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Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania
An investigation in the life of Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess who also was a serial killer of young peasant and noble women. This book highlights court documents translated for the first time into English. The second half is a general interest exposition on vampires, werewolves, and necrophiles.
254 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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363 people want to read
About the author
Raymond T. McNally
18 books23 followersRaymond T McNally was an American author and professor of Russian and East European History at Boston College. He specialized in the history of horror and wrote many books around the subject.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 5, 2009
Hey! You know what? The Countess of Bathory has long been accused of bathing in virgin's blood to remain young! Now, I know that some of you will say that this is a trumped up charge akin to the cry of "witchcraft" that was used against a woman who attempted to call in a very hefty debt from the then king, so he may avoid repayment. Well, I learned from this book that claim is simply false.
For instance, take a look at the testimony given by the tortured peasants many years after her trial. See also, that her aunt was a well known lesbian! Facts abound!
This book doesn't stop there however! You can read chapter upon chapter that will list unrelated stories of mental patients, axe murders, and grave robbers as well as lists of movies that have vampires and werewolves in them! Yip-freakin'-haw!
For instance, take a look at the testimony given by the tortured peasants many years after her trial. See also, that her aunt was a well known lesbian! Facts abound!
This book doesn't stop there however! You can read chapter upon chapter that will list unrelated stories of mental patients, axe murders, and grave robbers as well as lists of movies that have vampires and werewolves in them! Yip-freakin'-haw!
January 27, 2013
Elizabeth Bathory was a medieval Hungarian Countess accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and bathing in their blood to make herself younger. Dracula Was a Woman was the first nonfiction book about Elizabeth Bathory written in English, so it holds a place of honor amongst Bathory biographies. Of course, Raymond McNally's book has since been surpassed by Tony Thorne's Countess Dracula and Kimberly Craft's Infamous Lady.
McNally tells us that the trials of 1611 held against Elizabeth Bathory were show trials with a predetermined verdict. McNally tells us that Elizabeth's sons-in-law conspired with her cousin by marriage George Thurzo to get the verdict they wanted. Everyone involved in the trials was dependent upon Thurzo, and Thurzo made sure the trials were held during a time parliament would be out of session so he would have complete control over the proceedings. Elizabeth's suspected accomplices were tortured into confessing, however, this was common legal practice during the Middle Ages. It was also common during this time to put widows on trial for witchcraft in order to steal their property (this happened to Elizabeth's cousin Anna Bathory).
However, even though McNally thinks there was a conspiracy against her, he still believes that Elizabeth did indeed commit the crimes of which she was accused. He points out that there were hundreds of witnesses against her, not just the four servants of hers who were tortured. He concedes the other witnesses could have been caught up in a fervor like townspeople during a witch trial often are, but he doesn't think this is likely.
He may have a point. However, as far as I can tell, McNally doesn't cite evidence from these other witnesses (although he does list in the appendix that one of them accused Elizabeth of torturing girls with a fiery sword!). He builds his biography mainly from the testimony of the four servants as well as from legends and rumors about Elizabeth Bathory which sprung up many years after her death. To be fair, we don't have much information about her besides this, but he could have been more skeptical when using it.
McNally gets a lot of details wrong. For example, he claims that Elizabeth had a close relationship with her aunt Klara who was a notorious lesbian. This is wrong on two points. First, while Klara's birth date is unknown, we do know she was at least in her fifties (if not older or dead) by the time Elizabeth was ten years old, so it's unlikely she had much influence on Elizabeth, let alone had an affair with her. Secondly, there's no indication that Klara was a lesbian. The first rumors that she was didn't start circulating until long after her death.
McNally does tell us the accusations that Elizabeth bathed in blood are not supported by any evidence, but other than this, the only claim about Bathory that he's skeptical of is Reverend Ponikenusz's charge that she sent dogs and cats to attack him which then disappeared into thin air. He trusts everything else everyone says about her, which is not the way to go about writing history.
The part of the book I liked best was the opening chapter in which McNally gives a travel log of his time in Eastern Europe retracing the steps of Elizabeth Bathory and tracking down evidence. However, he spends less than half this book discussing Bathory. Most of this book talks about vampires, werewolves, and necrophiles in general, so there's only about 90 pages worth of actual Bathory material here. I'd recommend that anyone interested in Elizabeth Bathory read Tony Thorne's Countess Dracula or Kimberly Craft's Infamous Lady instead.
