Elizabeth BathoryHer husband, fighting the Turks, was absent from the Castle Csejthe in the Carpathian Mountains most of the time. When he was home, he joined her in sadistically abusing and killing young women and taught her new methods of torture. While Nadasdy was away, Bathory visited other members of royalty in their castles after she made sure there were facilities for her perverted “entertainment.”
Was Elizabeth Bathory a Serial Killer?Her accomplices were Thorko who taught her black magick, former nurse Ilona Joo, witches Dorottya Szentes and Darvulia, Erzi Majorova, a forest witch, and dwarf majordomo Johannes Ujvary, chief tormenter. Servant girls were subjected to horrendous torture in her ladyship’s special chamber before they were left to die.
The blood baths didn’t stop the aging process, so Majorova advised Bathory that the virgins had to be members of royalty. The countess, allegedly, documented at least 610 murders in her diary. The vanishing virgins attracted officials’ attention.
“Vampyre” Bathory
Peasants began to whisper about the bloody events in the Castle Csejthe. This was a time when vampyres were believed to be real. The living dead stalked the land, looking for victims so they could feed on their blood.
Some peasants observed Bathory with a tall, pale stranger, dressed in black. They were convinced he was a vampyre and concluded the Countess was also one.
Bathory – Practitioner of WitchcraftThorko taught the Countess practices of black magic, some of which she shared with Nadasdy in letters when he was away. He had called her a barren witch because she was infertile during the first years of their marriage.
Elizabeth went into the forest to cast a spell and soon gave birth to the first of her three children. Bathory had a mirror that she peered into daily while chanting spells. She wrote an incantation in which she implored a little cloud, the Supreme Lord of Cats to help. She asked it to send ninety-nine cats to bite out the hearts of King Matthias II of Hungary, the Lord Palatine, Count Gyorgy Thurzo, her cousin and others whom she felt were dangerous to her.
Several weeks later, Pastor Ponikenusz, who repeatedly denounced her, wrote an account about cats who attacked him.
Bathory’s Sentence for Witchcraft
On December 29, 1610, Thurzo raided Castle Csejthe and placed Bathory under house arrest. The official charge was witchcraft. Her alleged accomplices were subjected to extreme torture, they confessed to crimes they were accused of and executed. Bathory didn’t attend any trial.
When Matthias learned about her putting a curse on him, he ordered Bathory to be walled up in a windowless castle chamber, with only a small slot for air and food. She lived there until her death in August 1614, three years later.
A contemporary, István Krapinai, upon learning of her death said that Bathory, Nadasdy’s widow who was infamous for her crimes, suddenly died in the Castle Csejthe without a crucifix. How odd it is that Krapinai used the word, “crucifix.” She was Protestant.
Articles Related to Bathory and Witchcraft
People who found this article interesting might want to read:
- Cats Persecuted as Familiars discusses how and why the hierarchy of the Catholic Church killed and outlawed felines centuries ago.
- North Berwick Witches Persecution is about King James I of England, executing approximately 3,500 alleged witches when he was Scottish King James VI.
- Witch of Scrapfaggot Green recounts the case of American Army soldiers unleashing paranormal phenomena when they removed the Witch’s Stone.
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