LEGENDS
One day, returning from another trip, her husband found the following picture in the garden: a naked girl was tied to a tree, whose body was tormented by wasps and ants. When her husband asked Elizabeth what it was, she replied that it was a thief who had snuck into their garden. Elizabeth ordered the thief to undress, douse with honey, and tie her to a tree so that she felt like a toy that everyone strives to steal. Elizabeth's husband just laughed at it.

Bathory was very afraid of growing old and losing her beauty, which was rumored throughout Europe. That's how she opened her "beauty baths". One day, a maid who was combing Elizabeth accidentally pulled out her hair. The angry countess hit the maid with such force that blood gushed from her nose and a few drops fell on Elizabeth's hands. The countess felt that the blood made her skin softer and more tender, and decided to bathe entirely in the blood. According to legend, Bathory had an "iron maiden" (instrument of torture), where the victim bled to death; it filled the stone bath in which the countess bathed. The victim of her monstrous crimes was 650 people. In her rage, Elizabeth could sink her teeth into the body of an unfortunate girl, sometimes pulling out whole pieces of meat from the hands, face and other parts of the body of her victims.

There is another version. After the death of her husband, Elizabeth had connections with younger men, sometimes they were just guys. Once, being accompanied by a young gentleman, she saw an old woman and asked him: “What would you do if you had to kiss that old hag over there?” He laughed and responded with the words of disgust she expected to hear. The old woman heard the taunts of the countess, approached her and accused Elizabeth of excessive vanity and selfishness, and also reminded her that no one has yet escaped aging. Frightened of losing her beauty and popularity among younger suitors, Bathory began to seek solace in magic and the occult, the idea of ​​​​blood baths was inspired by a familiar witch. The witch told Elizabeth that her beauty could be preserved by regular baths from the blood of young virgins. With the help of her trusted servants, Elizabeth lured girls from the area to the castle, who became her victims. She hired girls to work in neighboring villages. Parents happily gave their daughters to a rich countess, not suspecting what fate awaited them. However, despite taking regular baths, Elizabeth continued to fade. She came to the witch and in a rage attacked her. The witch said that Elizabeth did everything wrong, and it was necessary to bathe not in the blood of peasant women, but in the “blue blood” of aristocrats. And Elizabeth began to invite the daughters of ruined noble families to her castle. Parents let their daughters go to the castle to the Countess, hoping that they would learn court etiquette there, and the bloody feast continued. However, this could not go on forever. It is one thing when a rootless simpleton disappears, another thing when it comes to an aristocratic family, even the poorest.

There is a version of the life and death of Countess Bathory. According to her, all the atrocities of the countess are a fabrication of the Catholic Church, which falsified all the evidence against the unfortunate countess.

Turzo claimed the lands of the Bathory family, and in collusion with the churchmen, they slandered the countess in order to get her rich lands. Matthias II owed Bathory a large amount of money, and her death was to his advantage, since he did not need to repay the debt.

Therefore, Matthias II turned a blind eye to the lawlessness of the church, which more than once, having taken away the lands from their owners, exposed them in such an unsightly light in order to divert the attention of the people from the unhindered division of the property of innocent people.

The region of Romania called Transylvania is known to everyone who is fond of ancient legends. It was there, as many people think, that the prototype of the most famous vampire Count Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, lived. And the count himself in all existing literary works and films had at his disposal an estate located directly in Transylvania. But this area is known not only for “vampire” stories. In 1560, in one of the castles of Transylvania, a woman was born, who later became famous for her incredible cruelty and a huge number of murders, the so-called bloody countess - Elizabeth Bathory.

Elizabeth's family was not distinguished by high moral principles, as well as many aristocrats of that time. Debauchery and cruelty reigned everywhere. In addition, there were mentally ill people, sorcerers and libertines in the Bathory family. If we add to this the general situation in the country - bloody feuds, fierce wars, during which the victims were impaled or boiled alive in cauldrons, then one can imagine what the world taught the girl. From a very young age, Elizabeth showed cruelty - she fell into a rage for any reason and could beat the maids half to death with a whip.

Since the girl was left to herself, it was not surprising that she was pregnant by a footman at the age of 14. Parents, having learned about this, decided to get rid of the child, and Elizabeth herself hastened to marry. Count Ferenc Nadashdy became her husband. They settled in the Chakhtitsky castle in Slovakia, which belonged to the Bathory family. By the way, it is from the name of this castle that another nickname comes from, with which Elizabeth was later dubbed - Chakhtitskaya Pani. It is with this place that the most horrifying part of the Countess's biography is connected.

The family life of the young couple could be called boring. Despite the fact that Elizabeth's husband was not often at home, she bore him three children, however, as was customary at that time, servants were involved in raising the heirs. Elizabeth was more worried about her natural beauty, which she tried to protect with all her might. The countess was really lucky with her appearance - she had strikingly white skin, long thick hair and a great figure even by the time when her age was approaching forty years. She was not lucky with her character. The cruelty that woke up in her in early childhood turned into a real pathology in adulthood. For any, even the smallest faults, Elizabeth severely punished the maids. In winter, she forced them to serve in the nude, after which she poured cold water over them and left them in the cold, drove needles under the nails of the guilty girls, and sometimes chopped off her fingers, she could burn them with a hot iron for a poorly ironed dress, and for theft - put a red-hot coin in her hand . But even these cruelties paled in comparison with what the countess began to do at a time when her beauty began to fade ...

In 1604, her husband died of a fever, and Elizabeth was left alone. At that moment, she was most interested in the question of how to return the outgoing youth. Once (according to the legend), when she hit a maid in the face during another fit of rage, blood from a broken nose got on the skin of the countess, and it seemed to Elizabeth that the skin in this place began to look better. After that, she called a local witch to her castle and asked her about the secret of youth. The old woman advised the countess to bathe in the blood of young virgins. It was not difficult for Elizabeth to follow such advice, which was so strange even by the standards of that era.

Thus began a bloody decade. The countess surrounded herself with loyal and as cruel as herself, assistants, who, on her orders, lured from all over the area, as well as from distant villages, young innocent girls, allegedly to serve in the castle. The most beautiful girls were sent to their death immediately, others were temporarily left in the status of servants. The bloody massacre took place in the cellars of the castle. The girls were literally torn apart, skinned, and even the countess herself, in a fit of bloody ecstasy, tore off pieces of meat from the body of her victims with her teeth (at least, accomplices of Bathory's crimes later testified to this during interrogations). In the final, the victims' arteries were cut, the blood from which was lowered into the bathroom in which Elizabeth bathed, confident that these procedures stop the aging process and make her even more beautiful. The corpses of the dead were first buried, as expected, but when it seemed suspicious to the population that the servants were dying not one by one, but two, three, and even ten or twelve at a time, Elizabeth decided to dismember the bodies and bury them in the forest.

Some time after the first murders, Elizabeth was horrified to discover new wrinkles, and demanded to call again that old sorceress who had once advised her to take blood baths as a panacea for aging. The witch, when she was dragged to the castle, stated that the procedures did not bring the desired result, since the countess took baths from the blood of commoners, and the blood of noble people should be used.

Thus began the second wave of massacres. Elizabeth's accomplices lured twenty young girls from noble families to the castle under the pretext of entertaining the countess, and after a couple of weeks not one of these girls was among the living. By the way, the very process of murders has become more technologically advanced - by order of the countess from Pressburg, a torture device called the “iron maiden” was delivered to the castle, which is a hollow figure of two parts equipped with sharp long spikes, inside which the victim was locked. The figure was raised, and the girl's blood flowed into the basins prepared for this.

The cruelty of the Countess knew no bounds. She began to commit her bloody follies not only in the Chakhtitsky castle, but also in other family estates. She knocked out the teeth of the peasant women who got into the castle, broke the bones, doused them with boiling oil, cut off their ears, noses, lips and then forced them to eat. Elizabeth could not live without killing even a few days. It is amazing that this nightmare continued for a whole decade.

An accident put an end to the bloody story. Elizabeth urgently needed money, and she mortgaged one of the family estates. One of those close to the family - the guardian of the countess's son - complained about the waste of family property to Elizabeth's relatives. On this occasion, a family council gathered, which was attended by a relative named Gyorgy Turzo, who had already heard about the atrocities of the countess from the local priest. At first he wanted to hush up the matter, but after Elizabeth sent him a pie, and he, sensing something was wrong, gave it to the dog, and she died after the treat, Thurzo set the matter in motion. He interviewed people from the village, as well as relatives who had been in the countess's castle, and learned many shocking facts. However, it was required to catch the killer in action.