McNally tells us that the trials of 1611 held against Elizabeth Bathory were show trials with a predetermined verdict. McNally tells us that Elizabeth's sons-in-law conspired with her cousin by marriage George Thurzo to get the verdict they wanted. Everyone involved in the trials was dependent upon Thurzo, and Thurzo made sure the trials were held during a time parliament would be out of session so he would have complete control over the proceedings. Elizabeth's suspected accomplices were tortured into confessing, however, this was common legal practice during the Middle Ages. It was also common during this time to put widows on trial for witchcraft in order to steal their property (this happened to Elizabeth's cousin Anna Bathory).
However, even though McNally thinks there was a conspiracy against her, he still believes that Elizabeth did indeed commit the crimes of which she was accused. He points out that there were hundreds of witnesses against her, not just the four servants of hers who were tortured. He concedes the other witnesses could have been caught up in a fervor like townspeople during a witch trial often are, but he doesn't think this is likely.
He may have a point. However, as far as I can tell, McNally doesn't cite evidence from these other witnesses (although he does list in the appendix that one of them accused Elizabeth of torturing girls with a fiery sword!). He builds his biography mainly from the testimony of the four servants as well as from legends and rumors about Elizabeth Bathory which sprung up many years after her death. To be fair, we don't have much information about her besides this, but he could have been more skeptical when using it.
McNally gets a lot of details wrong. For example, he claims that Elizabeth had a close relationship with her aunt Klara who was a notorious lesbian. This is wrong on two points. First, while Klara's birth date is unknown, we do know she was at least in her fifties (if not older or dead) by the time Elizabeth was ten years old, so it's unlikely she had much influence on Elizabeth, let alone had an affair with her. Secondly, there's no indication that Klara was a lesbian. The first rumors that she was didn't start circulating until long after her death.
McNally does tell us the accusations that Elizabeth bathed in blood are not supported by any evidence, but other than this, the only claim about Bathory that he's skeptical of is Reverend Ponikenusz's charge that she sent dogs and cats to attack him which then disappeared into thin air. He trusts everything else everyone says about her, which is not the way to go about writing history.
The part of the book I liked best was the opening chapter in which McNally gives a travel log of his time in Eastern Europe retracing the steps of Elizabeth Bathory and tracking down evidence. However, he spends less than half this book discussing Bathory. Most of this book talks about vampires, werewolves, and necrophiles in general, so there's only about 90 pages worth of actual Bathory material here. I'd recommend that anyone interested in Elizabeth Bathory read Tony Thorne's Countess Dracula or Kimberly Craft's Infamous Lady instead.
September 16, 2011
The first half of this book was a factual look into the life of Elizabeth Bathory and McNally works to expell many of the myths and half truths that have grown up around the legend of this aristocratic sadist. Although he does seem to really on a lot of previously published information he does also unearth some of the original documents from Elizabeth's trials in January 1611, which shed a bit of light on what really happened (these documents are also summarised in an appendix and make very interesting reading).
The second half of the book McNally devels into the murky world of Vampire and Werewolf legends and the rise of necrophilia, linking these back to real-life cases including that of Elizabeth (sometimes this does seem a bit of a stretch) and how these have fed into modern popular culture. Although this was quite interesting to read, at times the relevence of this to Elizabeth's story was tenuous at best.
Overall McNally has written a easy and accessible book that gives the historical background to and the facts of Elizabeth Bathory's life and death but the second half does go off on a bit of tangent. Still a pretty good read though.
The second half of the book McNally devels into the murky world of Vampire and Werewolf legends and the rise of necrophilia, linking these back to real-life cases including that of Elizabeth (sometimes this does seem a bit of a stretch) and how these have fed into modern popular culture. Although this was quite interesting to read, at times the relevence of this to Elizabeth's story was tenuous at best.
Overall McNally has written a easy and accessible book that gives the historical background to and the facts of Elizabeth Bathory's life and death but the second half does go off on a bit of tangent. Still a pretty good read though.
