Dark History · Premium
Elizabeth Báthory, the myth of the "Blood Countess"
Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman, went down in history as the "Blood Countess", accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young maidens and bathing in their blood to preserve her youth. The legend, born over a century after her death, made her an icon of female evil, compared to Dracula and vampires. But many historians today question the veracity of the accusations, seeing Elizabeth as the victim of a political conspiracy: King Matthias II and her powerful cousin György Thurzó allegedly orchestrated her downfall to seize her vast lands and cancel a state debt. She did not receive a proper trial, but was condemned: she was imprisoned for life in her castle, where she died in 1614. A story that still divides scholars between reality and myth.
Premium story: open the app to listen to it in full.
