In history books and on various Internet sites, you can see several portraits of Elizabeth Bathory. A closer look shows that the portraits depict different women, in addition, a person who understands painting will immediately see many other details that indicate a later or earlier origin of the portraits.

Perhaps some authentic portraits of Countess Bathory remained, or maybe exact copies are stored somewhere, according to which her real image can be restored. We will work on this, and quite possibly someday we will find out exactly how Elizabeth Bathory looked. But now I want to understand and understand why they destroyed all the portraits of the countess, why they burned all the documents related to her name and the trial.

According to a widespread version, the things of the countess and her portraits were destroyed by order of the authorities, so as not to disturb the people. Strange, but why didn't they destroy her jewelry? Why did all the Countess's jewelry find their new owners very quickly?

If Elizabeth Bathory saw this fake portrait, the artist would beg for forgiveness...

All precisely because for the sake of jewelry, for the sake of land and other property, the countess was slandered. And the portraits and documents that could somehow justify Elizabeth Bathory and cast doubt on the accusation were destroyed. Only documents with signatures and testimonies of witnesses from the common people remained, although in reality their testimonies could not have weight for several reasons.

The peasants of that time were not much different from the cattle they grazed. They were illiterate, downtrodden and very . They believed in vampires and other fairy tales, and most importantly, almost every peasant in his heart hated his master, because the peasants, according to the traditions of that time, were mercilessly exploited.

Therefore, when they decided to condemn the countess, it was not necessary to look for and persuade witnesses for a long time. It took just to collect the serfs from the nearest villages, and they happily put their signatures on anything, because the peasants, firstly, were illiterate, and secondly, they hated their mistress. Here we should also add the belief of the peasants in vampires, witchcraft, black rituals mixed with the blood of virgins ...

At the same time, the peasants could not come into contact with the portraits and documents of the countess, which allegedly could hurt their feelings and become a source of riots. All portraits and documents of the countess were destroyed in order to erase her real image from history and instead of the real countess create a fictional image of a bloody monster.

As the centuries passed, the real Erzsébet Bathory was completely forgotten, almost nothing remained of her real personality and life. No one cares about what she lived, how she spent her time, why she studied foreign languages, read books and practiced medicine. Everyone is much more interested in a creepy fictional image that even 400 years later helps some people make money on Elizabeth Bathory.

The example of Elizabeth Bathory is very important, because she is not the only one whom the people who write history have slandered and denigrated. Corrupt historians, those in power and various public figures continue their work today, they slander people and entire states, and the population believes every word from the TV, as if God himself speaks to them.

Killer in world history. The terrible woman who tortured several hundred people took incredible pleasure from this. August 21, 2014 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of a sadist who bathed in the blood of her victims. However, recently historians have put forward a new version, according to which the famous Elizabeth Bathory was slandered and fell victim to intrigues. Let's try to figure out who this lady really is, who was so afraid of losing her female attractiveness.

Cruelty and debauchery

One of the largest provinces in Romania has always been considered the birthplace of the dead rising from the graves at night, feeding on blood. Everyone knows the aristocrat Vlad Dracula from Transylvania, about whom many films have been made and many books have been written. In the historical region, a century later, in 1560, in a very wealthy family that did not have high moral principles, the girl Elizabeth (Elizaveta), who was distantly related to the famous Romanian prince, was born.

Noble persons of that time were engaged in incest, pathological cruelty and complete depravity reigned everywhere, the descendants of one dynasty entered into marriage, and they gave birth to sick children not only in body, but also in spirit. And the Bathory family was no exception: insane people increasingly appeared in the family.

Permissiveness

According to researchers, having not only natural beauty, but also a lively mind, the girl was not spared mental disorders. She stood out from the rest of the aristocrats with her high intelligence, as well as her ability to grasp knowledge on the fly. Elisabeth (Elizabeth) Bathory was fluent in three foreign languages, while the rest could hardly even read.

