10 Gruesome Details Surrounding Elizabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess

6 /10 Conspiracies About Elizabeth's Bloodshed

Several authors think that Elizabeth was a victim of a conspiracy. They argue that the claims against her were politically motivated due to her wealth and her owning large patches of land in Hungary, particularly after her husband’s death.

This follows what occurred in Hungary at the time with religious and political conflicts.

Other arguments are made against this theory, including 300 witnesses and physical evidence of numerous bodies and dead girls found in the castle.

5 /10 The Upbringing Of Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth was born on her family estate in Nyirbator Royal Hungary in 1560. Her father was the Baron George VI Bathory of Ecsed Castle.

Her mother was Baroness Anna Bathory, who was related to the king of Poland and the Prince of Transylvania.

She was raised as a Calvinist Protestant and learned Latin, German, Hungarian, and Greek. Her royal status also gives her wealth, education, and social rank.

4 /10 Childhood Sickness

During her childhood, she had many seizures that are thought to have stemmed from epilepsy, which could come from inbreeding within her family line.

She received many treatments for this “falling sickness,” including rubbing another person’s blood without the disease on her lips or getting a mix of their blood and a piece of the skull after the episode ended.

While there is no hard evidence proving it, some think that the bloodshed she later caused was part of her effort to cure her illness.

3 /10 Young Pregnancy

At 13 years old, Elizabeth gave birth to a child. This occurred before her first marriage, and the father was said to be a peasant boy.

The child was allegedly given away to a local woman who the Bathory family trusted. The woman received money to take the child away to Wallachia. Peasants spread the validity of this rumor, and evidence turned up after her death.

2 /10 Elizabeth's Marriage

Elizabeth, at ten years old, was engaged to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. As she was the daughter of a baron, she refused to change her last name as her social standing was higher.

She married at age 15, and her spouse was 19 years old on May 8th, 1575. Her wedding gift was the Castle of Csejte, which had the country house and seventeen adjacent villages.

Her husband became the chief commander of Hungarian troops in 1578, and she was charged with managing the business and estate affairs. She would later give birth to five children.

1 /10 Elizabeth's Death

Elizabeth died on August 21st, 1614, at 54 years old. The night before her death, she complained to her bodyguard that she was cold; he told her to go to sleep. She was found dead the following day.

Her will left all current and future inheritance to her children, and it was to be distributed equally among them.

Her body was buried on November 25th, 1614. However, the villagers did not want to have her body in their cemetery, so it was said to have been moved to her birth home at Ecsed. The location of her body today is unknown.