We didn't have to wait long. Elizabeth, although she understood that clouds were gathering over her, could not restrain herself and perpetrated a bloody massacre on the maid who turned out to be a sugar thief - she beat her with a whip and iron sticks, and then pushed a red-hot iron into the unfortunate mouth. On the morning of the next day, Turzo appeared on the threshold of the castle, accompanied by soldiers. It was then that they discovered the girl's corpse, instruments of torture, basins of dried blood, as well as Elizabeth's handwritten diary, in which she described the details of all her massacres. The list of victims turned out to be huge, it included 610 names, but they say that Chakhtitskaya pani actually accounted for 650 lives.

Elizabeth tried to escape, but she was caught on the way. A suitcase was found with her, in which there were instruments of torture - apparently, the countess simply could not do without blood. Turzo sentenced the Bloody Countess to life imprisonment in her own castle, while her accomplices were executed. In 1611, masons blocked the doors and windows of the room in which the countess was kept with stones, leaving only a small gap for serving food. And, in complete darkness, eating only water and bread, the most cruel woman in history - a serial killer - lived for three years. Elizabeth Bathory died in 1614, she was buried next to the bodies of her victims, near the walls of the castle.

They say that until now, at night, strange moans are heard from the side of the castle, from which those who live nearby, the blood runs cold ....

We all know about some of the scariest people who ever lived, from Adolf Hitler to Charles Manson, but there are countless other scary personalities from history who are very little mentioned in textbooks. The ten people featured on this list were brutal monsters among humans, infamous for such things as bathing in blood, killing scores of defenseless children, or for committing heinous and unforgivable crimes against humanity in times of war. In this article, you will learn about ten terrifying, but little-known historical figures, whose terrible ways of life are still a dark stain on the entire history of mankind.

1. Gilles de Rais (1404-1440), Serial killer of children

Gilles de Rais was an honored Breton knight who fought alongside Joan of Arc herself in the French army. However, he did not go down in history for his prowess on the battlefield. His life came to an end after he confessed to killing at least eighty to two hundred children of peasants and servants. The real number of his victims will never be established, but some scholars believe that over a seven-year period, up to six hundred children died at the hands of de Rais.

After de Rais retired, he admitted that he was engaged in the occult and tried to summon demons, offering them some of the children he had killed as victims. Finding children to kill was not difficult, as peasant children often approached his castle asking for food. Since he chose children from very poor families, no one had enough influence to accuse him of crimes when their children went missing.

Once de Rais kidnapped children, he took great pleasure in torturing, raping, and killing them. His preferred method of killing was decapitation, but he also slit their throats, dismembered them, or snapped their necks. He confessed that his habit included sexual self-gratification among the bloody remains of his victims.

In 1440, de Rais made a fatal mistake by kidnapping an influential clergyman, which led to an official investigation and trial. Finally, De Rais, who was about to be tortured to extract a confession from him, confessed to the murder of hundreds of children. He and several of his accomplices who assisted him in his terrible mission were executed by hanging and burning in 1440.

2. Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614), "Bloody Countess"

Elisabeth Bathory was a countess from a prestigious noble family in Hungary. Bathory was well educated and able to read and write in four languages, and due to her social status she was an important person well known in and around Vienna. It was thanks to her noble blood and influential husband that her heinous crimes went unpunished for so long.

When Bathory's husband died in 1604, the authorities could not ignore the murmurings of the locals. There were rumors that many young women and girls disappeared in and around the countess's many castles. Most of the victims were peasant women and maids, whom Bathory assumed would never be enough, but towards the end of her reign of terror, she made the mistake of kidnapping the daughters of the petty nobility, which led to her being eventually caught and convicted of murder.

Bathory's trial lasted for several weeks, with hundreds of witnesses testifying against her. Most of the witnesses were family members of the missing girls, but there were women among them who managed to escape Bathory's tenacious claws. They told horror stories about what they had to endure. In the end, Bathory confessed and she and four of her accomplices were convicted of torturing and killing hundreds of girls. One witness claimed that Bathory and her accomplices killed over six hundred and fifty young girls, but they were able to prove that she had only killed eighty.

Bathory is called the "Blood Countess" because she was rumored to bathe in the blood of her virgin victims, believing it would help her keep her youthful. After Bathory was convicted for her crimes, she was sentenced to life under house arrest. She was walled up in several small rooms in her castle, which had only small windows for the transfer of food and the passage of oxygen. There she remained until her death in 1614.

3. Maximilian Robespierre (Maximilien de Robespierre) (1758-1794), Obsessed with the guillotine

Maximilian Robespierre was a French lawyer and politician who was also one of the most influential figures in the French Revolution. Robespierre was a skilled speaker, and captivated the audience with his speeches about virtue, patriotism and morality. He sincerely desired liberty and civil rights for the people of France. Unfortunately, as soon as he came to power, he became a tyrant who believed that the only way to achieve his democratic goals was to terrorize people with death threats.

Maximilian Robespierre became obsessed with the French method of execution, the guillotine. During the ten months of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre carried out mass executions of people who, in his opinion, did not support the French Revolution. Robespierre executed hundreds of people by guillotine without trial, including some of his friends and family members. Even petty crimes such as hoarding, desertion, or rebellion were reasons for execution during the reign of Robespierre. French political cartoons of the era depict Robespierre killing an executioner with a guillotine after everyone else had already been killed.

An estimated forty thousand people were either executed or sentenced to life imprisonment, including notables such as King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Robespierre also ordered hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight in deliberately failed battles, including the Vendée Mutiny (Vendée), in which more than one hundred thousand men, women and children were killed. In the end, Robespierre suffered the same fate as his victims, when in 1794 he was executed without trial by guillotine.

4. Tamerlane (Timur) (1336-1405), Ruthless conqueror and mass murderer

Although Tamerlane (also known as Timur) is famous as the epic Asian conqueror who founded the Timurid empires and dynasties, he is also remembered as a brutal ruler and bloodthirsty barbarian who left a bloody trail during his reign. Tamerlane's methods of conquest were ruthless and cruel, bringing destruction and devastation to millions of people during the entire period of his life.

Timur liked to force soldiers and civilians to commit suicide by jumping from great heights. In India, Tamerlane ordered over 200,000 captured soldiers to jump off a cliff to their death. He also ordered his henchmen to behead tens of thousands of residents and soldiers in Aleppo, Ifshan, Tikrit, Baghdad, and many other cities.

For his entertainment, Tamerlane ordered the construction of towers from human skeletons, and during his life and reign, it is estimated that twenty million people died.

5. Ilse Koch (1906-1967), "The Witch of Buchenwald"

The story of Ilse Koch is just one of the horror stories of the Holocaust. Ilse Koch was married to Karl Koch, one of Adolf Hitler's commandants at the Buchenwald concentration camp. Ilse Koch lived with her husband in Buchenwald, but instead of living the normal life of a typical commandant's wife, she wholeheartedly joined the Nazi movement, becoming a camp overseer (Aufseherin SS).

Ilse performed her job with the zeal of a true sadist, often riding her horse around the camp and brutally beating the prisoners (sometimes to death) for no reason. She liked to randomly select prisoners whose skin interested her. She then ordered selected prisoners to be killed, and their skins she tanned to make disgusting objects such as leather lampshades, book bindings, and clothing. She was especially proud of the bag she often carried, which was made from human flesh.

In the end, Koch was arrested for her war crimes, and her husband was executed in 1945 in Munich. Koch was later sentenced to life imprisonment. After the war, the only son of Ilse and Karl Koch committed suicide, apparently not resigned to learning of his parents' involvement in the Holocaust. While in prison, Koch conceived by an unknown man, and nineteen years later her son became a frequent visitor to her prison cell. After twenty years in prison, Koch suddenly committed suicide the night before her son was due to arrive.

6. Ranavalona I (1778-1861), Mad Queen of Madagascar

Ranavaluna I was queen of the kingdom of Madagascar for thirty-three years. During this time, Ranavaluna worked tirelessly to reduce Madagascar's dependence on Europe, repelled French attacks, and raised a formidable army. Ranavaluna's favorite method of mustering the 30,000-strong army of Ranavaluna was to force peasants who couldn't pay their taxes on time to take up arms, participate in public works, and work without wages to pay off their debts. During her reign, millions of people died due to constant war, disease, starvation, harsh punishments for petty crimes, and forced labor.

Throughout her life, Ranavaluna was viewed as a tyrant who was quite possibly insane. Her frequent use of excessive force, both towards her people and towards Europeans (especially the French), led many Europeans to refer to her with such nicknames as: "The Crazy Queen of Madagascar", "Ranavalona the Cruel" (Ranavalona The Cruel), The Bloody Mary of Madagascar, Most Mad Queen of History, Wicked Queen Ranavalona, ​​and Caligula in a Skirt (Female Caligula).

