Elizabeth Bathory. Bloody Countess of the Carpathians

"The power of vampires lies in the fact that no one believes in their existence."
Bram Stoker
In 1729, a learned Jesuit monk accidentally stumbled upon a strange document in the Budapest archives, which, due to its eerie content, lay buried under other papers for another century. Those were court materials on the case of Countess Erzhebet Bathory, who believed that the blood of young girls killed by her would preserve her youth and beauty! The monster from Cheyte - as the locals called her - became the female version of the rapist and sadist Gilles de Rais, Bluebeard, before whom, by the way, she bowed. What was the reason for this bloody orgies! women? Was it one of the manifestations of vampirism or sadism?
Or maybe a whole complex of pathological properties of her nature? Specialists have yet to answer these questions, because so far about; little was known about the Blood Countess's deeds.

The wandering artist happened to capture Erzsébet Báthory, Countess Nadashdy, in the prime of her beauty. Who was this nameless painter? Italian? Fleming? In whose workshops did he study before he began to wander from castle to castle and paint his crude portraits? All that remained of him was a canvas darkened by time with a large letter “E” in the upper right corner. This is the initial of the woman depicted in the picture - Erzhebet, composed of three wolf fangs, mounted on a vertically placed jawbone. And a little higher - eagle wings, rather heavily drooping than soaring. Around the monogram, a dragon coiled into a ring - a symbol of the ancient Dacian family of Bathory.

She was a blonde, but only thanks to the fashionable Italian invention of her time - the frequent Washing of the head with ashes and a decoction of fennel and chamomile, and then rinsing her hair in an infusion of Hungarian saffron. That's right: both the long dark curls that the servants kept for hours in front of burning candles in winter and at the sun-drenched window in summer, and Elizabeth's face, covered with a layer of creams and ointments, became light.

In keeping with the fashion, by that time already obsolete in France, her tied hair is barely visible in the portrait: they are hidden under a pearl diadem. The Venetians brought these pearls on their ships from the very Turkey that occupied the eastern and central part of Hungary. All of Europe at that time lived under the sign of pearls: the court of Valois in Paris and numerous castles in the provinces, the strict court of the English Queen Elizabeth, whose collars, sleeves and gloves were humiliated by it, and even the court of Ivan the Terrible.

Later, the Bathory family was divided into two branches: one part settled in the east of Hungary - in Transylvania, the other - in the west of the country.

Peter Báthory was a canon in Satmar, in northeastern Hungary, but he was never ordained and left the church. He became the founder of the Bathory-Eched family. On the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, you can still see the ruins of the ancient Bathory castle. For a long time, the Hungarian crown was kept in it - the crown of St. Stephen with an inclined cross. The founder of the western branch of Bathory-Shomlyo, whose lands were located near Lake Balaton, was Johann Bathory. Glory and fortune continued to accompany both families: Stefan III, Stefan IV the Big-footed were the rulers of Hungary, the Czech Republic (in 1526-1562) from the Habsburg dynasty.

Erzsébet Báthory belonged to the Eched branch: her cousins Shomljo were kings of Poland and Transylvania. All of them, without exception, were spoiled, cruel, dissolute, temperamental and courageous people.

Ferenc (Franz) Nadasdy

In the ancient country of the Dacians, the pagan religion still reigned. This land lagged behind the rest of Europe in its development by at least two centuries. While in the west of Hungary only the Nadash mountains remained uninhabited, here, in the rest of the country, the mysterious goddess of dense forests, Mnelliki, ruled. The descendants of the Dacians recognized only one god, Ishten, and his three sons: the tree of Ishten, the grass of Ishten, and the bird of Ishten. It was to Ishten that Erzhebet, conjuring clouds, called out. The superstitious inhabitants of the Carpathians also had their own devil - Erdeg, who was served by witches, dogs and black cats. And everything that happened was explained by the actions of the spirits of nature and the fairies of the natural elements: Delibab - the midday fairy and mother of visions, beloved of the wind; the wonderful Tunder sisters and the waterfall fairy combing her watery hair. Among the sacred trees, oaks and chestnuts, ancient rituals of worship of the sun and moon, dawn and the "black mare" of the night were still performed.