Born in a noble family, the girl perfectly understood her advantages and knew that literally everything was allowed to her. She was furious for no reason. She began to whip the servants for the slightest offense and stopped only when they fell unconscious. Since childhood, the young countess, whose mood often changed, experienced great pleasure watching how scarlet blood oozes from terrible wounds. Such beatings took place daily, and Elizabeth Bathory, who was cruel for any reason, even began to keep a diary, where she described in detail what was happening. The girl's parents knew about her sadistic inclinations, but did not attach much importance to this. Cruelty, awakened in early childhood, turned into a real pathology with age.

Marriage

In 1575, the 15-year-old countess marries a famous commander, the owner of numerous lands of Nadasdy, who was nicknamed "the black knight of Hungary" for his cruel attitude towards the captured Turks. The husband presented Elizabeth with a truly generous gift - the Chakhty Castle in the Carpathians, where she ran the household on her own, since the valiant warrior spent all his time in battles.

Family life was difficult to call happy. The husband often left the young wife, and she soon took a lover from among the servants. Having found out about his rival, Nadashdi decided to teach him a lesson and fed him to a flock of hungry dogs. Having seen enough of the atrocities, the wife of Elizabeth Bathory, whose biography is full of mysteries, decided to have fun in the same way, and then her sadistic potential was realized in all its glory. For example, for the slightest offense, she could stab a maid with scissors. Over time, the bloody fantasies of the aristocrat reach their climax.

The pleasure of torture and murder

Cold to human suffering, Elizabeth's heart did not soften even after the birth of children, and pathological inclinations are becoming more and more pronounced every day. Her cruelty knew no bounds: the countess beat the servants with a club, pierced them with various parts of the body, enjoying the sight of pouring blood. Slovak workers who were subordinate to the Hungarian masters became their full-fledged slaves, with whom they were free to do whatever they wanted. And the murders of serfs who did not have the right to vote were not considered something illegal in those days. They were severely punished, and the servants did not even hope for the protection of justice.

Underground torture chambers were located both in the main residence of Bathory and other family estates. It was a real theater of human suffering, where the unfortunate victims were mocked for a very long time and just as slowly took their lives. Her personal servants helped the countess to kill and torture people.

New bullying

After the death of her husband, Elizabeth, nicknamed the Bloody Countess, begins bullying with even greater bitterness. It is known that the mistress gets a mistress among her workers, who shares the mistress's hobbies. With her suggestion, Bathory makes the girls serve naked even in the bitter cold. She douses them with icy water and leaves them to die a painful death in the cold. When the aristocrat had no real reason to punish the maids, she comes up with fictitious offenses for which she punishes very cruelly.

Lady Elizabeth Bathory skinned her workers, tortured them with a hot iron, burned them with torches, and cut their bodies with scissors. Most of all, she loved to hammer needles under the girls' nails, and when they tried to take them out, in order to get rid of severe pain, she chopped off her fingers with an ax. The Countess literally fell into euphoria, watching the victims writhe, and bit their bodies with her teeth, enjoying the sight of warm blood.

Buying from peasants' daughters

The new fun of Elizabeth Bathory was that the woman traveled around the country and looked for poor and beautiful virgins - living toys for her terrible entertainment. It was not at all difficult for her to do this, since the poor peasants sold their daughters with great pleasure for a small amount. They thought that a new and happy life would begin for the girls on a rich estate, and they did not even guess what terrible torments the children endure.

Parents were told that their frivolous daughters had run away with men or had died of deadly diseases. However, rumors about a bad estate quickly spread in the area, and new graves appeared in the forest, in which 10-12 people were buried at once, explaining the deaths by a sudden pestilence. Soon, there were no people willing to give their children as servants to an aristocrat, even for good money, and young maidens were unceremoniously kidnapped or looked for in the most distant villages.

Blood baths

Why did the countess need girls who did not know love? It is believed that Elizabeth Bathory, who was fascinated by black magic, bathed in their blood to stay young and beautiful. It was difficult for an overly vain and narcissistic woman who began to lose her attractiveness to hide the deep wrinkles that appeared under makeup. She was credited with practicing black magic, and the locals considered her a terrible vampire. True, as it turns out, it is completely in vain, because she never drank the blood of her victims.