7. Liu Pengli (date of birth unknown, date of death - approximately 144 BC), One of the first serial killers in history

*Note: The picture does not depict Liu Pengli, as there are no officially documented images of him.

Liu Pengli was the Prince of Jidong, China and the Emperor's cousin. Pengli was equal parts arrogant and cruel. He loved to take groups of his equally corrupt relatives and slaves to siege local villages, where they raped, robbed, killed, and took the slaves as souvenirs. Pengli terrorized people for pleasure, stealing from them, killing their loved ones, and leaving them to die. The people of Jidong lived in fear of their prince, people hid in their houses and avoided going out at night. Pengli is responsible for the deaths of at least a hundred confirmed victims, but it is likely that there were many more victims that went unaccounted for.

The emperor eventually found out about Pengli's crimes, but he refused to execute his cousin, so he stripped Pengli of his royal titles, took his land and fortune from him, made him a mere layman, and banished him to a distant corner of the country.

8. Belle Gunness (1859 - year of death unknown), "Infernal Belle"


Born in Norway, Belle Gunness reportedly led a relatively normal life until a man kicked her in the stomach as a teenager, causing her to lose her first child. After that, the character of Gunness changed radically. Also, perhaps by accident, the person who hit her died shortly after from "stomach cancer".

In 1881, Gunness immigrated to the United States, where she worked as a maid, married, and had children. Gunness learned how to use the insurance system by taking out large insurance on her family members and their business. Shortly after she received insurance policies, her children began to die from stomach problems and their business burned to the ground. Gunness's husband also later died of intestinal problems, reportedly on the same day of the year that two of his life insurance policies were valid. Gunness collected all the insurance payments and then remarried.

Within a week of her second marriage, her husband's child from a previous marriage died while under Belle's care. Within a year, her second husband died of a mysterious head wound. Gunness collected the insurance money again and moved on.

In the end, Gunness's crimes were brought to light by a handyman whose advances she rejected. She was found to have killed most of her suitors and pals, as well as two of her daughters, and most likely she killed both of her husbands and all of their children (between twenty and forty) over a period of about twenty years. She became quite wealthy by collecting insurance payments, cash, and valuables from her victims. Gunness never went to jail for her crimes, she emptied her bank accounts and disappeared around the early 1900s.

9. Empress Wu Zetian (625-705), "Charming" Empress

*The photo is an image of Wu Zetian created by the artist.

Wu Zetian was the only female empress in Chinese history, and she is known as a fearsome and ruthless person who never hesitated to resort to murder for the benefit of herself and her country. Empress Zetian led China to a period of political and military leadership, and she is credited with greatly expanding the Chinese empire. However, she was a heartless, cruel, sexually depraved and violent leader. She even had her own infant daughter killed to advance her political career.

On each day of her reign, Wu Zetian resorted to torture, execution, and forced people to commit suicide. She orchestrated the assassination of her rivals, their families, clerics, and a host of other people. Empress Zetian also ordered tens of thousands of her people to be killed with poison, she ordered them to be boiled alive, or sometimes simply mutilated. She ruled China until her death, from natural causes, at the age of eighty-one.

10 Thug Behram (1765-1840), World's Most Massive Serial Killer


Between 1790 and 1840, an Indian cult leader named Thag Behram killed nine hundred and thirty one people in the Avadh region of India. The English word "thug" (which means "thug" in translation) came from the name of Behram, and his gang was called "Thuggee" (Thuggee). Using a ceremonial cloth called Rumal, similar to a handkerchief or belt, Behram strangled his victims in a ritualistic killing style that was attended by many members of his cult. Behram was executed by hanging in 1840 for his crimes.

In the room until his death four years later.

The history of serial murders and brutality of Bathory is proven by the testimony of more than 300 witnesses and victims, as well as physical evidence and the presence of horribly mutilated bodies of already dead, dying and imprisoned girls found during the detention of the Countess. Stories that attribute vampirism to her (the most famous of which speaks of the Countess bathing in the blood of virgins to preserve her youth) appeared many years after Bathory's death and are unreliable. The story of the Bloody Countess became national folklore, and is still popular today.

Biography

Early life

Marriage

At the age of 10, Erzsébet was engaged to Ferenc Nadasz. (English)Russian, son of Baron Tomasz Nadashd of Fogarasfeld and Orshoy Kanizhai; such an alliance was probably based on political motives. The couple married on 8 May 1575 at Vranov Castle. About 4.5 thousand guests were invited to the wedding. Erzsébet moved to Nadasdey Castle in Sárvár, where she spent much time alone while Ferenc was studying in Vienna.

As a wedding present, Ferenc gave Eržebet the Czachtice Castle. The castle, located at the foot of the Lesser Carpathians near Trenčen, was bought in 1579 for Ferenc by his mother, along with the country house of Čejte and seventeen surrounding villages.

accusation

Investigation

Between 1602 and 1604, after rumors of Countess Bathory's atrocities spread throughout the kingdom, the Lutheran minister Istvan Magyari began to complain about her, both publicly and at court in Vienna. It took some time for the Hungarian authorities to start responding to Magyari's complaints. Finally, in early 1610, King Matthias II appointed György Thurzo, Palatine of Hungary, to investigate the case. In March of that year, György hired two notaries to collect evidence. In 1610 and 1611 notaries obtained the testimony of more than 300 witnesses. The court records included testimony from four defendants, as well as thirteen witnesses. Priests, nobles and commoners were also interrogated. Among the witnesses were the castellan and other servants of the castle of Sarvar.

Some witnesses named relatives who died at the Countess's house. Others reported seeing signs of torture on bodies that were buried in cemeteries and elsewhere. Also, two witnesses (participants in the court, Benedict Descheaux and Jacob Silvashi) saw with their own eyes how the countess tortures and kills young maids. According to the defendants, Erzsebet Bathory tortured and killed her victims not only in the castle of Cheite, but also in other possessions: Sarvar, Nemetkerestura, Pozhony, Vienna, and so on. In addition to the defendants, several people were named as henchmen of Erzsebet Bathory, who delivered the girls to the countess's house by deceit or force. The person who had influence on Bathory was named a certain Anna Darvulia, who died long before the trial.

Arrest

Thurzo discussed further proceedings with Erzsébet Pal's son and her two sons-in-law. The trial and execution would have caused a public scandal and dishonor to the noble and powerful family that at that time ruled in Transylvania; in addition, a significant part of the property of Elizabeth would go to the crown. Thurzo, along with Pahl and her brothers-in-law, Erzsébet, originally planned to send the Countess to a convent, but as reports spread of Bathory's murders of the daughters of the petty aristocracy, it was decided that Countess Bathory should be placed under strict house arrest and further punishment should be avoided.

King Matthias urged Turzo to bring Erzsebet to justice and offered to sentence her to death, but Turzo managed to convince the king that such an act could negatively affect the nobility. Turzo's motivation for such an intervention is debated by scholars. It was determined that Matthias would thus not have to repay his large debt to Erzsebet.

Court

The trial of Bathory's collaborators began on January 2, 1611 in Biecz, presided over by Judge Theodosiusz Širmienšiš of Sulo and 20 assistant judges of the Royal High Court. Dozens of witnesses and victims, sometimes as many as 35 a day, testified. In addition to evidence, the court also considered the discovered skeletons and body parts as evidence.

The exact number of victims of Erzsébet Bathory is unknown, and even her contemporary estimates varied greatly. During the trial, Shemtes and Fico reported 36 and 37 casualties, respectively, during their service to the Countess. Other defendants reported 50 or more casualties. Many servants of the castle of Sarvar estimated the number of corpses taken out of the castle at between 100 and 200 people. One of the witnesses, a woman named Shushanna, mentioned a book in which Bathory allegedly kept a list of a total of over 650 victims, and this number has passed into legend. Since the number 650 could not be proven, 80 victims were officially accepted. The location of Báthory's diaries, which may have contained information useful to the court, is unknown, but 32 letters written by Báthory are kept in the Hungarian State Archives in Budapest.

Three defendants - Shemtes, Yo and Fitzko - were sentenced to death; the sentence was carried out immediately. Shemtes and Yo had their fingers torn off with red-hot tongs, after which both maids were burned at the stake. Fitzko, considered less guilty, was beheaded and the body was burned. Benicka was sentenced to life in prison because it was proven that she was depressed and bullied by other women.

