First we take a look at the "Female Dracula": The Blood Countess; Elizabeth Bathory.
Elizabeth was born August 7th, 1560 to Baron George Bathory and his wife Anna. Both the Baron and his wife were Bathorys by birth. The Bathorys were one of the most powerful families in Hungary, boasting of an ancestor that fought along side Vlad Dracul, and a cousin who became Prince of Transylvania and later king of Poland.
Elizabeth was highly educated, even more so than many of the male nobility of Hungary. She was reported to have had fits of rage and seizures starting at an early age, possibly due to epilepsy caused by her parents inbreeding. When she was 14 she became pregnant by a peasant even though she was already engaged to another Hungarian nobleman. She was hidden away until the baby was born and it was given to a peasant family to raise and the next year she was officially married to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. Nadasdy took Elizabeth's last name instead of her taking his because the Bathory name was more influential. Elizabeth gave him four children. Ferenc died in 1604. Elizabeth reportedly had several lovers during her marriage and some after Ferenc's death may have been women.
The Countess of Bathory is credited with killing over 600 female servants, many between the ages of 10-14, and later began killing off poor relatives of the Hungarian nobility. If this is true it makes her the most prolific serial killer of all time. There is a possibility that her husband knew and participated in these torturous acts with her. Some of the women who later helped her with her deeds were said to be witches and encouraged Elizabeth to take up Satanic practices.
Elizabeth had many ways to torture her helpless victims. Some would simply be stabbed multiple times and left to bleed to death. Some would be stripped naked, thrown out into the snow and would be splashed with cold water until they froze to death. Sometimes they would be beaten with whips, cudgels and fire irons. One member of her faithful torture team described Elizabeth biting off chunks of flesh from the victim's face, shoulders and breasts when she was too ill to beat them. She would also stick needles under their fingernails and then cut off their fingers if they tried to remove the needles. And of course we have all heard the rumors that she bathed in the blood of her victims because she believed it kept her from aging. There is no proof of this ever happening. Despite every cruel deed that her torture team described during their trials, no account of blood bathing was ever mentioned. This claim most likely came about two hundred years later by German author Michael Wegener.
Complains began to be made against Elizabeth until they could no longer be ignored. The king finally gave orders to have her arrested. A member of her own family, Gyorgy Thurzo, arrived at her Cachtice Castle on December 29, 1610. He and his men reported finding bodies of dead or dying girls strewn about the castle and several more bodies would be found as the castle was searched.
Elizabeth and her faithful group were arrested. There were two different trials held for her torture team, but the Countess never testified at a public trial. She was taken to and held in Castle Csejthe. Thurzo convinced the king to sentence her to life imprisonment instead of death. The Blood Countess was walled up in a small room in her castle with narrow slits in the walls to provide air and to receive food. Elizabeth was confined in her walled prison for three years before she died. By order of Parliment, the name Elizabeth Bathory was not allowed to be spoken again.
There is new research and new theories emerging that her crimes were highly exaggerated and/or completely fabricated. After all, the confessions of her torture team were received under the duress of torture themselves. Some scholars believe that the Bathory family was becoming too powerful and the king wanted Bathory lands for himself. Thurzo's deal with the king allowed the Bathory house to keep it's land holdings while at the same time punishing Elizabeth. We will probably never know the whole truth.
Now let's take a look at Margot de Valois.
Margaret, or Margot as she was called, was the daughter of Catherine de Medici and Henry II of France and the last of the House of Valois. She was born May 14, 1553 and was married to Henri of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France) when she was 19 years old (and already known for her "loose" conduct). When Henri became king of France the Pope had his marriage with Margot annulled although she was allowed to keep the title of Queen. She died in 1615 at the age of 62.
Margot had numerous lovers and as she got older, they got younger. Her husband didn't mind her many affairs because it left him able to focus on his own mistresses. Margot's brother Henry III of France did mind because he felt she was bringing shame to her family. Henry III even went so far as to have some of her lovers beheaded or hanged. Some of Margot's jealous lovers killed each other. One admirer shot and killed his rival while another was ran through with a sword by another jealous suitor. Ok, so having numerous lovers isn't so remarkable and it certainly isn't creepy. So, why are we talking about Margot for our Halloween Serial Killer post?
While none of her lovers died by her own hand, they still died because of her. The most notable and definetly creepy thing about Margot de Valois is that she supposedly had the hearts of her lovers embalmed after they died. She kept their hearts in little boxes pinned to the inside of her skirts and wore them everywhere. Pretty freaky huh?
Margot de Valois wrote many poems about love and her lovers and she also left behind her memoirs.
Additional info for Countess Bathory:
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Erzsebeth Bathory - Kimberly L. Craft
http://infamouslady.com/index.html
Additional info for Margot de Valois:
Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois - Marguerite, Queen Consort of France
Sex with the Queen - Eleanor Herman
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