According to ancient legends, the countess, who was overly worried about the loss of beauty, during the next torture of young girls, discovered that where their blood got into, the skin regained elasticity and tone. Elizabeth, who talked with witches and sorceresses, decided that she had found her secret to eternal youth, and her desire to kill only increased. The most beautiful girls were taken to the dungeon, and the rest were sent to hard work. In the torture chamber, the assistant countesses mocked the peasant women, and soon Elizabeth Bathory, inflamed with screams, personally began executions.

When the helpless victims could no longer stand and writhed on the cold floor in pain, their arteries were cut and all the blood was poured into the bath, where the aristocrat sank, dreaming of becoming as beautiful as in her youth. She firmly believed that she had found the secret of eternal attractiveness. To simplify her task, the sadist ordered an "iron maiden" - a hollow figure, consisting of two parts and studded with sharp needles. When the unfortunate girl was placed inside the torture device, the spikes pierced through her body, and she bled, which poured directly into the bath through the drain below.

The number of victims is rising

Over time, the countess began to torment daughters from noble families. She killed peasant women, but this did not bring results: the aristocrat was rapidly aging. The dejected woman turned to a well-known witch, who advised using the blood of not common people, but noble girls. Thus begins a wave of new murders.

Elizabeth promised the poor nobles that she would teach their daughters a course in secular manners, and parents without any fear brought their children to Bathory Castle in Chachtice, whose fate was sealed. A few weeks later, all the girls died a terrible death, and mutilated bodies were added every day. Soon the parents sounded the alarm, and Bathory failed to hide the death of noble persons. She came up with a legend about a beauty who went crazy, who hacked her girlfriends with an ax and committed suicide.

Scary finds

The Blood Countess thought only of how she could bury so many corpses unnoticed, and interred the tortured women without any ceremony. The priests, who suspected evil, were not silent and soon publicly called her a terrible beast that ruined many lives. They refused to bury the victims of Elizabeth according to all religious rules, and Bathory, in order not to cause new noise, cut the body into small pieces and buried the remains in the field. Often she threw the dismembered, bloody corpses into the water, where they were found by frightened fishermen.

Some whispered that a terrible werewolf wound up in these places, others remembered Vlad Dracula, who could rise from the grave and kill people with particular cruelty. However, it soon became clear - evil spirits had nothing to do with it. Several girls were able to escape from the estate of the abnormal countess and told what monstrous atrocities were happening there. The Lutheran priest Magyari publicly called Bathory a terrible beast, but the insane rituals continued. The monster's helpers cleaned up the blood on the floor every night, but one day it turned out to be so much that they couldn't think of anything better than throwing coal over this place so that they could pass.

End of atrocities

When the huge fortune of Countess Bathory dried up, the bloody story came to an end. In 1607, the aged Elizabeth sells her family estates for a pittance, and her relatives, frightened not so much by stories about mystical rituals taking place in them, but by the fact that a crazy aristocrat is squandering the lands, ask for an investigation. Rumors of terrible atrocities reach the emperor, and he sends an armed detachment to the Chakhty castle. The arriving soldiers broke into the fortress and caught the countess in another murder. She and her servants, who performed bloody rites, were caught red-handed. In the underground casemates, they found basins with dried blood, cells where the unfortunate captives, the "iron maiden" were kept.

When they found irrefutable proof of the atrocities - the diary of the countess, in which she described all the tortures with pleasure, it was useless to deny it.

Investigation and sentence for a sadist

An investigation began, during which twelve female bloodless corpses were discovered in the dungeons of the Chakhty castle, and at a closed trial, eyewitnesses and servants told the whole world about the atrocities of the countess. Soon the Hungarian parliament accused the woman of murders, and at the trial they read the diary of a representative of a noble family, who surpassed all serial maniacs in terms of the number of victims and extreme cruelty.

