Elizabeth Bathory is reputed to have killed at least six hundred victims, earning her a Guinness World Record for most prolific female murderer. Her actions resulted in a nickname of the "Blood Countess". Elizabeth was accused of a haunting litany of crimes against both female servants and minor noblewomen who had come to her for training and education. Most of her alleged assaults and murders took place after she was widowed in 1604.
Sounds like a pretty terrible woman, right?
Loren's about to dump a big ol' bucket of cold water on all of this with the revelation that Elizabeth may have been innocent and there's evidence to support it. Now, this is not to say she was a nice person. Her husband was off at war, and she had to manage an INCREDIBLE amount of business in his absence, even before he died – thousands of servants, governing the local populace, and handling an amount of property second to none.
Elisabeth Bathory needed everyone around her to know one thing, and one thing only: she was Head Bitch, and she had no time for your bullshit. Nothing about her was warm and cuddly. We absolutely believe she made life shitty for servants and likely many of the young noblewomen sent to her. It is beyond questioning that she beat the hell out of her servants, and some undoubtedly died from it. Mind you, we aren't excusing her behavior, but there's more to this story than first meets the eye.
So what really happened? We can't know for sure, but we know that George Thurzo – Palatine of Hungary and dickass extraordinaire – played a huge role...
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory
Villains Fandom Wiki: https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Elizabeth_Bathory_(Urban_Legends)
Guinness World Records: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-prolific-female-murderer
Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters: https://books.google.com/books?id=FdN0MMbGIQkC&pg=PA80#v=onepage&q&f=false
All Things Interesting: https://allthatsinteresting.com/elizabeth-bathory-true-story
History of Royal Women: https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/elizabeth-bathory/elizabeth-bathory-countess-dracula/
History Today: https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/death-countess-elizabeth-bathory
Biography: https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/elizabeth-bathory
Brittanica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Bathory