Her portrait says little about her. While the usually female figure on the canvas strives forward to show herself in all her glory to those who look at her, and telling her story, hidden in the darkness, Elizabeth in the portrait is completely closed in herself - a flower that has grown on mystical soil. The skin on her delicate hands is exaggeratedly white. Her arms are almost invisible, but it is clear that they are very long. On her wrists are gold bracelets, slightly above which are wide, Hungarian-style sleeves. She is pulled into a high corset embroidered with pearls, dressed in a pomegranate-colored velvet shirt, against which a white apron looks even more contrasting - a sign of a noble woman in her country.

Long before this, Stefan's sister Anna had married György Báthory of the Eched branch. Members of the family had entered into consanguineous marriages before, which quickly led them to degeneration. Bathory suffered from epilepsy (it was she who led to the early death of King Stephen), insanity, rampant drunkenness. In the damp walls of the castles they were plagued by gout and rheumatism. They were sick and born in 1560, Erzhebet (Elizabeth) Bathory, daughter of Gyorgy and Anna. Perhaps this explained the attacks of wild rage that had seized her since childhood. But, most likely, the point here is in the Bathory family genes and the cruelty of that time in general. On the plains of Hungary and in the Carpathian mountains, Turks, Hungarians and Austrians tirelessly slaughtered each other. The captured enemy generals were boiled alive in cauldrons or impaled. Erzsébet's uncle, András Báthory, was hacked to death with an ax on a mountain pass. Her aunt Clara was raped by a Turkish detachment, after which the poor thing's throat was slit. However, she herself had already taken the lives of two husbands.

The fate of noble girls in this harsh world was determined once and for all: early marriage, children, household. The same was expected for Erzsébet, who, as a child, was betrothed to the count's son, Ferenc Nadashdy. Her father died early, her mother went to live in another castle, and the precocious girl was left to her own devices. Nothing good came of it. At the age of 14, Elizabeth gave birth to a son from a footman. The culprit disappeared without a trace, like the child, and they hurried to marry her off. The couple settled in Cheyte - one of the 17 castles of the Bathory family. The dowry was so rich that Ferenc did not raise the issue of the newlywed's innocence. However, he was not too interested in this: soon after the wedding, he went on a campaign against the Turks and since then appeared at home infrequently. Nevertheless, Erzhebet gave birth to daughters Anna, Orshol (Ursula), Katharina and son Pal. According to the custom of those years, the children were first taken care of by nurses and maids, and then they were sent to be raised in other noble families.

Left alone, Elizabeth was desperately bored. She dreamed of breaking out of the mountain wilderness and going to a ball in Vienna or Pressburg, where everyone would see her beauty. She was tall, slender, remarkably white. Her thick curls were also light, which she bleached with saffron infusion. In addition, she washed her face with cold water every morning and loved horseback riding. More than once, the Cheyte mistress was met at night madly galloping around the district on her pitch-black horse Vinara. They also said that she herself punishes the maids - she pinches them or drags them by the hair, and at the sight of blood she becomes simply obsessed. During one of his visits, Ferenc discovered a naked girl in the garden, tied to a tree and covered in flies and ants. To his surprised question, Elizabeth nonchalantly replied: “She was carrying pears. I smeared it with honey to give it a good lesson.”

At that time, the Countess had not yet killed anyone. Although she was not sinless: in the absence of her husband, she took a lover, a neighboring landowner Ladislav Bende. One day, the two of them were riding horses along the road and splashed some ugly old woman with mud. "Hurry, hurry, beauty! she called after him. “Soon you will be just like me!” At home, Elizabeth peered into the Venetian mirror for a long time. Did the witch tell the truth? Yes, she is already over forty, but her forms are also flawless, and her skin is elastic. Although ... there is a traitorous wrinkle in the corner of the mouth. A little more, and old age will creep up and no one will admire her beauty. With a spoiled mood, the mistress of Chaita went to bed ...