At the beginning of January 1611, the verdicts were read out. The henchmen who helped kill were executed, but since the Bathory family was very influential, the high position helped the aristocrat, and she was sentenced not to death, but to life imprisonment. The countess was immured in the fortress, leaving only a small hole for the transfer of food. The criminal, who lived for three years in eternal darkness and closeness, was guarded by the servants appointed by her children, and a few weeks before her death, the killer was allowed to make a will and read out her last will.

It is believed that the Chakhtitsa Monster was buried near the castle walls in August 1614, next to the remains of its many victims. However, there is evidence that local residents opposed the burial of the countess, and her remains were moved to the family crypt of Eched Castle. The story of the bloodthirsty monster has become a legend, and fiction is very difficult to distinguish from the truth.

Is the case fabricated?

Why is everything not so simple in the case of the infamous countess now? The researchers are sure that there were simply no eyewitnesses, and confessions were torn out from the servants under torture. It is no coincidence that witnesses of the events were immediately executed, and numerous inconsistencies in the case are suggestive.

Of course, Elizabeth Bathory took rejuvenating baths, but instead of the blood of virgins, she used various herbal infusions that gave the skin elasticity. If you consider that she ruined the lives of more than 600 women, then she would only have enough blood for thirty weeks. And eyewitnesses stated that she took baths four times a month.

A victim of the intrigues of the clergy?

The fact is that the Kingdom of Hungary until the 16th century was a Catholic state. However, after the spread of Protestantism, which at first was considered heresy, armed clashes began between adherents of the two religions. A fierce struggle took place against the backdrop of the Turkish invasion, and the Catholic priests, who testified against Elizabeth and dreamed of eliminating the influential Protestant, had their eyes on her untold wealth. In addition, the main prosecutor claimed part of Bathory's land, and it is extremely difficult to consider him an impartial judge during the trial. And the whole huge fortune of the countess was a promising piece for sharing. This practice existed before: wealthy people were accused of serving the devil, and in the meantime, the city treasury was replenished.

According to experts, the sources, thanks to which the Hungarian aristocrat gained a reputation as an abnormal sadist, are not entirely reliable, since the original documents that told the real story of Elizabeth Bathory were destroyed by order of the authorities. And after the death of the countess, new rumors and conjectures appeared.

The image of a bloody lady in art

One way or another, but the image of the criminal who did the atrocities has firmly entered modern art, and many writers, directors, musicians were inspired by him, reading the events of past centuries in a new way. References to the legends about Bathory can be found in computer games and horror films.

Two years ago, the Russian-American film "The Bloody Lady Bathory" was released, in which the famous actress S. Khodchenkova played the main role, perfectly conveying the emotions of the killer. The screenwriter of the thriller carefully studied the archives and did not settle for just rumors. To be as close to reality as possible, the shooting took place in Transylvania, shrouded in gloomy legends.

prestigious award

In 2014, a tourism project dedicated to Countess Bathory was awarded a prestigious award. Located on the top of a high hill, the Chakhty Castle, in which atrocities took place, after a large-scale restoration was opened for guests of the country, and more than 80 thousand people have already visited it. In the same year, 400 years since the death of the infamous aristocrat were celebrated in Hungary, and everyone could taste the wine "Bathory's Blood".

Local authorities intend to create a special organization to combine all efforts to attract tourists from different parts of our planet.

Now no one can say for sure who the world-famous Countess Elizabeth Bathory really is. The minds of researchers will continue to worry about an ambiguous personality who is considered a criminal for a long time to come. And the locals, according to rumors, hear loud moans at night from the killer's family castle, terrifying the whole district.

Half a century after his death, mystical fame passed to Elizabeth Bathory - the "bloody countess", who allegedly killed 650 girls for the sake of eternal youth. History has not yet decided who Elizabeth Bathory really is - a brutal killer, a follower of black magic and the occult, or a victim of a religious conspiracy.

Childhood and youth

Erzhebet (Russian version - Elizabeth) Bathory, she is Alzhbet Batorova-Nadashdi, was born on August 7, 1560 in the Hungarian city of Nyirbator. Parents came from the same clan: father György was the brother of the Transylvanian governor Andras Bathory, and mother Anna was the daughter of another governor, Istvan IV. On the maternal side, Erzsebet was the niece of the King of Poland and Lithuania. The girl is not the only child in the family: her brother Stefan is 5 years older than her, and her sisters Sophia and Clara are younger.