January 21, 2018
Really great, goes a lot deeper than just the story of Elizabeth Bathory. I'm just confused about how the thesis turned into a sex thing.
April 17, 2008
The first half of this book, discussing the life of Elizabeth Bathory, was engaging and interesting. But as the author progressed, trying to prove fantastical claims that she was a necrophiliac as well as a werewolf and a flesh eater, it quickly degraded into ludicrous.
April 29, 2019
read this if you want to read freudian analysis of necrophilia that's surprisingly feminist but virulently homophobic. i enjoyed it immensely
May 24, 2020
This is nonfiction which makes it all the more horrifying. I feel like I need to cleanse my soul...
January 8, 2008
The first half of this book was very informative, all about the life of Elizabeth Bathory with a focus on separating the legend that has grown up around her from the actual facts (which, based on the trial transcripts, may not be "facts" but false information extracted from Bathory's collaborators under torture). I had hoped that the appendices would contain a complete translated trial transcript (say that 3 times fast) but mostly it was just a summary and certain testimonies relevant to the author's point.
The second half of the book was not so informative... Random examples of vampirism, werewolfism, and necrophilia from history and fiction, none of which seem to have citations, and the authenticity of examples from the middle ages is not contested. Being a horror movie fan, I found the summary of these afflications through the history of horror movies to be a little weak (clearly the author and I have different tastes in horror movies, but then again, it is about 25 years later and the horror genre has completely blown up). I found very little in the second half to relate to the Elizabeth Bathory case except through my own conjecture.
July 17, 2011
This book provided reliable, accurate information about countess Elizabeth Bathory, the so called "Blood Countess." She lived in Hungary in the late 1500s and early 1600s and was infamous, even in her day, for the number of women she murdered. The estimate is between 60-600 women, mostly peasants and some low-born nobles. The myth surrounding Countess Bathory holds that she bathed in the blood of virgins in the hope of appearing younger; she was deathly afraid of aging and tried anything to stop the process.
"Dracula was a Woman" provides a less dramatized and frenzied account of the murders. Instead it focuses on the factors that motivated Elizabeth while deconstructing the myth about Bathory bathing in blood. The author, Raymond McNally, argues that there is little evidence to support some of the more outrageous claims about the Countess. However, her story needs little embellishment because the number of women she tortured and killed is horrific enough.
I was thoroughly impressed with this book, which is non-fiction and supported by reliable research.
"Dracula was a Woman" provides a less dramatized and frenzied account of the murders. Instead it focuses on the factors that motivated Elizabeth while deconstructing the myth about Bathory bathing in blood. The author, Raymond McNally, argues that there is little evidence to support some of the more outrageous claims about the Countess. However, her story needs little embellishment because the number of women she tortured and killed is horrific enough.
I was thoroughly impressed with this book, which is non-fiction and supported by reliable research.
January 21, 2016
Wonderful revisionist history. The researchers get right at the root of the Dracula legend. They contend that Stoker based his character, not only on Vlad Tepes, but on Elizabeth Bathory. Explains that Bathory was the rarest of birds: a female, sexually-motivated, recreational killer. Casually explodes the myth about her bathing in blood to keep herself young.
February 15, 2008
This is one of the better books out there on Elizabeth Bathory. It goes into great detail about her family history and genealogy. The real draw here is the details of the tortures she inflicted on approximately 500 young women. Gruesome stuff, but also fascinating.
January 17, 2011
I really don't now why the book is titled what it is because McNally does not prove the title at all.
Apparently vampires are a result of abuse at the hands of women.
Apparently vampires are a result of abuse at the hands of women.
