2. Countess
Erzsebet
Bathory
Born 1560, Ercsed,
Transylvania
Both parents were Bathorys
3. Despite being a member of the
aristocracy, her childhood was not easy.
She suffered fits of uncontrollable rage;
reports also indicate epilepsy.
She was promiscuous, becoming
pregnant at 14 with by local peasant.
4. Modern psychologists would investigate
narcissistic personality disorder based
on the hours per day spent in front of a
mirror, the 5-6 clothing changes each
day, and the expensive oils and ungents
that she used throughout the day on her
skin.
5. Bathory married
Count Ferencz
Nadasdy, who was
often away at war,
fighting the Turks.
She moved into his
castle in Hungary,
found the
dungeons, and
became interested.
6. When he husband died, she attempted
to retain her beauty by researching
youth potions.
She began kidnapping young peasant
girls for their blood, but when she
continued to age, he switched to lesser-
born noble girls.
7. Blood baths
Bathory heard a rumor that
drinking the blood of noble-
born virgins keeps organs
healthy, while soaking in their
blood keeps one’s skin young.
8. Arrested in 1610 after rumors of
murdering a higher-ranking noble girl, a
search of the castle turned up many
bones, skeletons and corpses.
There was a partially burned corpses in
a fireplace; dogs chased each other with
human limbs in their mouths like toys.
During her trial, the body count rose to
80
9. Possible Causes
Spoiled and impetuous nature
combined with permissive
parents and society
Observational learning: saw
brutal justice from family
upon peasants
Brain damage to prefrontal
cortex caused by epilepsy
Editor's Notes
Promised peasant girls paying servant jobs
Promised to teach social graces to young noble women
One story tells of her witnessing a gypsy accused of theft of being sewn into the belly of a dying horse, with only his head exposed, and left to die there.