Incest has left its mark on the mental health of the family. It is said that everyone in the Bathory family suffered from epilepsy, schizophrenia and alcohol addiction, the damp walls of the estates provoked gout and rheumatism. From the latter, becoming an adult, Elizabeth also suffered. In her youth, the girl often fell into an unreasonable rage, which is explained not only by distorted genetics, but also by the cruelty of the Middle Ages as a whole.

A young aristocrat from the cradle studied Latin, German and Greek, professed Calvinism (the direction of Protestantism). Faith may have served as a pretext for the tragic events in the biography of Elizabeth Bathory.

Personal life

Born into a privileged noble family, a rich and educated girl had to grow up early - at the age of 10, her parents married her to Ferenc Nadasdy, the son of palatine Tamas Nadasdy. Probably, early marriage was dictated by political goals. In the role of the bride, Elizabeth spent 5 years, the wedding took place on May 8, 1575. The celebration, which took place in the Vranov castle, was attended by 4.5 thousand guests.

The social position of the girl was higher than that of her husband, so she refused to take his last name, instead Ferenc became Bathory. As a wedding gift, Nadashdy presented his young wife with the Cachtice Castle, located on the territory of modern Slovakia. While her husband was learning in Vienna, Elizabeth alone occupied the family estate, consisting of a country house and 17 surrounding villages.

In 1578, Ferenc was appointed commander-in-chief of the Hungarian troops in battles against the Ottoman Empire. Neither the campaigns nor the Thirteen Years' War prevented the continuation of the Bathory family. The firstborn, daughter Anna Nadashdi, was born in 1585. Subsequently, the girl became the wife of the Croatian commander Miklos Zrinyi. It is known for certain that four more children were born: the girls Orsha (1590) and Catalina (1594), the boys Andras (1598) and Pal (1593).

There are suggestions about the presence of two more children: Milos - it is not known whether he was the third son of Erzhebet and Nadashdi or the girl's cousin, and Gyorgy - the boy either died in infancy or did not exist at all.

Historical facts indicate that before marriage, 13-year-old Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, Anastasia, from Laszlo Bende, a servant from Sharvar Castle, the Nadashdi family estate. Enraged, Ferenc castrated the man himself and ordered him to be locked in a cage with a pack of hungry dogs. According to one version, the child suffered the same fate, according to another, he was given to his foster mother and sent to Wallachia.

The heirs of the Bathory family were raised by governesses, and Elizabeth, in her free time from her personal life, looked after the house and the estates belonging to her. She, as the owner of the Chakhtitsky castle, was responsible for the inhabitants, their physical and mental well-being. Therefore, when the Ottomans attacked the estate during the Thirteen Years' War, Erzhebet conducted diplomatic negotiations, reassured the wives of dead husbands and mothers, whose daughters fell into the sexual slavery of the barbarians.

On January 4, 1604, 48-year-old Ferenc Nadasdy died. The exact cause is unknown, but the disease, which causes terrible pain in the legs and provoked death, began to develop as early as 1601. After 2 years, the man lost the ability to walk. Before his death, he left a will, according to which Gyorgy Turzo, Count and Palatine of Hungary, was supposed to look after the widow and heirs. He played a decisive role in the future fate of Elizabeth.

Prosecution and investigation

In 1610, rumors reached the court of the Habsburgs, one of the most powerful royal dynasties in Europe, about the monstrous atrocities that were taking place in Chakhtitsa Castle: allegedly the hostess lured pure, immaculate girls into the house, tortured them, and then killed them in cold blood and bathed in their blood to keep you young.

According to one of the legends, after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Bathory met with men younger than her. Once, during a date, an aristocrat saw an elderly woman and asked the gentleman what he would do if he had to kiss the old woman. The guy broke into unflattering expressions. Hearing the conversation of the lovers, the woman approached them and accused Bathory of vanity, rightly noting that one day old age would come to her house.

