Moreover, it has been proposed that she may have served as inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and parallel stories of vampirism.
However, going back to 2024, University of Cambridge associate professor, Dr Annouchka Bayley, captured public attention after asserting that Elizabeth was, in fact, blameless regarding these wrongdoings. Furthermore, Dr Bayley proposes that she existed as a religious rebel, a book printer smuggler, and a passionate feminist who exploited her immense fortune and castle to impart knowledge to a large group of young women and girls.
She mentioned to the BBC: “I mean, who genuinely possesses the necessary time within a single lifetime to kill 650 young women, one after the other? I mean she would have been incredibly busy.”
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“I investigated thoroughly, and all 650 women originated from a particular group of young women who comprised those residing in the region preceding the arrival of the Hungarians.”
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“They were formerly noble, before having their possessions seized; consequently, they occupied this ambiguous and unusual space. Moreover, given the ongoing conflicts, countless men had passed away, meaning they were also unmarried,” Dr Bayley remarks.
“You’ve essentially got a collection of teenage noblewomen, without property and without husbands. So, what Bathory did was to establish a learning institution to teach these girls to read and extend safety to them. She essentially founded an institute, which appeals to me as I am employed in education.”
With only a solitary body being discovered within the confines of the castle, and the whisper of coffins being ushered out via concealed routes, Dr Bayley suggested that the 650 girls were, in fact, secretly taken from the castle and moved somewhere safe for their welfare.
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Further to this, the academic proposes that Elizabeth engaged in the printing of religiously subversive documents, which were secretly removed alongside the young women.
Nevertheless, this represents but one perspective, as a plethora of other historians contend that Bathory was, undoubtedly, guilty, although perhaps not responsible for quite such a high quantity of killings, nor was it probable that she cleansed herself in the blood of her victims.