Random Disturbing Facts About Elizabeth Bathory, History's Most Murderous Woman (15 items)

(#10) Elizabeth May Have Been An Inbred Psychopath - Or A Victim Of The Patriarchy

In an attempt to understand why Elizabeth was so murderous, scholars have investigated every aspect of her life. Was she clinically insane due to incest? After all, her parents were distant cousins (they were from different branches of the Bathory family), but that was pretty common in Renaissance Europe and not everyone from that time period was a serial killer. Others have argued that various brutalities she may have witnessed as a kid may have triggered her sadistic ways.
But perhaps Bathory's misdeeds were exaggerated because of her explicit sexuality, seen as a threat to the patriarchy. Her pursuit of multiple lovers, in and out of the marriage bed, could have been seen as threatening to the institutions supported by the male authorities who later condemned her. After all, we only know a few basic facts about her life, and a lot of her negative reputation comes from later accounts.
(#2) She Had A Secret Love Child At 13 And Married A Sadistic Husband

After taking a lover at age 13 and giving birth to a secret love child, Elizabeth was married shortly before turning 15 to a nobleman named Ferenc Nadasdy. He was allegedly as into dark stuff as his wife, cruelly torturing Ottoman captives and sticking pieces of paper between his servants' toes and setting them on fire. For his ferocity in battle against Ottoman Turks, he earned the nickname "The Black Knight."
(#8) After Her Husband's Death, She Grew Even More Violent

Eventually, Elizabeth outgrew her husband's torture tactics and began to learn new methods of wreaking havoc on those around her, especially servant girls. She wrote to Nadasdy that her servant Thorko had taught her a new method of cursing: "Beat a black hen to death, then smear the blood on your enemy or his clothes to condemn him."

After her husband died in 1604, Elizabeth became even more extreme. Records from her later trials indicate Elizabeth shoved needles underneath girls' fingernails or into their faces. She would bite chunks of flesh from their bodies or poke their breasts with sharp pincers.
(#1) As A Child, She Witnessed Terrible Scenes Of Torture

As a little girl, the spoiled, petulant Elizabeth was never chastised for any bad behavior, even though she was prone to fits of rage and violence. From the time she was a young girl, she experienced seizures, wild mood swings, and terrible migraines.
She also observed scenes of horrific torture, including one episode where she watched local authorities slit open the belly of a living horse, cram a criminal inside it, and stitch it closed, leaving the living criminal to writhe and struggle until both the human and the horse were dead.
(#11) Elizabeth Tripped Herself Up When She Tried To Expand Her Torture Tactics

For a number of years, Elizabeth was content to torture - and potentially bathe in the blood of - young peasant girls who came to serve her from nearby towns. But eventually the parents of local Average Janes caught on to her brutal ways and stopped sending their daughters up to her castle.
In her later days, Elizabeth became more daring. She began fostering young noblewomen from poor families across Transylvania and even Croatia, offering to teach them at a school for girls supposedly run out of her castle. But the parents of aristocratic girls could and did make a political fuss that caught the attention of local authorities (although conflicting reports state she may have passed local peasant ladies off as noble girls).
Elizabeth also gave herself away when she murdered a famous choir singer who couldn't - or wouldn't - belt out a tune for her. Unlike a poor peasant from the country, this well-known singer was immediately missed when she disappeared.
(#13) Elizabeth Was Walled Up In Her Castle For Life

In the fall of 1610, Thurzo began gathering testimony and evidence against Elizabeth. He raided Elizabeth's chief residence in December and found disfigured and dismembered bodies. The trial began quickly, in January 1611: The first only included peasant witnesses, which was a plus for Elizabeth. She wasn't allowed to represent herself, however, and she didn't appear in court, although her accomplices were tortured to admit her crimes. Her guilt was probably predetermined.
Elizabeth was eventually convicted and walled up in her chamber at her family castle in Slovakia. She only survived for three more years, dying in 1614.