Countess Elizabeth Bathory: The Life and Legacy of History’s Most Prolific Female Serial Killer

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes historic accounts of the Countess' life and crimes *Includes footnotes, online resources, and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents ”She didn’t fear death because inside herself, she didn’t conceive it as a common destiny, although she had seen it several times, although it had upset her so many times. Death is what happens to others, to the weak ones, she might have thought in her delirious blindness. As far as the physical pains and punishments were concerned, these had been exciting her ever since she was a child.” - Javier Garcia Sanchez, Contesa Dracula Erzsébet Báthory The legends of vampires like Dracula have generated massive interest throughout time. Indeed, the story of a man (in some versions a very handsome, dashing man), who feeds on the blood of virgins in order to survive, and who walks the earth only at night, has been revived throughout the centuries in different forms. However, one famous tale that has been lost among the legends is the story of a female Dracula, an educated woman from a well-known family of 16th century Hungary who was so afraid to lose her beauty and young looks that she engaged in dangerous practices, combining witchcraft with exsanguination. Countess Elizabeth Báthory is this female Dracula. She is said to have drained the blood of approximately 600 young women, in order to drink it, spread it all over her body as a nurturing blend, or simply to bathe in it. Her preferences for such practices can be explained by several factors, including the practices of the time as far as torture was concerned, her genetic heritage, personal madness, and the fear of fading beauty. Despite the general impression that Báthory was exsanguinating these girls and bathing in their blood, it appears that she did much more. Sources indicate that most of the girls had been beaten, tortured, and even forced into particular sexual activities. Regardless, her attempts to do anything to keep her beauty apparently went for naught, because upon her death, Báthory was no longer the beautiful and young woman she desired to be. In essence, it seems that all her criminal efforts had been in vain. Based on her behavior and the reactions to it throughout time, it is virtually impossible to set Erzsébet Báthory in a character typology. On one hand, she could be considered a bored wife left alone by her husband for long periods of time, time that she used to develop passions for same-sex relations and an acute interest in inflicting pain on her victims. She might be seen as a mentally unstable person who found great joy in torturing others. Perhaps most disturbing of all, there’s a possibility that the countess was a common character within the nobility of the 16th century who was acting normally based on the customs and norms of her era. Adding to the mystery of the story is that historical records are still mostly inaccessible because of the language barriers (most historical sources are in Hungarian). As a result, researchers interested in her life story and history usually rely on a limited number of available sources, such as biographies, articles, published letters said to have belonged to her, and scholarly articles on the topic. Countess Elizabeth The Life and Legacy of History’s Most Prolific Female Serial Killer details the mysterious and sordid history of one of the world’s first and worst serial killers. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Countess Bathory like never before, in no time at all.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

47 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 21, 2015

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Yoly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short but I didn't know anything about Elizabeth Bathory so it served as as good introduction.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright

Not quite what was expected it feels like more a comparison between a couple of different works about The Countess with a brief chronicle on her life interjected. A good source to find other works but not much in the way of information.

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glorified Wikipedia page

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was vague about the real life details of the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory AKA "the blood countess" or "Bloody Countess" so I found it disappointing to read.
Some people believe she was a vampire, a possible witch but she was definitely a real person, that was sadistic and evil due to learning about torture methods and witchcraft by one of her servants Darvulia.
This book is more of a reference book rather than a informative account of the life of Elizabeth Bathory, so I will read other books that are more detailed to find out more about her.
I don't understand why more accurate accounts of her life were not translated into English, since I would be interested in reading about it.

This book is just a overview of the life and what possibly lead Elizabeth Bathory to torture, mutilate and murder/bathe in the blood/possibly drink the blood of servants that were peasants or nobility for her own sick and sadistic pleasure. I would recommend this book to anyone that has never heard of Elizabeth Bathory, and they don't know anything about her or Vlad Tepes (Prince of Wallachia, Transylvania in Romania)
I didn't receive the version of the book that I wanted (Elizabeth Bathory in a red dress, the pages were printed in a waythat it isn't aligned properly so that is another reason I was disappointed with this book) :/

[Kaylin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was just hoping for a little more out of this one! It was short, which I kind of expect going into a historical true crime novel, but it was just too short. It felt like more than half of this was recommending other Elizabeth Bathory content, which I will take, but that could have easily been on a Buzzfeed article list rather a whole novel. For such a fascinating topic with a seemingly good start, it fell incredibly flat. But, it’s not problematic or boring so it gets 2 stars.

[Dee Sims · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool

I had to read for class. Shorty was bout diabolical and sadistic as fuck. I see why they put her on American horror story she was maaaaad wicked

[Carrie Hornung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never heard of this Frightening Woman

Having never heard of the countess I was shocked beyond belief when I read this true story the last four years of this Noble woman were interesting to read about how the powers that handed out sentences were so shocked by her crimes..the court if nobility was creative to punish a noble woman for unthinkable crimes and do it quietly.... She lasted 4 years of her extreme punishment..... No spoilers about how she was punished.

[Taylor Voustros · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave it a one star because the book was so short .. there was no page numbers. I felt like this book was listing whoever these people were. And a small brief section of who Elizabeth bathory was. Sadly I was not impressed and I ended up skimming the book.
I wished this book could provide more details and history about her.

[Jessica the **Sexy Book Diva** · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfulfilling

While this EXTREMELY short biography gives the basic facts and alludes to the many treacherous acts commited by Countess Bathory, there is a certain lack of artistry in the telling. Very dry.

[Jeffrey Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a quick read, but interesting. A great addition for any history buff.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and basic

Well written and researched, but is really short. I read it in, like, an hour. Kind of like an extended Wikipedia entry, and left me wanting more.

[Heather Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the subject.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a very short book, it was an interesting read. I have struggled to find factual books on Elizabeth Bathory, so this was a wonderful and succinct introduction to her story (for me). It is easy to read, structured in an organised way, and, each chapter has a clear goal. It uses historical evidence to explore her life, her crimes and her trial. I recommend it to anyone who is wanting to avoid fictional and exaggerated accounts of her life. Plus, I enjoyed that the author included photographs of places and art works as visuals. It helped put a face to these long deceased people and the places they lived, and therefore improved my reading experience.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and Chilling

Learning more about the diabolical life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. The account relies primarily on other published works as it chronicles the life story of the Bloody Countess. It is short and to the point. Much more would have been overkill. This woman was mentally deranged and her acts are those of an obvious psychopath. I had heard some of the stories about her, but they pale in comparison with the truth.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

very short read. mostly references other books. nothing I haven't read before