Elizabeth Báthory tirelessly searched for a way to bring back the outgoing beauty: she rummaged through old grimoires (collections of magical rituals and spells), then she turned to healers. One day, the witch Darvulya, who lives near Chait, was brought to her. Looking at her, the old woman confidently said: “Blood is needed, mistress. Bathe in the blood of girls who have not known a man, and youth will always be with you. At first, Elizabeth was taken aback. But then she remembered the joyful excitement that had seized her every time she saw blood. It is not known exactly when she crossed the border separating man from beast. But soon the girls sent to the castle to serve the countess began to disappear to no one knows where, and fresh graves began to appear on the edge of the forest.

They buried both three and twelve at a time, explaining the death by a sudden pestilence. To replace those who had departed to another world, peasant women were brought from afar, but after a week they disappeared somewhere. The housekeeper Dora Szentes, a masculine woman who enjoyed the special favor of the countess, explained to the curious residents of Chakhtitsy: they say that the peasant women turned out to be complete clumsiness and were sent home. Or: these new ones angered the mistress with insolence, she threatened them with punishment, so they ran away ...

At the beginning of the 17th century (and all this happened in 1610, when Eržbet Báthory was fifty), it was considered indecent in the circles of the nobility to interfere in the private life of her equals, and therefore rumors flared up and faded away, leaving no trace on the reputation of the illustrious lady. True, a timid assumption arose that Countess Nadashdi was secretly trading in live goods - she was supplying rosy-cheeked and stately Christian women to the Turkish pasha, their great admirer. And since many glorious representatives of high society were secretly engaged in such a trade, was it worth it to puzzle over, figuring out where the girls were going?

For ten years, when horror ruled in Cheyte, the mechanism of murders turned out to be worked out to the smallest detail. He was the same as a century and a half before Erzhebet with the French baron Gilles de Ré, and the same as with the Russian landowner Saltychikha (Daria Saltykova) a century and a half later. In all cases, the victims were girls, and the baron also had children. Perhaps they seemed especially defenseless, which inflamed the ardor of the sadists. Or maybe the main thing here was the envy of aging people for youth and beauty. The hereditary defects of the Bathory family and the superstitions of Elizabeth herself played their role. She did not do evil alone: she was helped by assistants. The leader was the ugly hunchback Janos Uyvari, nicknamed Fitzko. Living in the castle in the position of a jester, he had heard plenty of ridicule and mortally hated everyone who was healthy and beautiful. Drifting around, he looked for houses where his daughters were growing up. Then Ilona's maids Yo and Dorka entered the business: they came to the girls' parents and persuaded them to give their daughters to the countess for good money. They also helped Elizabeth beat the unfortunate, and then buried their bodies. Later, local peasants, sensing something was wrong, stopped responding to the promises of the owner of the castle. She had to hire new barkers who looked for her victims in distant villages.

When the girls were taken to Chait, the Countess herself came out to them. After examining them, she chose the most beautiful, and sent the rest to work. Those selected were taken to the basement, where Ilona and Dorka immediately began to beat them, stab them with needles and tear their skin with tongs. Listening to the screams of the victims, Elizabeth became inflamed and took up the torture herself. It happened that she tore out pieces of meat from the bodies of her victims with her teeth. Although she did not drink blood, so she is considered a vampire in vain, however, is there a big difference? In the end, when the girls could no longer stand, their arteries were cut and the blood was drained into basins, filling the bath, into which the countess plunged. Later, she ordered a miracle of torture technology in Pressburg - the "iron maiden". It was a hollow figure, made up of two parts and studded with long spikes. In the secret room of the castle, the next victim was locked inside the "virgin" and lifted up so that the blood would flow in streams directly into the bath.