July 2, 2018
This is an oddball book. The history portion of the book is interesting. In the opening the author talks about going to that part of Europe and doing original research and publishing information for the first time in English. I don't know why the author didn't choose to focus exclusively on the history. It's good stuff. The next three sections are historical examples of vampirism, werewolfism, and necrophilia. It's really disjointed. It's hard to sort out the anecdotal from the well documented. It all kind of blends together and he only really scratches the surface. His use of dated Freudian psychology to explain this strange human behavior does him no favors. The last chapter is on how literature and movies have handled these subjects. He makes so many mistakes on the movies I have to wonder if he saw any of the movies he discusses. I don't think it can't be chalked up to lack of movie availability in the early/pre-VHS days. Just super sloppy. I get the impression the only real work he did was for the historical portion. I took it out from the library based solely on the author photo on the back cover. He's got this great shock of white hair and a wonderful late-70s tuxedo. He seems like the sort of guy who was a well-known semi-celebrity on TV for a time. Overall I have to say the book as at its best during the historical parts and discussing the politics of the time and place and why Elizabeth Báthory was able to get away with what she did and why it took so long for people in charge to do anything about it. After that he's really reaching outside of his area of expertise to pull together something cohesive. More of interest as a time capsule to see how these things used to be written about back in the late 70s and early 80s, really.
May 25, 2020
I really wanted this to be about Elizabeth a lot more than it was. The part that was actually about her was interesting. Several documents were mentioned and not really explored? I felt like when he was writing her story he was just chomping at the bit to talk about how it relates to the psychology of whatever previous vampire/werewolf studies he’d done. It read very pretentious and honestly pretty judgmental of random side characters/people in the story? Not to mention when we get into the psychological background about vampires, werewolves, etc. I really just skimmed that part because of the tone and because it wasn’t what I was here for.
October 4, 2024
A historical fiction book has recently been published about Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Before reading that book, I decided to finally read this non-fiction book on Elizabeth Bathory that I've only had since 1984.
The book was much better than I thought it would be. Some references are a little dated (it came out before Gary Oldman's performance in the movie Dracula and the Soviet Union came apart) All in all, it was very informative and had reprints of original documents from Elizabeth Bathory's trial.
The book was much better than I thought it would be. Some references are a little dated (it came out before Gary Oldman's performance in the movie Dracula and the Soviet Union came apart) All in all, it was very informative and had reprints of original documents from Elizabeth Bathory's trial.
November 27, 2022
I thought this book was going to be about how the Blood Countess informed/inspired Stoker's Dracula. That is in there, but so is 200 years of Hungarian political history, Freudian sexual psychoanalysis, werewolfism, and necrophilia. Some of which is interesting, a lot that is irrelevant, and some which is downright silly. Most of the sexual interpretation is silly and not supported by actual events. It says more about contemporary society than the acts of Elizabeth Bathory.
January 6, 2018
The book lacks somewhat in coherency, giving a bit of an impression of being a collection of anecdotes scattered all over the place. Nevertheless, it does make some interesting points concerning Elizabeth Bathory, vampire myth, and horror fiction in general.
March 26, 2022
i wish to commit every word of this book 2 memory so that i can read it in my head any time i want
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September 22, 2023This is a terrible book on many levels.
October 20, 2012
This book claims to bypass the infamous myths of Elizabeth Bathory and get to the facts - which it did and the first half of the book is what I loved, although the truth about Elizabeth Bathory is actually much more horrifying than the old (unsubstantiated) bloodbath legend.
The things she did were actually more horrific that simply bathing in the blood of virgin girls - Elizabeth does seem to be portrayed in an erotic sense though and much is made of her bisexuality and her possible incestuous affair with her Aunt Klara who it is believed may have taught Elizabeth how to torture female servants as apparently it was a pastime that the "openly lesbian" and older Klara enjoyed - it's also later inferred that Elizabeth would enjoy nights together sexually using the torture and murder of girls as some sort of foreplay.
Much is also made of Elizabeth's apparent need to have her victims totally naked to increase her own pleasure.
I think one thing I found most horrifying is the sheer amount of women who happily and eagerly joined Elizabeth in her evil "night games" - aside from Elizabeth, there were her main henchwomen, Helena Jo, Dorothea, Katharina and Zusanna and also Elizabeth's aunt Klara and then two of Elizabeth's rumoured lovers, Anna (who was reported to be Elizabeth's main love - more so than Elizabeth's husband - apparently she was more traumatised by Anna's death than that of her husband) and Ersza and then it's revealed that there was a mother, who enticed her own young daughter to Castle Cachtice, despite knowing full well that her innocent young daughter would be tortured and killed in the most brutal of ways by Elizabeth and her female cohorts.
