Katharina Buczek
However, nothing could compare to what witnesses claimed was Elizabeth’s favorite form of torture– using scissors to slice and mutilate women’s bodies. Many claimed the Countess had cut off noses and hands and even sliced open the skin between victims’ fingers.
These unthinkable acts only helped cement Elizabeth’s reputation as genuinely evil among her populace. Moreover, many began to think that her sinister ways were tied to the supernatural. Villagers began to accuse the Countess of being a vampire, while some others claimed to have witnessed her sleeping with the Devil.
Nonetheless, one despicable accusation alone is what truly earned Elizabeth her infamous title as “Blood Countess.” Shockingly, Elizabeth was claimed to have bathed in her young victims’ blood in hopes of maintaining an effervescent appearance.
Elizabeth’s Downfall
All of these accusations eventually prompted Gyorgy Thurzo to charge Elizabeth with the murder of eighty women. One of her supposed accomplices, a wet nurse, was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft.
But surprisingly, Elizabeth herself had not been doomed to such a fate herself. Instead, since she was of noble status, the Countess was simply isolated in a bricked-up room at her castle. And she remained alone in that room for four long years until she eventually died in 1614.
Nonetheless, the “Blood Countess’s” reputation and conviction may not have been as straightforward as they appeared at the time. Instead, some historians point toward other factors– such as greed.
It was later revealed that King Matthias II, who initially launched the investigation against Elizabeth, owed her late husband a large sum of money. So, since the King did not want to cough up the sizable chunk of change, historians believe he may have been the mastermind behind a grand scheme to bring down the Countess.
After all, the King did not even allow Elizabeth to defend herself in court. Moreover, the sheer number of witness testimonies is almost concerning– which is why some historians believe they were coerced or provided under duress.
Finally, the King did call for Elizabeth to receive the death penalty before any of Elizabeth’s family could intervene. This last act would have ensured that he seized Elizabeth and her late husband’s estates.
So, in the end, historians believe that only two possible storylines could have actually happened.