Final years and death

Bathory's place of detention was named Chayte Castle, where she was placed in solitary confinement (presumably her own room) and the windows and doors were blocked, leaving only small holes for ventilation and food supply. Here Elizabeth stayed until her death.

Alternative version

Some authors, such as Laszlo Nagy and Dr. Irma Sadetzky-Kardos, claim that Erszebet Báthory was the victim of a conspiracy. Nagy argued that the case was largely motivated by politics. The theory is quite consistent with the Hungarian history of the time when there was a religious and political conflict: the war with the Ottoman Empire, the spread of Protestantism and the expansion of Habsburg power over Hungary.

Supporters of this point of view draw attention to the lack of reliable historical sources on this topic. Procedural violations, inconsistencies and the transience of the trial of her servants are characteristic: the alleged accomplices of Countess Bathory were severely tortured, and after receiving confessions, they were executed very quickly.

However, there are numerous counterarguments put forward against this theory. The impetus for starting an investigation into Bathory's crimes was a complaint from a Lutheran minister, Istvan Magyari. This does not fit with the theory that the Catholics/Habsburgs opposed the Protestant Bathory, although religious tensions were still a possible source of conflict since Bathory was a Calvinist, not a Lutheran supporter. When trying to find Bathory innocent, it is necessary to take into account the testimony of about 300 witnesses who gave them, according to supporters of the theory, being in a state of moral panic. Physical evidence collected by investigators, including the numerous bodies of dead and dying girls found when Turzo entered the castle, must also be taken into account or refuted. Sadetzky-Kardosh believes that the physical evidence was exaggerated and Turzo misrepresented the number of dead and the extent of injuries of the injured girls, who were considered victims of Báthory, thanks to which he greatly benefited in his political ambitions.

Image in culture

Literature

Elizabeth Bathory is the heroine of numerous historical and literary works:

• Tragica Historia Laszlo Turoczi (1729)
• eternal youth Leopolda von Sacher-Masoch (1874)
• devil wagon Sandora Mackay (1925)
• Bathory Erzsebet Kalman Vandor (1940)
• Elizabeth Bathory, Blood Countess Valentine Penrose (1962)
• Blood Countess Alejandra Pisarnik (1968)
• 62. Model for assembly Julio Cortazar (1968)
• Real vampires in history Donald Glut (1971)
• The truth about Dracula Gabriel Roney (1972)
• Dracula was a woman. In Search of the Bloody Countess of Transylvania Raymond McNally (1984)
• Chronicles of Elenia David Eddings (1989)
• daughter of the night Elani Bergstrom (1992)
• Age of Dracula Kim Newman (1992)
• Blood Countess Jojo Nizhnyansky (1994)
• Blood Countess Andrei Codrescu (1995)
• Lord of the Vampires Jeanne Kalogridis (1997)
• She is Dracula Javier Garcia Sanchez (2002)
• Bloody confession Alice Libby (2006)
• The Trouble With the Pears Jii Bathory (2006)
• Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases Nishio Isina (2006)
• O Legado de Bathory Alejandre Heredia (2007)
• Unkarilainen taulu Mikko Karppi (2008)
• War of Witches. ice desert(2008) and War of the Witches: Curse of Odia Maite Carranza
• Dracula is immortal Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt (2009)
• En, Báthory Erzsebet(I, Elizabeth Báthory) by Maria Szabo (2010)
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Seth Graham-Smith (2010)
• Cold blood Saira Bond (2011)
• Damned Chuck Palahniuk (2011)
• bloody illusions Diana Udovichenko (2013)
• Countess Dracula. The Incredible Story of Elizabeth Bathory Gabriel Gauthier (2013)
• Blood Gospel James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell (2013)
• Countess Dracula Michael Parry
• Seal of the Moon George Zotov
• Countess Rebecca Jones
• Mistress of the Czech Castle Kalmana Mixata
• A Stab at Forever Michael Angelo Page
• Bathory: Memoirs of a Countess A. Mordo
• This Rough Magic and Much Fall of Blood Erica Flint, Dave Freer and Mercedes Lakey
• Rumfuddle Jack Vance
• Sanguinarius Ray Russell
• Daughter of the moon Joseph Curtin
• Blood Countess Tara Moss
• Series The Vampire Huntress Legend Series Leslie Esdaile Banks
• Series Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Heather Review
• Series The Parasol Protectorate Gale Carriger

Poetry

• Bathori Erzsebet Janos Garai.
• Bathory Erzsebet: torteneti beszély ket enekben Sandora Wazotta (1847)
• The Blood Countess, Erzsébet Báthory of Hungary (1560-1614: A Gothic Horror Poem of Violence and Rage) Robert Peters
• The Cockerel's Waltz by Warwickshire poet Shian Lavinii Anais Valerian

Comics and manga

Plays

Radio

• The CBC produced a two-part drama in 1980 Blood Countess in the Nightfall series.

Cinema

There are several films about the Countess Bathory herself, as well as those based on her biography:

• Vampires ()
• Necropolis(; role played by Viva Oder)
• Daughters of Darkness( ; role played by Delphine Seyrig)
• Countess Dracula( ; role played by Ingrid Pitt)
• Ceremonia sangrienta( ; role played by Lucia Bose)
• Black Harvest of Countess Dracula( ; role played by Maria Silva)
• immoral stories(; the third short story is "Elizabeth Bathory", the role was played by Paloma Picasso)
• Thirst( ; the main character of the film is a descendant of Elizabeth - Kate Davis; the role was played by Chantal Konturi)
• Blood Pani( ; animation)
• Mom Dracula(; in the role of Elizabeth Dracula - Louise Fletcher)
• Return of the werewolf( ; role played by Julia Saley)
• Heart of a tyrant, or Boccaccio in Hungary ()
• The mysterious death of Nina Shero ()
• ghost hunt( ; anime; episodes 18-21)
• blood bath( ; role played by Suzanne Devereux)
• bathory( ; role played by Diana Witter)
• Alguien mato algo ()
• History of Elizabeth Bathory ()
• love killer ()
• werewolf grave( ; role played by Michelle Bauer)
• Eternal( ; the action of the film takes place in the present day, the role of the "Bloody Countess" is played by Elizabeth Kane; the role was played by Carolyn Nero)
• Brothers Grimm( ; Bathory is the prototype of the Mirror Queen; the role was played by Monica Bellucci)
• Night of the Fangs(; the role was played by Marina Muzychenko)
• stay alive(; the role was played by Maria Kalinina)
• Demonic Claw( ; role played by Kira Reed)
• Curse of Dracula(; the role was played by Christina Rosenberg)
• Metamorphoses( ; role played by Adele Kovacs)
• scarab blood( ; role played by Monique Parent)
• Hellboy: Blood and Metal( ; animation)
• Hostel 2(; the Countess served as the prototype for one of the killers - Miss Bathory; the role was played by Monika Malakova)
• Blood Countess - Bathory( ; role played by Anna Friel)
• Countess(; role played by Julie Delpy)
• 30 Days of Night: Dark Times ()
• Blood Countess ()
• Epitaph: Bread and salt( ; in the role of Liz Bathory - Kaylee Williams)
• Chastity bites( ; Portrayed by Louise Griffiths)
• Fright Night 2: Fresh Blood( ; role played by Jamie Murray)
• 400 Years of the Blood Countess: Secret by Secret ( ; )
• Bloody Lady Bathory(; the role was played by Svetlana Khodchenkova)
• Salem( ; TV series, season 2 will feature an episode inspired by Bathory's story)
• scary tales( ; television series, in the first episode of the second season, Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) takes a bath of the blood of a young girl)

Music

Bands named after Bathory

• Swedish group bathory was named after her. In particular, on the album "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (1987) there was a song dedicated directly to the countess - "Woman of Dark Desires".
• There is also a Dutch band named after her. countess.
• The metal-archives.com website contains information about a number of other bands named after the countess, such as: Black Countess (Russia), Countess Bathory (there is a Czech and American band with this name), Funeral Countess (Brazil), Undead Countess (Mexico) ), The Blood Countess (USA).
• The Canadian band Csejthe is named after the Chakhtice Castle.