Elizabeth was frightened by the revealed truth. That same evening, the maid, preparing the hostess for bed, accidentally pulled out her hair with a comb. Angry, Bathory hit the girl in the face, so much so that she broke her lip. A few drops of blood fell on her hand. It seemed to the aristocrat that the place on the skin, where the spots had recently turned red, became soft and elastic.

The conjectures of Elizabeth were confirmed by the sorceress. She said that the blood of young pure girls was considered the best remedy for withering skin. With maniacal thoroughness, with the help of three assistants, a rich landowner lured peasant daughters to her, allegedly for work, and then tortured them in the most sophisticated ways and used blood like water. The "sucked" corpses that were found near the Chakhtitsky castle were explained by the locals as the existence of vampires.

Despite weekly baths, Elizabeth continued to age. She attacked the sorceress with accusations, and she explained that girls from the lower class do not bestow eternal youth, you need to “hunt” the daughters of wealthy fathers. The disappearance of virgins from peasant families was not given much importance, and when aristocrats began to disappear, the inhabitants sounded the alarm.

Rumors about the cruelty of Elizabeth Bathory began to reach the Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary, Matthias II, back in 1602, but only 8 years later he allowed an investigation to begin. The case was entrusted to György Turzo.

On December 29, 1610, Count Turzo broke into Elisabeth's house and allegedly found her, as well as three accomplices - servants Ilona Yo, Katarina Benicka and Dorota Szentes, who lured the girls to the Chakhtitsky castle, at the scene of the crime. 9 bodies were found on the estate: some of the girls had already died, others were locked in "iron maidens" and were bleeding.

For 5 days of investigation, 300 witnesses testified about the cruelty of Bathory, most of them were peasants working in the castle. Three "assistants" of the aristocrat confessed under torture to involvement in terrible crimes. On January 2, 1611, they were burned alive, after having cut off their fingers as a punishment for their deeds. According to various sources, Elizabeth was accused of killing from 30 to 650 people. She entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most mass murderer. She was not executed - they chose a more severe punishment.

After the trial, all references to Bathory were destroyed - diaries, documents, personal items. Not a single portrait of the "bloody countess" has survived to our times. Historians suggest that such a hasty desire to wipe a person from the face of the earth testifies to a conspiracy in which not only Gyorgy Turzo, who was interested in the lands and property of an aristocrat, but also representatives of the Catholic Church participated.

During the war with the Ottoman Empire, the Protestantism professed by Elizabeth grew stronger, so the followers of Catholicism needed a “demonstrative flogging”. The exposure of the Calvinist Bathory as a real devil had a positive effect on their plans to turn the people away from Protestantism.

Many of Bathory's compatriots, including the historian Laszlo Nagy, are inclined to the theory of persecution. In 1984, he published the book "The Notoriety of Bathory", where Elizabeth appears as a victim of the intrigues of Palatine Thurzo. The same version was reflected in the film Bathory (2008) by Juraj Yakubisko.

Final years and death

Erzhebet was imprisoned in Chakhtitsky Castle. She was walled up in the room, bricked up with windows and doors, leaving only a hole for the transfer of food: water and bread.

On a dry diet, the woman lasted 3 years. On August 21, 1614, Bathory complained to the guards about the cold. In the morning she was found dead.

4 months later, on November 25, the body was buried at the castle church, and then transferred to Elizabeth's native estate, Eched. Where the remains of the "bloody countess" are now buried is unknown.

Elizabeth Bathory in books and films

The most interesting facts from the biography of Erzhebet are reflected in films, computer games, books, and graphic works. Musical groups are named after the countess, entire albums and individual compositions are dedicated to her.