Time passed, and the bloody ablutions did not bring results: the countess continued to age. In anger, she called Darwula and threatened to do to her the same thing that she did to the girls on her advice. “You are mistaken, lady! - wailed the old woman. - We need the blood of not servants, but noble maidens. Get some of these and things will go smoothly.” No sooner said than done. Elizabeth's agents persuaded twenty daughters of poor nobles to settle in Cheita to entertain the countess and read to her at night. Two weeks later none of the girls were alive. This hardly helped their killer to rejuvenate, but Darvula did not care anymore - she died of fear. But the crazy fantasies of Elizabeth no longer knew how to restrain. She poured boiling oil over peasant women, broke their bones, cut off their lips and ears, and forced them to eat. In the summer, her favorite pastime was to undress the girls and put them tied up on an anthill. In winter - pour water on them in the cold until they turn into ice statues.

Murders were committed not only in Cheit, but also in two other castles of Erzsebet, as well as on the waters in Pishtyan, where the countess also tried to restore the vanishing beauty. It got to the point that she could not go a few days without killing. Even in Vienna, where Elizabeth, by a grim coincidence, had a house on Bloody Street (Blutenstrasse), she lured and killed street beggars. It remains to be surprised that for so many years she got away with everything, especially since rumors about the crimes of the "Chate creature" spread in waves around the district. Perhaps those who speak of the killer's high patrons are right. So, the witnesses recalled a noble lady who came to the castle in an elegant men's suit and invariably participated in torture and murder, after which she retired with the countess to the bedroom. They also saw a gloomy gentleman with a hood hiding his face. The servants whispered that this was the resurrected Vlad Dracul, who once did his dirty deeds in neighboring Wallachia. The dominance of black cats in the castle, and the Kabbalistic signs inscribed on the walls, did not hide from the eyes. Rumors began about the connection of the countess with the devil, which was considered worse than the murder of peasant women.

The most banal reason put an end to the crimes of Elizabeth Bathory. Needing money for her rejuvenation experiments, the Countess mortgaged one of the castles for two thousand ducats. The guardian of her son, Imre Medieri, raised a scandal, accusing her of squandering the family's property. She was summoned to Pressburg, where all the nobles gathered for the Diet, including Emperor Matthias and her relative and patron György Turzo. The latter has already received a letter from the priest, who had to bury nine girls killed by Elizabeth at once. At first, he was going to hush up the story in a family way, but then the countess sent him a pie. Sensing something was wrong, Turzo fed the pie to the dog, and she immediately died. The enraged tycoon gave the case a legal move. To begin with, he interrogated the relatives of Elizabeth who were in the city, who told a lot of interesting things. For example, her son-in-law Miklos Zrinyi once visited his mother-in-law, and his dog dug up a severed hand in the garden. The daughters of the accused were pale and repeated one thing: "Forgive my mother, she is not herself."

Returning to Cheit, the countess composed a spell that Darvulya taught her: “Little Cloud, protect Elizabeth, she is in danger ... Send ninety black cats, let them tear apart the heart of Emperor Matthias and my cousin Turzo, and the heart of the red Medieri ... "And yet she could not resist the temptation when a young maid, Doritsa, had been caught stealing sugar, was brought to her. Elizabeth beat her to exhaustion with a whip, and other maids struck with iron sticks. Beside herself, the Countess grabbed a red-hot iron and pushed it into Doritsa's mouth up to the throat. The girl was dead, the floor was covered in blood, and Chait's owner's anger only flared up. The henchmen brought two more maids, and after beating them half to death, Elizabeth calmed down.

And the next morning Turzo came to the castle with soldiers. In one of the rooms they found dead Doritsa and two other girls still showing signs of life. Other terrible finds awaited in the cellars - basins with dried blood, cages for captives, broken parts of the "iron maiden". They also found irrefutable evidence - the Countess's diary, where she recorded all her atrocities. True, she did not remember the names of most of the victims or simply did not know and wrote them down like this: "No. 169, short" or "No. 302, with black hair." In total, there were 610 names on the list, but not all of the dead were included. It is believed that at least 650 lives are on the conscience of the “Cheit creature”. Elizabeth was caught literally on the doorstep - she was about to run away. It is worth noting that in one of the travel chests were neatly packed instruments of torture, without which she could no longer do.