Songs and albums dedicated to Bathory

• Swedish group bathory released on the album "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (1987) a song dedicated directly to the countess - "Woman of Dark Desires".
• The American thrash metal band Slayer wrote the song "Beauty Through Order" (album "World Painted Blood" 2009) dedicated to the bloody countess.
• The English band Venom wrote the song "Countess Bathory" for the Black Metal album, dedicated to the bloody countess.
• The Swedish band Ghost wrote a song "Elizabeth" for the album Opus Eponymous 2010.
• The English band Cradle of Filth recorded the album Cruelty and the Beast, entirely dedicated to Elizabeth Bathory. In particular, the album contains an 11-minute conceptual composition "Bathory Aria".
• The Italian band Stormlord wrote the song "Countess Bathory" (a demo of "Black Knight" from 1993).
• Florida-based band Kamelot recorded the trilogy "Elizabeth" on their album Karma.
• Hungarian black metal band Tormentor wrote the song "Elisabeth Bathory" (album "Anno Domini").
• The Czech group XIII.století dedicated the song "Elizabeth" to the Countess.
• German band Untoten have recorded an entire album Die Blutgrafin in honor of the deeds of Countess Bathory.
• German dark metal band Nachtblut recorded the song "Die Blutgräfin" for the album antique 2009.
• American group from Seattle Aiden recorded the song "Elizabeth", dedicated to the thirst for eternal life and the cruelty of Countess Bathory.
• Composition "Báthory Erzsébet" by Sunn O))) .
• The Russian group Mistream wrote the song "In the fortress" about Countess Bathory.
• Russian horror-rap artist MC Val wrote the song "Killer Women" about Countess Bathory. The song was included in the album "Madness of Monsters".

Computer games

• In Castlevania Bloodlines and Castlevania the new Generation, Bathory is a minor villain. She acts as an assistant to Count Dracula. Its feature is the absorption of the life energy of the enemy. This is the first computer game where Elizabeth Bathory appears.
• In the online game Ragnarok Online, there is a humanoid monster Bathory, one of her attacks is "draining" the character's hit points.
• In the game Diablo 2 in the first act there is a task for passing the dungeons of the castle of the countess, who bathed in the blood of virgins. In the game, she was condemned and buried alive long before the events of the game, and the hero battles her resurrected body.
• In the Warhammer FB universe, there is an artifact called the Bathory Cup, which belonged to the vampire Countess Isabella von Korstein, given to her by her grandmother Bathory.
• In BloodRayne, one of the game's bosses claims to be a direct descendant of the Countess.
• In the online game Allods online in update 4.0.1 "Lords of Fate" there is an astral island "The Bloody Countess's Manor".
• In Fate/Extra CCC, one of the servants is Elizabeth Bathory (Lancer).
• The Bloody Countess
• In the game Mortal Kombat (2011), the Countess is mentioned as the character Scarlet's favorite childhood hero.
• In the online game Tera Online, one of the tasks has the character Bathory.
• In the HDoom mod, Bathory is the name of the girl who replaces the Baron of Hell from the original game.

see also

Write a review on the article "Bathory, Elizabeth"

Notes

1. (English) . Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
2. :
   The most prolific female murderer and the most prolific murderer of the western world, was Elizabeth Bathori, who practiced vampirism on girls and young women. Throughout the 15th century, she is alleged to have killed more than 600 virgins
3. Ramsland, Katherine.(English) . Crime Library. Turner Entertainment Networks Inc. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
4. Thorne, Tony. Countess Dracula. - London: Bloomsbury, 1997. - S. 53.
5. Letter from Thurzó to his wife, 30 December 1610, printed in Farin, Heroine des Grauens, p. 293.
6. . Elizabethbathory.net. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
7. Dennis Bathory-Kitsz.. Bathory.org (4 June 2009). Retrieved September 15, 2012.
8. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - ISBN 9781449513443.
9. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 33. - ISBN 9781449513443.
10. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 34. - ISBN 9781449513443.
11. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 39. - ISBN 9781449513443.
12. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 38. - ISBN 9781449513443.
13. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 69-70. - ISBN 9781449513443.
14. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 51. - ISBN 9781449513443.
16. Farin, Michael. Heroine des Grauens. Elisabeth Bathory. - Munich: P. Kirchheim, 2003. - S. 234–237. - ISBN 3-87410-038-3.
17. Letters from Thurzó to both men on 5 March 1610, printed in Farin, Heroine des Grauens, pp. 265-266, 276-278.
18. from The Straight Dope
19. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 96-99. - ISBN 9781449513443.
20. Thorne, Tony. Countess Dracula. - London: Bloomsbury, 1997. - S. 18–19.
21. Letter from 12 December 1610 by Elizabeth's son-in-law Zrínyi to Thurzó refers to agreement made earlier. see farin, Heroine des Grauens, p. 291.
22. McNally, Raymond T. Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania. - New York: McGraw Hill, 1983. - ISBN 0-07-045671-2.
23. Richard Cavendish(English) // History Today. - 2014. - Vol. 64, no. eight .
24. Craft, Kimberly L.. - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009. - P. 298. - ISBN 9781449513443.
25. Farin, Michael. Heroine des Grauens. Elisabeth Bathory. - Munich: P. Kirchheim, 2003. - P. 246. - ISBN 3-87410-038-3.
26. . Retrieved 25 February 2015.
27. Nagy, Laszlo. A rossz hiru Bathoryak. - Budapest: Kossuth Könyvkiado, 1984.
28. . Élet és Tudomány (Life and Science). Retrieved September 2, 2005.
29. Pollak, Gyorgy. Az irástudok felelötlensege // Kritika. Muvelodespollitikai es kritikai lap. - Budapest, 1986. - S. 21–22.
30. Thorne, Tony. Countess Dracula: The Life and Times of Elisabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. - Bloomsbury, 1997. - ISBN 0-7475-2900-0.

Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Links

• at Rodovod. Tree of ancestors and descendants
• Guinness World Records (2006); page 133

Excerpt characterizing Bathory, Elizabeth

With regard to charity, the best valor of the crowned, Napoleon also did everything that depended on him. On charitable institutions, he ordered the Maison de ma mere [My mother's House] to be inscribed, by this act combining tender filial feeling with the greatness of the monarch's virtue. He visited the Orphanage and, having kissed his white hands to the orphans he had saved, he graciously talked with Tutolmin. Then, according to the eloquent presentation of Thiers, he ordered that the salaries of his troops be distributed to Russians, made by him, counterfeit money. Relevant l "emploi de ces moyens par un acte digue de lui et de l" armee Francaise, il fit distribuer des secours aux incendies. Mais les vivres etant trop precieux pour etre donnes a des etrangers la plupart ennemis, Napoleon aima mieux leur fournir de l "argent afin qu" ils se fournissent au dehors, et il leur fit distribuer des roubles papiers. [Elevating the use of these measures by an action worthy of him and the French army, he ordered the distribution of benefits to the burnt. But, as food supplies were too expensive to give them to people of a foreign land and for the most part hostile, Napoleon considered it better to give them money so that they could get their own food on the side; and he ordered them to be clothed with paper rubles.]
With regard to the discipline of the army, orders were constantly issued for severe penalties for dereliction of duty and for an end to robbery.