In literature:

• 1901 - "The Mistress of the Chekhtice Castle" by Kalman Miksat
• 1968 - “62. Model to assemble" Julio Cortazar
• 1985 - "Elizabeth Bathory" András Nagy (play)
• 1992 - Age of Dracula by Kim Newman
• 2011 - "The Damned"

In cinematography:

• 1971 - "Countess Dracula"
• 1974 - Immoral Stories
• 2002 - Love Killer
• 2004 - Grave of the Werewolf
• 2006 - "Stay Alive"
• 2008 - "The Bloody Countess - Bathory"
• 2014 - "400 Years of the Bloody Countess: Secret by Secret" (documentary)
• 2015 - Bloody Lady Bathory

The biography of Countess Elisabeth Bathory, who lived in Austria-Hungary in the 17th century, has been filmed by filmmakers in various forms since 1956 - then the film "Vampires" directed by Mario Bava was filmed, which was based, among other things, on this scary historical legend. According to one of her versions, after the death of her husband Ferenc Nadasz, the countess fell into a pathological fear of losing her youth and began to periodically kill young girls and take baths from their blood. According to another, she was persecuted and slandered as the head of the Protestants of Western Hungary. One way or another, it is believed that in her Chakhtitsky castle (now located in Slovakia) she killed about 650 girls, but most of the original documents about the countess were destroyed. However, this is more to the advantage of filmmakers - in the absence of real facts, they continue to fantasize about the life of a bloody lady to this day.

What other interesting films about the Countess could you add?

Countess Dracula, 1971. Directed by Peter Szasdy

The most classic adaptation of the main version of Bathory's biography is a horror film based on the book The Bloody Countess by Valentine Penrose. Elizabeth decides that she has begun to lose her youth and sex appeal. She persuades the manager of the castle - and part-time former lover - to help her in the kidnapping of young girls. In parallel, Elizabeth starts an affair with a young lieutenant, posing as her own daughter. However, over time, of course, he learns about her terrible crimes. Starring Ingrid Pitt (The Wicker Man and Where Eagles Nest) and Nigel Greene (The Ipcress File).

Countess of Blood - Bathory, 2008. Directed by Juraj Yakubisko

"The less evidence, the more legends ..." says the slogan of this film. Screen version of an alternative version of the life of the bloody countess, according to which she was persecuted and was slandered, as she was not only an influential noblewoman, but also the head of the Protestants in Western Hungary. According to this version, most of the evidence against the countess was falsified by the Hungarian palatine György Turzo, who wanted to get part of Bathory's lands into his possessions. It is curious that for some reason the famous artist Merisi Caravaggio was introduced into the film as a character, who in reality never crossed paths with Bathory.

The Countess, 2008 Directed by Julie Delpy

In the same year, the third film of Julie Delpy, a famous French actress, a favorite of director Richard Linklater, was released (“Before Dawn”, “Three Colours: White”, “Before Sunset”). The actress herself wrote the script, directed the film and played the main role in it. The plot of the film again refers to the first version of Bathory's biography, but with some reservations. The countess falls in love with a man much younger than herself, and he, in turn, after a short romance, leaves her. Elizabeth goes crazy, suspecting that a younger rival is to blame for everything - and decides that the blood of virgins will help her regain her former beauty. In addition to Delpy herself, the main roles were played by Daniel Brühl (“Good Bye Lenin!”, “Race”, “Inglourious Basterds”) and Oscar winner William Hurt (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”, “Children of Silence”, “True Values”) .

Immoral Stories, 1974. Directed by Valerian Borovchik

The French painting by Valerian Borowczyk consists of four unrelated erotic short stories. The third, entitled "Elizabeth Báthory," tells of the murderous Countess. The novella, which is half an hour long, mainly consists of a scene of a feast, in which the guard pulls out several of the whole crowd of naked, having fun girls. The countess takes a long time in a bloody bath, while the camera focuses on the intimate parts of the body. The main and only role in her life in this novel was played by Paloma Picasso, the youngest daughter of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, French fashion designer and jewelry designer Tiffany & Co. Immoral Stories was the first erotic film shown on French television.