Turzo, with his power, sentenced her to eternal imprisonment in his own castle. Her henchmen were taken to court, where the witnesses were finally able to tell everything they knew about the crimes of their former mistress. Ilona and Dorka had their fingers crushed and then burned alive at the stake. The hunchback Fitzko was beheaded, and his body was also thrown into the fire. In April 1611, masons arrived in Chait, who blocked the windows and doors of the Countess's room with stones, leaving only a small gap for a bowl of food. In prison, Elizabeth Bathory lived in eternal darkness, eating only bread and water, without complaining or asking for anything. She died on August 21, 1614 and was buried near the castle walls, next to the remains of her nameless victims. It is said that moans are still heard from the cursed castle at night, terrifying the area.

Transylvania is a Latin word. It means "country beyond the forests". It's a very beautiful country. But many, at the behest of writers and screenwriters of horror films, consider it a land of bloody nightmares, inhabited by all kinds of ghouls, witches, demons and werewolves. The famous and terrible Count Dracula who lived there became especially famous. But, unfortunately, even without him, there was always enough evil spirits in this land. And among its ancient inhabitants there were also such creatures, in comparison with which even the vampire Dracula pales.

One of these creatures is Countess Elizabeth (in some versions, Elizabeth, Elizabeth) Bathory, who enjoyed the inhuman tortures to which she subjected people subject to her. Also called Pani of Cachtice or Bloody Countess, the Hungarian countess, infamous for the mass murders of young girls, is, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the most "massive" serial killer.

Poor heredity of an ancient family

In the old days, when Slovakia belonged to Hungary, the Chachtice castle bore the Magyar name Cheit and belonged to the ancient Bathory family. No one was braver than Bathory in battles with enemies, no one could compare with them in cruelty and waywardness. Bathory suffered from epilepsy (it was she who led to the early death of King Stephen), insanity, rampant drunkenness. In the damp walls of the castles they were plagued by gout and rheumatism. Elizabeth Bathory was also ill with them. Perhaps this explained the attacks of wild rage that had seized her since childhood. But, most likely, the point here is in the Bathory family genes and the cruelty of that time in general. On the plains of Hungary and in the Carpathian mountains, Turks, Hungarians and Austrians tirelessly slaughtered each other. The captured enemy generals were boiled alive in cauldrons or impaled. Erzsébet's uncle, András Báthory, was hacked to death with an ax on a mountain pass. Her aunt Clara was raped by a Turkish detachment, after which the poor thing's throat was slit. However, she herself had already taken the lives of two husbands.

Mother of many children

Elizabeth Bathory was born in 1560. The fate of noble girls in this harsh world was determined once and for all: early marriage, children, household. The same awaited Elizabeth, who, as a child, was betrothed to the count's son, Ferenc Nadashdy. Her father died early, her mother went to live in another castle, and the precocious girl was left to her own devices. Nothing good came of it. At the age of 14, Elizabeth gave birth to a son from a footman. The culprit disappeared without a trace, like the child, and they hurried to marry her off. The couple settled in Cheyte - one of the 17 castles of the Bathory family. The dowry was so rich that Ferenc did not raise the issue of the newlywed's innocence. However, he was not too interested in this: soon after the wedding, he went on a campaign against the Turks and since then appeared at home infrequently. Nevertheless, Elizabeth gave birth to daughters Anna, Orshol (Ursula), Katharina and son Pal. According to the custom of those years, the children were first taken care of by nurses and maids, and then they were sent to be raised in other noble families.

white beauty

Left alone, Elizabeth was desperately bored. She dreamed of breaking out of the mountain wilderness and going to a ball in Vienna or Pressburg, where everyone would see her beauty. She was tall, slender, remarkably white. Her thick curls were also light, which she bleached with saffron infusion. In addition, she washed her face with cold water every morning and loved horseback riding. More than once, the lady was met at night madly galloping around the district on her pitch-black horse Vinara. They also said that she herself punishes the maids - she pinches them or drags them by the hair, and at the sight of blood she becomes simply obsessed. During one of his visits, Ferenc discovered a naked girl in the garden, tied to a tree and covered in flies and ants. To his surprised question, Elizabeth nonchalantly replied: “She was carrying pears. I smeared it with honey to give it a good lesson.”