X
But the strange thing is, all these orders, cares and plans, which were by no means worse than others issued in similar cases, did not affect the essence of the matter, but, like the hands of a dial in a watch separated from the mechanism, spun arbitrarily and aimlessly, not capturing the wheels.
Militarily, the ingenious campaign plan that Thiers speaks of; que son genie n "avait jamais rien imagine de plus profond, de plus habile et de plus admirable [his genius never invented anything deeper, more skillful and more amazing] and regarding which Thiers, entering into a polemic with Mr. Fen, proves that the drawing up of this brilliant plan should be attributed not to the 4th, but to the 15th of October, this plan has never been and could not be carried out, because nothing was close to reality. [mosque] (as Napoleon called St. Basil's Church) turned out to be completely useless. Laying mines under the Kremlin only contributed to the fulfillment of the emperor's desire when leaving Moscow that the Kremlin be blown up, that is, that the floor on which the child was killed should be beaten. Persecution of the Russian army, which so worried Napoleon, presented an unheard of phenomenon.The French military leaders lost the sixty-thousandth Russian army, and only, according to Thiers, art and, it seems, also the genius of Murat managed to find, like a pin, this sixty-thousand-strong Russian army.
In diplomatic terms, all Napoleon's arguments about his generosity and justice, both before Tutolmin and Yakovlev, who was mainly concerned with acquiring an overcoat and wagon, turned out to be useless: Alexander did not receive these ambassadors and did not respond to their embassy.
From a legal point of view, after the execution of the imaginary arsonists, the other half of Moscow burned down.
As regards the administration, the establishment of the municipality did not stop the robbery and brought only benefit to certain persons who participated in this municipality and, under the pretext of maintaining order, plundered Moscow or saved their own from robbery.
In regard to religion, the work so easily arranged in Egypt by visiting the mosque did not bring any results here. Two or three priests found in Moscow tried to fulfill the will of Napoleon, but one of them was nailed on the cheeks by a French soldier during the service, and the following French official reported about the other: “Le pretre, que j” avais decouvert et invite a recommencer a dire la messe, a nettoye et ferme l "eglise. Cette nuit on est venu de nouveau enfoncer les portes, casser les cadenas, dechirer les livres et commettre d "autres desordres". breaking doors and locks, tearing books and making other disturbances.”]
In terms of trade, there was no response to the proclamation to the hard-working artisans and all the peasants. There were no hard-working artisans, and the peasants caught those commissars who went too far with this proclamation and killed them.
With regard to the amusement of the people and the troops with theaters, the matter did not succeed in the same way. The theaters established in the Kremlin and in Poznyakov's house immediately closed because actresses and actors were robbed.
Charity and that did not bring the desired results. False banknotes and non-false ones filled Moscow and had no price. For the French, who collected booty, they needed only gold. Not only were the counterfeit banknotes that Napoleon so graciously distributed to the unfortunate, they had no price, but silver was given below its value for gold.
But the most striking manifestation of the invalidity of the higher orders at that time was the effort of Napoleon to stop the robberies and restore discipline.
That's what the ranks of the army reported.
“Robbery continues in the city despite orders to stop it. Order has not yet been restored, and there is not a single merchant who conducts trade in a lawful manner. Only marketers allow themselves to sell, and even then stolen things.
"La partie de mon arrondissement continue a etre en proie au pillage des soldats du 3 corps, qui, non contents d"arracher aux malheureux refugies dans des souterrains le peu qui leur reste, ont meme la ferocite de les blesser a coups de sabre, comme j "en ai vu plusieurs exemples".
“Rien de nouveau outre que les soldats se permettent de voler et de piller. Le 9 October.
“Le vol et le pillage continuent. Il y a une bande de voleurs dans notre district qu "il faudra faire arreter par de fortes gardes. Le 11 octobre".
[“Part of my district continues to be plundered by soldiers of the 3rd Corps, who are not content with taking away the meager property of the unfortunate inhabitants who have hidden in the basements, but also with cruelty inflict wounds on them with sabers, as I myself have seen many times.”
“Nothing new, just that the soldiers allow themselves to rob and steal. October 9th.
“Theft and robbery continues. There is a gang of thieves in our district, which will have to be stopped by strong measures. October 11".]
“The Emperor is extremely dissatisfied that, despite the strict orders to stop the robbery, only detachments of guards marauders are visible returning to the Kremlin. In the old guard, disorder and plunder, more than ever, resumed yesterday, last night and today. With condolences, the emperor sees that the selected soldiers assigned to protect his person, who are supposed to set an example of subordination, extend disobedience to such an extent that they break cellars and stores prepared for the army. Others stooped to the point that they did not listen to sentry and guard officers, scolded them and beat them.
“Le grand marechal du palais se plaint vivement,” wrote the governor, “que malgre les defenses reiterees, les soldats continuent a faire leurs besoins dans toutes les cours et meme jusque sous les fenetres de l"Empereur."
[“The chief master of ceremonies of the palace complains strongly that, despite all the prohibitions, the soldiers continue to walk for an hour in all courtyards and even under the windows of the emperor.”]
This army, like a dissolute herd, trampling underfoot the food that could save it from starvation, disintegrated and perished with every day of extra stay in Moscow.
But it didn't move.
It ran only when it was suddenly seized by panic fear, produced by the interception of convoys along the Smolensk road and the Battle of Tarutino. This same news of the battle of Tarutino, unexpectedly received by Napoleon at the review, aroused in him a desire to punish the Russians, as Thiers says, and he gave the order to march, which was demanded by the whole army.
Fleeing from Moscow, the people of this army took with them everything that had been looted. Napoleon also took with him his own tresor [treasure]. Seeing the convoy, cluttering up the army. Napoleon was horrified (as Thiers says). But he, with his experience of war, did not order to burn all the superfluous wagons, as he did with the marshal's wagons, approaching Moscow, but he looked at these carriages and carriages in which the soldiers rode, and said that it was very good, that these carriages will be used for provisions, the sick and the wounded.
The situation of the whole army was like that of a wounded animal, feeling its death and not knowing what it was doing. Studying the skillful maneuvers of Napoleon and his troops and his goals from the time they entered Moscow to the destruction of this army is like studying the significance of the death jumps and convulsions of a mortally wounded animal. Very often, a wounded animal, hearing a rustle, rushes to shoot at the hunter, runs forward, backward and accelerates its own end. Napoleon did the same under the pressure of his entire army. The rustle of the Tarutino battle frightened the beast, and he rushed forward to the shot, ran to the hunter, went back, forward again, back again and, finally, like any animal, ran back, along the most disadvantageous, dangerous path, but along the familiar, old track.
Napoleon, who appears to us as the leader of this whole movement (how wild the figure carved on the prow of the ship seemed to be the force that guides the ship), Napoleon during all this time of his activity was like a child who, holding on to the ribbons tied inside the carriage, imagines that he governs.