Bloody Lady Bathory, 2015. Directed by Andrey Konst

Thriller co-produced by the USA and Russia with Svetlana Khodchenkova and Pavel Derevyanko in the lead roles from the producer of Paranormal Activity and Astral. The feature-length debut of director Alexander Konst and screenwriter Matthew Jacobs retells the bloody tale of Lady Bathory. Apparently, there are few differences from the classic one in it - except perhaps the quality of the picture and the scale of what is happening on the screen, not without reason in the yard of 2015. In addition, Svetlana Khodchenkova, unlike previous Bathory, for some reason does not hunt for girls, but for girls, just children. It seems that this film was made to convince modern historians of their doubts about the scale of the pathology of Bathory's personality: according to the plot, the heroine Khodchenkova has been chasing a single girl with a knife around the castle for more than a day. What gives the picture some, completely inappropriate in the context of the original source, comedy.

Femininity is traditionally associated with tenderness and affection. A mother who bears and gives birth to a child is not capable of cruelty and violence. However, there are enough examples in history proving that the fair sex can be no less bloodthirsty than men. Tenderness and mercy were not familiar to such a famous medieval criminal as Countess Bathory. Historical: many people suffered at the hands of this woman.

Elizabeth of Eched

Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Bathory was born in August 1560. Her father and mother belonged to the same family and were distant relatives. Little Elizabeth spent her childhood in Eched Castle, receiving an education appropriate to her status. At the age of ten, the girl was betrothed to Ferenc Nadasz. A few years later, the wedding took place.

The life of a young noblewoman was not much different from that led by all women of her social status. After the wedding, Ferenc went to Austria to get an education, and then was appointed commander of the Hungarian troops. Nadash was not often at home, which did not prevent the couple from becoming the parents of six children. The young wife did not educate them, since she devoted a lot of time to protecting the estates of her husband, who was constantly absent from home. Elizabeth repeatedly acted as the patroness of disadvantaged women who lost their husbands in the war against the Turks. But it is not for this reason that Countess Bathory entered history. Historical facts testify to the huge number of crimes of the virtuous wife of Ferenc Nadasz.

In the early 1600s, rumors circulate that Countess Bathory brutally tortures and kills little girls and young girls. The Countess chose her victims both among commoners and among small landed nobles. Erzhebet hired peasant children to work. Girls from noble families were brought to her by their parents. The countess was supposed to teach them court etiquette. In addition, the victims for Bathory were kidnapped. After the crimes of the countess were proven, the Hungarian king Matthias demanded that Elisabeth Bathory, the bloody countess, be executed.

Despite the fact that the relatives of the victims and the Hungarian ruler himself wished for the death of Elizabeth, the execution was commuted to life imprisonment. Many representatives of noble families opposed the massacre. Execution, in their opinion, would disgrace the ancient noble family of Bathory and discredit all the nobles. The pardoned countess was imprisoned in one of her castles. Solitary confinement, presumably, was the bedroom of Elizabeth herself. The doors and windows of the room were sealed. A small opening was left for ventilation and communication with the outside world. The Countess did not live long in captivity. She died in August 1614.

Elizabeth Bathory – blood countess?

Whether Erzsebet was the one for whom she has been given out for four hundred years, not a single specialist can confidently say. Among historians, there is a point of view that Bathory herself became a victim of a complex political game. Her death was beneficial to many, including King Matthias. The countess entered the national Hungarian folklore. Many legends have been created about her:

• Elizabeth was a vampire. She drank the blood of her victims.
• The countess tried to preserve her youth by bathing in the blood of virgins. The legend arose due to the fact that Bathory's victims were little girls and young girls.

• Elizabeth had an illegitimate child. According to rumors, 2 years after marriage, the countess became pregnant from a servant. Ferenc was sure that his wife was not carrying his child, and severely punished the culprit. The pregnant countess was moved to another estate, where she gave birth to a daughter. There is no evidence that Erzsébet had an illegitimate child. It is possible that the girl was killed by Bathory's legal husband. There is also a legend that the countess became a mother as a girl. The girl's father was forced to pay well to her future husband, Elizabeth, so that he agreed to take his dishonored daughter as his wife.

No one knows what Countess Bathory really was. . Some historians are only interested in finding sensations that can glorify a scientist.