Lullacide

High in the Carpathian mountains, in a castle with thick stone walls and very deep dungeons, there lived a countess of extraordinary beauty and extraordinary wealth. Countess Elizabeth Bathory had more servants than she could count, more dresses than she could wear, and more beauty routines than most people would consider strictly necessary.

Elizabeth Bathory was one of the most powerful noblewomen in 16th and 17th century Hungary. She lived in Cachtice Castle in what is now Slovakia.

One day, so the story goes, Elizabeth slapped a serving girl, and where the girl's blood touched the countess's skin, the skin looked young and fresh and lovely. 'How interesting,' thought the countess. This was, historically speaking, a very bad thought to have. Elizabeth was not a woman who did things by halves.

The legend of the blood bath may be apocryphal, but it became the basis for her enduring myth. Whether she actually bathed in blood is disputed by modern historians.

Young women from the nearby villages were invited to come work at the castle. This was considered a fine opportunity. The castle paid well. It was warm in winter. The villages sent their daughters with good wishes and clean aprons. The girls went up the mountain road and mostly did not come back down again.

Bathory and her accomplices lured young women to the castle with promises of work. Estimates of victims range from 80 to over 600.

Eventually the countess ran out of peasant girls. Her accomplices began recruiting daughters of lesser nobility. This was the mistake. Nobody investigated peasant girls. Noblemen investigated noblemen's daughters. A local priest had been writing letters about the disappearances for years. King Matthias finally sent someone to look. They found a great deal.

The investigation began in 1610 when victims from minor noble families went missing. King Matthias II ordered the palatine György Thurzó to investigate.

Elizabeth's accomplices were burned and beheaded. Elizabeth herself was a countess and could not be executed. She was walled into her own rooms at Cachtice Castle with only a small slot for food. She lived like this for four years. She died in 1614. The Countess got to keep her beauty. She did not get to show it to anyone. Some routines simply are not worth the trouble.

Bathory was never tried due to her noble status. She was confined in a walled-off section of the castle until her death in 1614. She is often cited as the most prolific female serial killer in history.