Elizabeth Bathory (Urban Legends)

Elizabeth Bathory was a countess & a serial killer from the Bathory noble family in Hungary & is renown for killing hundreds of women by torture, particularly peasant girls. Bathory is considered as one of the iconic figures in many vampire media. She is oftentimes compared to the Romanian tyrant Vlad the Impaler, the person where Count Dracula was based from & has been nicknamed "The Blood Countess" & "Countess Dracula".

Legends surrounding the real Bathory
(Note: since this wiki deals with fiction we will try not to go in-depth on the real Bathory, however the following are a sample of (in)famous stories surrounding Bathory & her crimes)

Elizabeth Bathory is heavily rumored to be a vampire by many, due to her obsession with youth. It was said that she got the idea of killing young girls after she had an argument with her maid & out of fury, she slapped her so hard that her blood dripped to her face. Seeing how her maid's blood made the skin on her palm look younger again, she becomes fascinated with youth & the unfortunate maid was killed for her blood. She then began collecting young women, most likely peasants to avoid suspiscions, by sending her servants to the town to "hire" them. Many young girls were tempted by this & agreed to take the job. Once hired as servants, they were tortured & killed. Many young peasant girls went missing & were never seen or heard of again. Her reign of terror came to an end when she started attacking the daughters of lesser nobles, by inviting them for learn courtly etiquette from her, due to the shortage of the town's young peasant girls. Her reign of terror came to an end when she was arrested by the court on her castle but due to her family's influence, she was instead bricked on her room where she died 4 years later.

One of the most popular & infamous her about her is that she is a vampire, as it is said that she bathed on the blood of her victims. She had many forms of torture including severe beatings over extended periods of time, sexual abuse, burning or mutilating of hands (sometimes even the face & genitalia), biting off the flesh on any body parts as well as eating their bellybuttons & even death by freezing or starvation. One rumor also said is that she let her victims get stung alive by a swarm of bees.

In Fiction
Elizabeth Bathory have become a popular figure in many vampire media, most commonly seen as one of the most iconic villains ever known. She has inspired many various forms of fiction from books to movies & even video games