On October 6, early in the morning, Pierre left the booth and, returning back, stopped at the door, playing with a long, short, crooked-legged, lilac dog, which was spinning around him. This dog lived with them in a booth, spending the night with Karataev, but sometimes she went somewhere to the city and returned again. She probably never belonged to anyone, and now she was a draw and had no name. The French called her Azor, the soldier storyteller called her Femgalka, Karataev and others called her Gray, sometimes Hanging. Her non-ownership and the absence of a name and even a breed, even a certain color, did not seem to bother the lilac little dog in the least. The fluffy tail stood firm and round with a panache, the crooked legs served her so well that often she, as if neglecting the use of all four legs, gracefully lifted one back and very dexterously and soon ran on three paws. Everything was a pleasure for her. Then, squealing with joy, she lay on her back, then she basked in the sun with a thoughtful and significant look, then she frolicked, playing with a piece of wood or a straw.
Pierre's attire now consisted of a dirty, torn shirt, the only remnant of his former dress, soldier's trousers, tied for warmth with ropes at the ankles on the advice of Karataev, from a caftan and a peasant's hat. Pierre changed a lot physically at this time. He no longer seemed fat, although he still had the same kind of size and strength, hereditary in their breed. The beard and mustache are overgrown with the lower part of the face; the regrown, tangled hair on his head, filled with lice, now curled up like a hat. The expression of the eyes was firm, calm and animatedly ready, such as Pierre's gaze had never had before. His former licentiousness, expressed in his eyes, has now been replaced by an energetic, ready for action and rebuff - selection. His feet were bare.
Pierre looked either down the field, along which wagons and horseback riders were driving around that morning, then into the distance across the river, then at the little dog pretending that she really wanted to bite him, then at his bare feet, which he gladly rearranged into various positions, wiggling dirty, thick, thumbs. And every time he glanced at his bare feet, a smile of animation and self-satisfaction ran across his face. The sight of those bare feet reminded him of everything that he had experienced and understood during this time, and this recollection was pleasant to him.
The weather had been calm and clear for several days, with light frosts in the mornings - the so-called Indian summer.
It was warm in the air, in the sun, and this warmth, with the strengthening freshness of the morning frost still felt in the air, was especially pleasant.
On everything, both distant and near objects, lay that magically crystal brilliance that occurs only at this time of autumn. In the distance one could see Sparrow Hills, with a village, a church and a large white house. And the bare trees, and the sand, and the stones, and the roofs of the houses, and the green spire of the church, and the corners of the distant white house - all this was unnaturally distinct, cut out in the thinnest lines in the transparent air. Nearby one could see the familiar ruins of a half-burnt manor house occupied by the French, with dark green lilac bushes still growing along the fence. And even this ruined and filthy house, repulsive with its ugliness in cloudy weather, now, in a bright, motionless brilliance, seemed somehow reassuringly beautiful.
A French corporal, unbuttoned as at home, in a cap, with a short pipe in his teeth, came out around the corner of the booth and, with a friendly wink, went up to Pierre.
- Quel soleil, hein, monsieur Kiril? (that was the name of Pierre all the French). On dirait le printemps. [What is the sun like, Mr. Kiril? Like spring.] - And the corporal leaned against the door and offered Pierre a pipe, despite the fact that he always offered it and Pierre always refused.
- Si l "on marchait par un temps comme celui la ... [In such weather, go on a hike ...] - he began.
Pierre asked him what he heard about the performance, and the corporal said that almost all the troops were moving out and that now there should be an order about the prisoners. In the booth in which Pierre was, one of the soldiers, Sokolov, was ill at death, and Pierre told the corporal that this soldier should be disposed of. The corporal said that Pierre could be calm, that there was a mobile and permanent hospital for this, and that there would be an order about the sick, and that in general everything that could happen was all foreseen by the authorities.
- Et puis, monsieur Kiril, vous n "avez qu" a dire un mot au capitaine, vous savez. Oh, c "est un… qui n" oublie jamais rien. Dites au capitaine quand il fera sa tournee, il fera tout pour vous… [And then, Mr. Cyril, you should say a word to the captain, you know… It's like… forgets nothing. Tell the captain when he will make his rounds; he will do anything for you…]
The captain, about whom the corporal spoke, often and for a long time talked with Pierre and showed him all kinds of indulgence.
– Voice tu, St. Thomas, qu "il me disait l" autre jour: Kiril c "est un homme qui a de l" instruction, qui parle francais; c "est un seigneur russe, qui a eu des malheurs, mais c" est un homme. Et il s "y entend le ... S" il demande quelque chose, qu "il me dise, il n" y a pas de refus. Quand on a fait ses etudes, voyez vous, on aime l "instruction et les gens comme il faut. C" est pour vous, que je dis cela, monsieur Kiril. Dans l "affaire de l" autre jour si ce n "etait grace a vous, ca aurait fini mal. [Here, I swear by Saint Thomas, he once told me: Kiril is an educated person, speaks French; this is a Russian master, with who had misfortune, but he is a man. He knows a lot ... If he needs something, there is no refusal. When you studied something, you love enlightenment and well-bred people. I’m talking about you, Mr. Kiril. The other day, if it weren’t for you, then would be over.]
And after chatting for some more time, the corporal left. (The case that happened the other day, which the corporal mentioned, was a fight between prisoners and the French, in which Pierre managed to pacify his comrades.) Several prisoners listened to Pierre's conversation with the corporal and immediately began to ask what he said. While Pierre was telling his comrades what the corporal said about the performance, a thin, yellow and ragged French soldier approached the door of the booth. With a quick and timid movement, raising his fingers to his forehead as a sign of bow, he turned to Pierre and asked him if the soldier Platoche, to whom he had given the shirt to sew, was in this booth.
About a week ago, the French received shoe goods and linen and distributed boots and shirts to be sewn to captured soldiers.
- Done, done, falcon! - said Karataev, coming out with a neatly folded shirt.
Karataev, on the occasion of warmth and for the convenience of work, was in only trousers and in a shirt as black as the earth, torn. His hair, as artisans do, was tied with a washcloth, and his round face seemed even rounder and prettier.
- The persuader is a brother to the cause. As he said by Friday, he did so, ”Plato said, smiling and unfolding the shirt he had sewn.
The Frenchman looked around uneasily and, as if overcoming doubt, quickly threw off his uniform and put on a shirt. Under his uniform, the Frenchman had no shirt, and over his naked, yellow, thin body was put on a long, greasy, silk vest with flowers. The Frenchman, apparently afraid that the prisoners who were looking at him, would not laugh, and hastily put his head into his shirt. None of the prisoners said a word.
“Look, just right,” Plato kept saying, tugging at his shirt. The Frenchman, sticking his head and arms out, without raising his eyes, looked at his shirt and examined the seam.
- Well, falcon, it's not a fluff, and there is no real tool; but it is said: you can’t kill even a louse without tackle, ”said Plato, smiling round and, apparently, rejoicing at his work himself.
- C "est bien, c" est bien, merci, mais vous devez avoir de la toile de reste? [Okay, okay, thanks, but where is the canvas, what is left?] – said the Frenchman.
“It will be even nicer when you put it on your body,” Karataev said, continuing to rejoice at his work. - That will be good and pleasant.
– Merci, merci, mon vieux, le reste? ]
Pierre saw that Plato did not want to understand what the Frenchman was saying, and, without interfering, looked at them. Karataev thanked for the money and continued to admire his work. The Frenchman insisted on the leftovers and asked Pierre to translate what he was saying.
What does he need leftovers for? - said Karataev. - We would get important underbelly. Well, God be with him. - And Karataev, with a suddenly changed, sad face, took out a bundle of scraps from his bosom and, without looking at him, handed it to the Frenchman. - Ehma! - said Karataev and went back. The Frenchman looked at the canvas, thought, looked inquiringly at Pierre, and as if Pierre's look told him something.
“Platoche, dites donc, Platoche,” the Frenchman, suddenly blushing, shouted in a squeaky voice. - Gardez pour vous, [Platosh, but Platosh. Take it for yourself.] - he said, giving the scraps, turned and left.
“Here you go,” said Karataev, shaking his head. - They say, non-Christs, but they also have a soul. Then the old people used to say: the sweaty hand is torovat, the dry is unyielding. Himself naked, but he gave it away. - Karataev, smiling thoughtfully and looking at the scraps, was silent for a while. “And the little undercarriages, my friend, the important ones will be blown out,” he said and returned to the booth.

Four weeks have passed since Pierre was in captivity. Despite the fact that the French offered to transfer him from a soldier's booth to an officer's booth, he remained in the booth in which he entered from the first day.
In devastated and burned Moscow, Pierre experienced almost the extreme limits of deprivation that a person can endure; but, thanks to his strong build and health, which he had not realized until now, and especially due to the fact that these hardships approached so imperceptibly that it was impossible to say when they began, he endured not only easily, but also joyfully his position. . And it was at this very time that he received that calmness and self-satisfaction, for which he had vainly sought before. For a long time in his life he searched from various sides for this peace, harmony with himself, that which so struck him in the soldiers in the Battle of Borodino - he searched for this in philanthropy, in Freemasonry, in the dispersion of secular life, in wine, in heroic deeds. self-sacrifice, in romantic love for Natasha; he sought it by way of thought, and all these searches and attempts all deceived him. And he, without thinking about it, received this peace and this agreement with himself only through the horror of death, through deprivation and through what he understood in Karataev. Those terrible moments that he experienced during the execution seemed to have washed away forever from his imagination and memories the disturbing thoughts and feelings that had previously seemed important to him. He did not even think about Russia, or about the war, or about politics, or about Napoleon. It was obvious to him that all this did not concern him, that he had not been called and therefore could not judge all this. “Yes, let Russia fly - there is no union,” he repeated the words of Karataev, and these words strangely reassured him. It seemed to him now incomprehensible and even ridiculous his intention to kill Napoleon and his calculations about the cabalistic number and the beast of the Apocalypse. His bitterness against his wife and anxiety that his name should not be put to shame now seemed to him not only insignificant, but amusing. What did he care about the fact that this woman led somewhere the life that she liked? To whom, especially to him, what did it matter if they knew or did not know that the name of their prisoner was Count Bezukhov?
Now he often recalled his conversation with Prince Andrei and fully agreed with him, only understanding Prince Andrei's thought somewhat differently. Prince Andrei thought and said that happiness can only be negative, but he said this with a touch of bitterness and irony. As if, saying this, he expressed a different idea - that all the strivings for positive happiness invested in us are invested only in order to torment us, not satisfying. But Pierre, without any ulterior motive, recognized the justice of this. The absence of suffering, the satisfaction of needs, and, as a result, the freedom to choose occupations, that is, a way of life, now seemed to Pierre the undoubted and highest happiness of a person. Here, now only, for the first time, Pierre fully appreciated the pleasure of eating when he was hungry, drinking when he was thirsty, sleeping when he was sleepy, warmth when it was cold, talking with a person, when he wanted to speak and listen to a human voice. Satisfaction of needs - good food, cleanliness, freedom - now, when he was deprived of all this, seemed to Pierre perfect happiness, and the choice of occupation, that is, life, now that this choice was so limited, seemed to him such an easy thing that he forgot the fact that an excess of the comforts of life destroys all the happiness of satisfying needs, and a great freedom in choosing occupations, the freedom that education, wealth, position in the world gave him in his life, that this freedom makes the choice of occupations inextricably difficult and destroys the very need and opportunity to practice.
All Pierre's dreams were now striving for the time when he would be free. Meanwhile, subsequently, and throughout his whole life, Pierre thought and spoke with delight about this month of captivity, about those irrevocable, strong and joyful sensations and, most importantly, about that complete peace of mind, about perfect inner freedom, which he experienced only at this time. .
When on the first day, having risen early in the morning, he left the booth at dawn and first saw the dark domes, the crosses of the Novo Devichy Convent, saw frosty dew on the dusty grass, saw the hills of the Sparrow Hills and the wooded shore meandering over the river and hiding in the lilac distance, when I felt a touch of fresh air and heard the sounds of jackdaws flying from Moscow through a field, and when then suddenly light splashed from the east and the edge of the sun solemnly floated out from behind clouds, and domes, and crosses, and dew, and distance, and the river, everything began to play in a joyful light - Pierre felt a new, not experienced by him, feeling of joy and strength of life.
And this feeling not only did not leave him during the whole time of captivity, but, on the contrary, grew in him as the difficulties of his position increased.
The feeling of this readiness for everything, moral selection was even more supported in Pierre by the high opinion that, soon after his entry into the booth, was established among his comrades about him. Pierre, with his knowledge of languages, with the respect that the French showed him, with his simplicity, giving everything that was asked of him (he received an officer's three rubles a week), with his strength, which he showed to the soldiers by pressing nails into the wall of the booth , with the meekness that he showed in his treatment of his comrades, with his incomprehensible ability for them to sit still and do nothing, think, seemed to the soldiers a somewhat mysterious and higher being. Those very qualities of him that, in the light in which he lived before, were for him, if not harmful, then embarrassing - his strength, disregard for the comforts of life, absent-mindedness, simplicity - here, among these people, gave him the position of almost a hero. . And Pierre felt that this look obliged him.

