On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we travel back to castle times and explore the life, myth, and legacy of a French nobleman named Gilles de Rais—the Dracula of France! This man went from celebrated war hero to ally with the infamous Joan of Arc to church owner to theater producer to demon summoner to serial killer and pedophile. Maybe. Unless it was all a plot by the church and the French nobility to discredit the guy. It’s a wild story.

So it all begins in the 1400s where Gilles de Rais was born to a wealthy noble family. When he was young, he studied military tactics as well as academics, but when his parents both died in the same year, his life took a turn. He was then raised by his grandfather who tried to pimp him out on wealthy noble girls to get him to marry into even richer families, but it never quite worked out.

Eventually Gilles de Rais joined the militia and made a quick name for himself as a soldier. He captured key enemy officers, was known for reckless bravery on the battlefield, and earned lands and monies throughout his young career. Eventually, he joined up with Joan of Arc in some of her most famous battles and some say he was often her right hand man. After Joan’s untimely end, Gilles retired to civilian life and opened his own church to get away from things he didn’t like about the Catholic church. He also bankrolled one of the most expensive theatrical productions of all time while trying to revisit his glory days; the two things made him burn through money, so he ended up turning to other means of making money, like you do, so he tried to summon demons.

The demons didn’t ever turn up, but his staff sorcerers advised him that the body parts of children would make them come, and so, he started killing kids. Horribly. And having sex with their exposed bowels, collecting their heads, and burning the bodies. Or maybe not.

In 1992, some folks decided this may have been a smear campaign since Gilles de Rais was so beloved of the people that he was a threat to the crown and the church. The demons and serial killing may have been a way to make him lose love with the FFPs and get taken down a notch. So how many did he allegedly kill? What was his preferred method of execution? Who was the demon he tried to summon, and why did Aleister Crowley think he was innocent? Listen, laugh, learn.