We also learn that a regular cohort who travelled to be with Elizabeth during her "night games", was an un-named noblewoman who would dress in menswear and would join Elizabeth in some of the bloodiest murders that often took place in Elizabeth's bedchamber and were reportedly so fraught that Elizabeth would have to break in order to change her saturated bloodsoaked skirts and you could "scoop pailfulls of blood from the floor"
There's a photo-section in this book and after the portrait of Elizabeth, the imitation of a painting where she's apparently enjoying watching naked servant girls being dragged out into the snow and doused in bucketfulls of cold water and then forced to freeze to death as the cold water and snow turned to ice on the girl's bodies, and the photos of Castle Cactice, it starts to go wrong - there are glorified over sexual still photos of a busty blonde Elizabeth Bathory from the movie "Countess Dracula" and the latter half of the book just concentrates on too many legends and myths and historical facts about vampires, werewolves, necrophilia, superstition etc that it actually becomes a boring blur of mishmashed stories and it becomes drivel with barely any mention of Elizabeth Bathory - if he had stuck to photos of things associated to the REAL Elizabeth Bathory and used only half of the material he uses in the latter half of the book, this would have been excellent - sadly it feels he tried too hard and ruined an excellent start.
The things she did were actually more horrific that simply bathing in the blood of virgin girls - Elizabeth does seem to be portrayed in an erotic sense though and much is made of her bisexuality and her possible incestuous affair with her Aunt Klara who it is believed may have taught Elizabeth how to torture female servants as apparently it was a pastime that the "openly lesbian" and older Klara enjoyed - it's also later inferred that Elizabeth would enjoy nights together sexually using the torture and murder of girls as some sort of foreplay.
Much is also made of Elizabeth's apparent need to have her victims totally naked to increase her own pleasure.
I think one thing I found most horrifying is the sheer amount of women who happily and eagerly joined Elizabeth in her evil "night games" - aside from Elizabeth, there were her main henchwomen, Helena Jo, Dorothea, Katharina and Zusanna and also Elizabeth's aunt Klara and then two of Elizabeth's rumoured lovers, Anna (who was reported to be Elizabeth's main love - more so than Elizabeth's husband - apparently she was more traumatised by Anna's death than that of her husband) and Ersza and then it's revealed that there was a mother, who enticed her own young daughter to Castle Cachtice, despite knowing full well that her innocent young daughter would be tortured and killed in the most brutal of ways by Elizabeth and her female cohorts.
We also learn that a regular cohort who travelled to be with Elizabeth during her "night games", was an un-named noblewoman who would dress in menswear and would join Elizabeth in some of the bloodiest murders that often took place in Elizabeth's bedchamber and were reportedly so fraught that Elizabeth would have to break in order to change her saturated bloodsoaked skirts and you could "scoop pailfulls of blood from the floor"
There's a photo-section in this book and after the portrait of Elizabeth, the imitation of a painting where she's apparently enjoying watching naked servant girls being dragged out into the snow and doused in bucketfulls of cold water and then forced to freeze to death as the cold water and snow turned to ice on the girl's bodies, and the photos of Castle Cactice, it starts to go wrong - there are glorified over sexual still photos of a busty blonde Elizabeth Bathory from the movie "Countess Dracula" and the latter half of the book just concentrates on too many legends and myths and historical facts about vampires, werewolves, necrophilia, superstition etc that it actually becomes a boring blur of mishmashed stories and it becomes drivel with barely any mention of Elizabeth Bathory - if he had stuck to photos of things associated to the REAL Elizabeth Bathory and used only half of the material he uses in the latter half of the book, this would have been excellent - sadly it feels he tried too hard and ruined an excellent start.
July 22, 2016
One of those "truth is stranger than fiction" scenarios, to be sure. I had some pretty decent background knowledge to this historical figure going into the book, but I was still impressed by the amount of information I did *not* have. I liked the historical and background information that gave the story its importance and its proper setting. Though it ended up being one of my chief complaints as it began to wear on me and toward the end I ended up skipping a little bit of the intros. I think what struck me the most is how cruel every day life was for people. The peasants, especially. Not shocking in and of itself, but the actual brutality and disregard for their suffering or their deaths is breathtaking. Raised in an environment where cruelty is expected, where nobles could act with impunity, it should be surprising that there haven't been more Bathorys. Yes, Elizabeth Bathory did terrible, horrible, awful things. Some would like to allege that she was only a powerful woman who had accusations thrown against her to unseat her from power. The book tackles that aspect as well. Was she held to more of an account because she was a woman who tried to stay in control of her lands? Probably. Was she particularly targeted because the prince owed her estate large sums? Certainly. Did she also hideously torture and murder dozens of young women? Also yes.