On the night of October 6-7, the movement of the French speakers began: kitchens, booths were broken, wagons were packed and troops and carts were moving.
At seven o'clock in the morning, a French convoy, in marching uniform, in shakos, with guns, knapsacks and huge bags, stood in front of the booths, and a lively French conversation, sprinkled with curses, rolled along the entire line.
Everyone in the booth was ready, dressed, girded, shod, and only waited for the order to leave. The sick soldier Sokolov, pale, thin, with blue circles around his eyes, alone, not shod and not dressed, sat in his place and, with eyes that rolled out from thinness, looked inquiringly at his comrades who did not pay attention to him and groaned softly and evenly. Apparently, it was not so much suffering - he was sick with bloody diarrhea - but fear and grief to be left alone made him moan.
Pierre, shod in shoes, sewn for him by Karataev from cybic, who brought a Frenchman to hemming his soles, girded with a rope, approached the patient and squatted down in front of him.
“Well, Sokolov, they don’t quite leave!” They have a hospital here. Maybe you will be even better than ours,” said Pierre.
- Oh my God! O my death! Oh my God! the soldier groaned louder.
“Yes, I’ll ask them now,” said Pierre, and, rising, went to the door of the booth. While Pierre was approaching the door, the corporal who yesterday treated Pierre to a pipe approached with two soldiers. Both the corporal and the soldiers were in marching uniform, in knapsacks and shakos with buttoned scales that changed their familiar faces.
The corporal went to the door in order to close it by order of his superiors. Before release, it was necessary to count the prisoners.
- Caporal, que fera t on du malade? .. [Corporal, what to do with the patient? ..] - began Pierre; but at the moment he said this, he began to doubt whether this was the corporal he knew or another, unknown person: the corporal was so unlike himself at that moment. In addition, at the moment Pierre was saying this, the crackling of drums was suddenly heard from both sides. The corporal frowned at Pierre's words and, uttering a meaningless curse, slammed the door. It became half dark in the booth; drums crackled sharply from both sides, drowning out the groans of the sick man.
“Here it is! .. Again it!” Pierre said to himself, and an involuntary chill ran down his back. In the changed face of the corporal, in the sound of his voice, in the exciting and deafening crackle of drums, Pierre recognized that mysterious, indifferent force that forced people to kill their own kind against their will, the force that he saw during the execution. It was useless to be afraid, to try to avoid this force, to make requests or exhortations to people who served as its instruments, it was useless. Pierre knew this now. I had to wait and be patient. Pierre did not go up to the sick man again and did not look back at him. He, silently, frowning, stood at the door of the booth.
When the doors of the booth opened and the prisoners, like a herd of sheep, crushing each other, squeezed into the exit, Pierre made his way ahead of them and went up to the very captain who, according to the corporal, was ready to do everything for Pierre. The captain was also in marching uniform, and from his cold face also looked “it”, which Pierre recognized in the words of the corporal and in the crackle of drums.
- Filez, filez, [Come in, come in.] - the captain said, frowning severely and looking at the prisoners crowding past him. Pierre knew that his attempt would be in vain, but he approached him.
- Eh bien, qu "est ce qu" il y a? [Well, what else?] - looking around coldly, as if not recognizing, the officer said. Pierre said about the patient.
- Il pourra marcher, que diable! the captain said. - Filez, filez, [He'll go, damn it! Come in, come in] - he continued to sentence, without looking at Pierre.
- Mais non, il est a l "agonie ... [No, he is dying ...] - Pierre began.
– Voulez vous bien?! [Go to…] – the captain shouted with an evil frown.
Drum yes yes ladies, ladies, ladies, the drums crackled. And Pierre realized that a mysterious force had already completely taken possession of these people and that now it was useless to say anything else.
The captured officers were separated from the soldiers and ordered to go ahead. There were thirty officers, including Pierre, and three hundred soldiers.
The captured officers released from other booths were all strangers, were much better dressed than Pierre, and looked at him, in his shoes, with incredulity and aloofness. Not far from Pierre walked, apparently enjoying the general respect of his fellow prisoners, a fat major in a Kazan dressing gown, belted with a towel, with a plump, yellow, angry face. He held one hand with a pouch in his bosom, the other leaned on a chibouk. The major, puffing and puffing, grumbled and got angry at everyone because it seemed to him that he was being pushed and that everyone was in a hurry when there was nowhere to hurry, everyone was surprised at something when there was nothing surprising in anything. The other, a small, thin officer, was talking to everyone, making assumptions about where they were being led now and how far they would have time to go that day. An official, in welled boots and a commissariat uniform, ran in from different directions and looked out for the burned-out Moscow, loudly reporting his observations about what had burned down and what this or that visible part of Moscow was like. The third officer, of Polish origin by accent, argued with the commissariat official, proving to him that he was mistaken in determining the quarters of Moscow.

Her parents were György Báthory and Anna Báthory (sister of the future king of Poland, Stefan Báthory and granddaughter of Istvan IV), who came from two branches of the same Báthory family. Elizabeth spent her childhood at Eched Castle. At the age of 11, she was betrothed to the nobleman Ferenc Nadazhdy and moved to his castle near Sarvar. In 1575 Elizaveta married Ferenc Nadazhdy (caretaker of the imperial stables and Hungarian general) in Vranov. In 1578, her husband was appointed commander of the Hungarian troops in the war against the Turks. For his manic cruelty towards the prisoners, the Turks nicknamed him "Black Bey". As a wedding present, Nadaždy gave Elizaveta the Cachtice Castle in the Slovak Lesser Carpathians, which at that time was the property of the emperor.

In 1602 Nadagy bought the castle from Rudolf II. Nadazhdy spent all his time on military campaigns, so Elizabeth took on the responsibility of managing the household. The couple had 5 children: Anna, Ekaterina, Miklos, Ursula and Pavel. Shortly after acquiring the castle, in 1604, Ferenc died, and Elisabeth was left a widow.

The exact time when Elizabeth began to kill girls is not known, it happened between 1585 and 1610. It is likely that her husband and relatives knew about this and tried to limit her in this. Most of the victims were local peasant women. In 1610, rumors about the murders began to reach the court, and Emperor Matthew instructed Palatine György Turzo to investigate the matter. December 29, 1610 Turzo with an armed detachment broke into the castle and caught Elizabeth Bathory with his assistants, torturing the next victims. Despite the evidence, and even the fact that she was locked up in her own castle for a while, ostensibly for her own safety, until she was brought to trial, Elizabeth was never brought to trial - the big name of the Bathory family (brother of Chakhtitskaya pani , Gabor Bathory, was the ruler of Transylvania) did its job. Nevertheless, Elizabeth spent the rest of her life in captivity in the Chakhtitsky castle. The trial of the henchmen took place on January 2, 1611 in the Bitchansky castle. Dorota Szentes, Ilona Yo and Katharina Benitska were burned, Jan Uyvar's head was cut off. According to the diaries of Elizabeth Bathory and the testimony of the Jesuit father Laszlo Turoshi (he is supported by the Hungarian researcher Dr. Zoltan Meder), fearing to lose her youth and attractiveness, she bathed every week in a bath filled with the blood of young virgins. She killed 650 people.

There is a version according to which the countess was persecuted as the head of the Protestants of Western Hungary, and most of the evidence was falsified. This version was reflected in the film Bathory (2008) by Juraj Yakubisko.

legends

According to legend, Elizabeth Bathory hit her maid once in the face. Blood from the maid's nose dripped onto her skin, and Elizabeth felt that her skin looked better after that. According to legend, Bathory had an iron maiden, where the victim bled, which then filled the stone bath, where Bathory bathed ...