Countess Elizabeth Báthory
Age: 54 (at time of death)
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
Weight: 130 lbs (59 kg)
Nationality: Hungarian
History and Criminal Past
Accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women, mostly peasant girls, in her castle in Čachtice, Slovakia. She believed that bathing in their blood would preserve her youth and beauty, is but a rumor. However, there were many eyewitnesses to her sadism.
Personality Traits
- Vain and narcissistic, with an excessive focus on her physical appearance
- Cruel and sadistic, with a desire to inflict pain and suffering on others
- Manipulative and cunning, using her wealth and power to evade detection
- Lacking in empathy and remorse, with a focus on her own gratification
Life and Relationships
Countess Elizabeth Báthory's life was marked by a sense of entitlement and privilege, with a focus on maintaining her power and status.
Psychological Profile
- Narcissistic personality disorder, with an inflated sense of self-importance
- Antisocial personality disorder, with a lack of empathy and impulsivity
- Sadistic tendencies, with a desire to inflict pain and suffering on others
Know by the Book of Guinness World records as the most prolific female murderer in the history of humanity, her name is Elizabeth Báthory (Hungarian: Báthory Erzsébet, pronounced [ˈbaːtori ˈɛrʒeːbɛt]; Slovak: Alžbeta Bátoriová; 7 August 1560 – 21 August 1614). Although the actual number of victims will never know, it is estimated that she killed over 650 people, mostly female servants.
The Origins of Her Lust for Blood
Born in 1560 or 61 to Baron George VI Báthory of the Ecsed in Transylvania. Her family included kings, judges and cardinals. This of course contributed to why she got away with what she did for so long. Elizabeth lived most of her life at the Esced castle in Hungary, where it still stands today. A child of inbreeding, Elizabeth suffered from epilepsy “the falling illness” which caused several injuries from her falls throughout childhood.
It is believed that her fascination with blood stemmed from the treatment of her epilepsy, which was to rub the blood of someone who did not have epilepsy on her lips. Another treatment was to give her a mix of a human skull and human blood as her seizures subsided. These frequent and totally useless remedies contributed to her bloodlust and desire for suffering, as well as her superstitious belief that blood would keep her young..
Married at only 15, her husband constructed a torture chamber to her specification in the Csejthe Castle.
Her Unfortunate Victims
Because of the rumours of servant girls being mutilated by the Countess spread across the country, people began to notice.
In this castle, it is reported that she killed over 600 human beings in violent and depraved rituals. Although the tales of her bathing in blood were recorded many years after her death, it is not inconceivable that she would have entertained the idea.
She tortured local peasant girls that she would hire as servants. After her husband died in early 1600, her impulses were unrestrained. Her cruelty knew no bounds. With her former nurse and the witch for the village, Elizabeth lured and killed over 600 women.
Jamming pins under the nails of the girls was just one of the ways she would torture her victims. Smearing women with honey and leaving them to be eating by nature. She often bit chunks of flesh from the women. Some she would force to cook and eat their flesh.
Elizabeth was eventually stopped by her family and convicted of 80 murders. Only Elizabeth escaped execution. Her sentence was to spend the rest of her life in Csejthe Castle, where she died at the age of 54.