In 1611 a the Hungarian Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, was confined to her castle of Cachtice, never to leave again. This sentence was imposed on her by the Lord Palatine of Hungary. But strangely, even though Bathory had been accused of some truly heinous crimes, she was never formally charged, or given a proper trial. If she was so clearly guilty, then why was she denied due process? Elizabeth’s case becomes even more suspicious once you consider that most of the testimony used to incriminate her was either procured through torture, or was riddled with hearsay and inconsistencies. Is it possible that she was actually the victim of a conspiracy? Tune-in and find out how old crones, a fake diary, and the Guinness Book of World Records all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Codrescu, Andrei. The Blood Countess. Quartet, 2007.

Craft, Kimberly L. Infamous Lady: the True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory. Creatspace, 2014.

Elsberg, R. A. von. Elisabeth Báthory: (Die Blutgräfin). Ein Sitten- u. Charakterbild. Schottlaender, 1904.

Huntuckian. “The Bloody Countess?” Notes on Hungarian History, 21 Jan. 2015, notesonhungary.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/the-bloody-countess/.

McNally, Raymond T. Dracula Was a Woman: in Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania. Hamlyn Paperbacks, 1985.

Thorne, Tony. Countess Dracula: the Life and Times of the Blood Countess, Elisabeth Báthory. Bloomsbury, 1997.