March 20, 2015
This should have been two books, or a long form article and a book. The first portion is the author's attempt to unearth the truth of Elizabeth Bathory. Did she really bathe in the blood of virgins? The author tells us that this is false, but there is really no evidence to support this. In one of the appendices, he summarizes trial documents, and, indeed, whatever Bathory did, she was a serial killer, and she didn't even have to do her own kidnapping! Anyway, the rest of the book devolves into generalizations about vampirism, werewolves, and necrophilia in folklore and popular culture , and it's only very loosely connected with the Bathory story. It also was very frustrating, as there are many examples of "vampires" and such with no attributable sources. The woman was found dead in her coffin, tried to scratch her way out. This really happened in the 70s! Yeah? Source, please!
This is the second book from the Radford University list that I've been disappointed by. I also want to know, after reading this, who compiled said list and what sort of criteria was used to determine which books made the cut.
This is the second book from the Radford University list that I've been disappointed by. I also want to know, after reading this, who compiled said list and what sort of criteria was used to determine which books made the cut.
June 21, 2020
The author, the late Raymond T. McNally, was a professor of Russian & East European History at Boston College and wrote, or co-wrote several works on Dracula and the historical personages behind the fictional character that Bram Stoker created in the late 19th century. Stoker's Dracula had several characteristics, however, including biting and drinking blood, that do not appear in the historical records of the historical Vlad the Impaler, nor in the folklore surrounding his memory. So where did they come from? McNally makes the case that they come from the historical records and folklore of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who was a psychopathic serial killer of young girls and women who had been hired as her servants. Stoker travelled in eastern Europe and seems to have come across these facts and included such traits in his Dracula character.
So the first 6 chapters deal with the countess and the history around her. The next several chapters deal with the folklore and psychology of vampirism, werewolfism and necrophilia. In the last chapter, he discusses how all of this has been treated in literature and in the movies over the years.
So the first 6 chapters deal with the countess and the history around her. The next several chapters deal with the folklore and psychology of vampirism, werewolfism and necrophilia. In the last chapter, he discusses how all of this has been treated in literature and in the movies over the years.
November 30, 2014
I was horribly disappointed in this book (and I should have minded the reviews more). I ended up reading about Countess Elizabeth when I was researching Hungarian history in the Middle Ages- and her name appeared once or twice which made me curious to read more. Note to readers-this book doesn't give an accurate historical account of the countess. The first half of the book the author tries to give details about Elizabeth but she really fell short about this. The author gives information about the background of the Countess high born family but nothing of Elizabeth herself. The reader goes from reading the birth of Elizabeth straight to her trial. Then the second half of the book is about how the Countess inspired the creation of the vampire (Count Dracula) and the werewolf. I see the authors point of trying to tie it into history itself however I feel like she should have picked one theme and stuck with it. As my history professor would say "the thesis isn't clear enough"
February 28, 2007
Again, a book about Countess Elizabeth Bathory. here's a link to the wikipedia article about her: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabet...] Very interesting if you are into that sort of thing.
July 30, 2008
Read about half way through this book and kind of lost interest. Was interesting in the beginning but then he just seemed to be repeating himself. Also the part about the trial was pretty boring with lots of background.
January 8, 2011
The first English writer to attempt a more serious look at Bathory, but unfortunately it still relies too much on the heavily fictionalized biographies written in the 18th and 19th centuries for some basic information. Much better is Tony Thorne's Countess Dracula.
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February 11, 2008I began reading this book, but put it down, once I finish the book I am currently reading, I will finish and rate it.
March 23, 2010
A very interesting book of the history of Elizabeth Bathory. Of course I liked it because, well, I'm me.
March 10, 2023
One of the most terrifying books I have read thus far. Bathory was a sick, sadistic person.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews