The forever young Countess, whose name is mentioned immediately after Dracula's name when it comes to vampires. Erzsebet (Elisabeth, Elisabeth) Bathory is a Hungarian countess who has been distinguished by her amazing beauty since childhood.
Childhood and youth
Erzhebet was born to parents who were distant relatives to each other. The Bathory clan was considered very ancient and influential, so all of this clan believed that incest would defile the family. In addition to the girl, the family also had her older brother and two younger sisters.
Unlike her sisters, Elizabeth had a cruel disposition as a child. She could beat her servants, yell at her teachers. The girl was taught different languages, and although she did not become sufficiently educated, many contemporaries noted her intelligence and ability to learn.
Marriage
At the age of eleven, mother Erzhebet agreed on the marriage of her daughter to Ferenc Nadashdi, contrary to the judgments of their family about incest. The reason for this was Erzsebet's even more licentious behavior after the death of her father. There is a version that the reason lies in the physical connection between Elizabeth and the lackey.
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Erzhebet and Ferenc became wife and husband only three years later. The couple began to live in the Chakhtitsa castle, from the name of which the Countess received her nickname "Chakhtitsa monster". Ferenc Nadashdi often took part in military campaigns, while Erzhebet remained in the castle, where she studied books about mysticism and witchcraft.
Erzhebet gave birth to six children, but their upbringing lay entirely on the servants. Elizabeth herself devoted all her free time to entertainment. She often visited her relative, Clara Bathory, who allegedly killed all four of her husbands. It is believed that Clara was Erzsebet's mistress.
Attempts to bring back youth
After the death of her husband, as well as the first signs of aging in the countess, Erzsebet became even more interested in studying witchcraft. The reason lay in her desire to regain her fading youth. By her order, a sorceress from Darvul arrived at the castle.
According to the main version, the witch advised Erzsebet to take baths, where instead of water there would be the blood of young girls, and the countess, accustomed to cruelty, was not afraid of such advice. With the support of two maids, Erzhebet lured girls from poor families into her possessions, then selected the beautiful ones and ordered them to be killed.
When the council did not help Erzhebet, and she summoned the sorceress in a rage, she said that the only way to regain youth was to use the blood of noble girls, not commoners. The Countess began looking for girls with titles, but poor ones. However, their blood did not help the countess regain her former beauty, and the witch had already died.
When Erzsebet began to need money, she sold one of the estates, which caused the discontent of many relatives. There were also terrible rumors about the castle, which undoubtedly reached other noble people. The peasants said that all the servants of the Chakhtitsa castle die very quickly, and Erzhebet and her assistants cannot explain this. A search was conducted in her castle, during which a diary was found with descriptions of all the victims. The trial went very quickly. Two of her assistants had their fingers pulled out and burned alive, and Erzhebet herself was from a noble family and could not be executed. She was imprisoned in the basement of her own castle, where she died a couple of years later.
According to the second version, all the charges were unproven and false. The Countess was the head of the Protestants in Hungary. Because of this, she was persecuted. The evidence found is a bath with crimson stains, which Erzsebet used to bathe in water with oak broth, which also helps to preserve youth.
Interesting Facts
1. Erzsebet's older brother was called Istvan, while in the French film "Immoral Stories" Istvan is Erzhebet's assistant and mistress.
2. It is believed that the witch also advised the woman to sometimes drink the blood of girls like a vampire.
3. In the Erzhebet family there were many unbalanced, mentally ill, sickly and suffering from other ailments people.
Conclusion
Was Erzsebet a sadist or a victim of persecution? You can't find out for sure. Many feel a genuine delight for her person, many feel horror and disgust. More often the second.