At that time, the Countess had not yet killed anyone. Although she was not sinless: in the absence of her husband, she took a lover, a neighboring landowner Ladislav Bende. One day, the two of them were riding horses along the road and splashed some ugly old woman with mud. "Hurry, hurry, beauty! she called after him. “Soon you will be just like me!” At home, Elizabeth peered into the Venetian mirror for a long time. Did the witch tell the truth? Yes, she is already over forty, but her forms are also flawless, and her skin is elastic. Although ... there is a traitorous wrinkle in the corner of the mouth. A little more, and old age will creep up, and no one will admire her beauty. With a spoiled mood, she went to bed ...

In early 1604, her husband died, having caught a fever in one of the campaigns. The neighbors felt sorry for the widow, and no one knew what awaited her subjects in a quiet town at the foot of the castle. According to the stories of Elizabeth's accomplices, her thirst for murder became completely insatiable after the death of Ferenc Nadasda. They began to call her "the tigress from Kakhtitse".

Incredible cruelty

In the arsenal of Elizabeth there were “light” punishments for minor or simply invented faults by the hostess. If a maid was suspected of stealing money, a red-hot coin was placed in her hand. As soon as the maid ironed the master's dress badly, a hot iron flew into the face of the unfortunate girl. The flesh of the girls was torn with tongs, the fingers were shredded with scissors.

But the Countess's favorite instruments of torture were needles. She drove them under the girls' nails, saying at the same time: “Does it really hurt you, shabby harlot? So take it and get it out." But as soon as the tormented girl tried to remove the needles, Elizabeth began to beat her, and then chopped off her fingers. Falling into a frenzy, the countess gnawed her victims with her teeth, tearing pieces of flesh from their chest and shoulders.

bathing in blood

Elizabeth Bathory tirelessly searched for a means to return the outgoing beauty: she rummaged through old grimoires (collections of magical rituals and spells), then she turned to healers. One day, the witch Darvulya, who lives near Chait, was brought to her. Looking at her, the old woman confidently said: “Blood is needed, mistress. Bathe in the blood of girls who have not known a man, and youth will always be with you. At first, Elizabeth was taken aback. But then she remembered the joyful excitement that had seized her every time she saw blood. It is not known exactly when she crossed the border separating man from beast.

According to another version, Elizabeth Bathory hit her maid once in the face. Blood from the maid's nose dripped onto her skin, and Elizabeth felt that her skin looked better after that.

At the prompting of Anna Darvulia, the Countess began to collect young virgins from peasant households, whose disappearance and death were not fraught with friction with the law and dangerous consequences. At first, it was quite easy to find living "material" for sadistic fun: the peasants vegetated in hopeless poverty, and some willingly sold their daughters. At the same time, they sincerely believed that their children would be much better off in the manor's estate than under their father's roof.

But soon the girls sent to the castle to serve the countess began to disappear to no one knows where, and fresh graves began to appear on the edge of the forest.

At the beginning of the 17th century (and all this happened in 1610, when Elizabeth Bathory turned fifty), it was considered indecent in the circles of the nobility to interfere in the private life of her equals, and therefore rumors flared up and faded away, leaving no trace on the reputation of the illustrious lady. True, a timid assumption arose that Countess Nadashdi was secretly trading in live goods - she was supplying rosy-cheeked and stately Christian women to the Turkish pasha, their great admirer. And since many glorious representatives of high society were secretly engaged in such a trade, was it worth it to puzzle over, figuring out where the girls were going?

For ten years, when horror ruled in Cheyte, the mechanism of murders turned out to be worked out to the smallest detail. It was the same as that of the French baron Gilles de Rais a century and a half before Elizabeth, and the same as that of the Russian landowner a century and a half later. In all cases, the victims were girls, and the baron also had children. Perhaps they seemed especially defenseless, which inflamed the ardor of the sadists. Or maybe the main thing here was the envy of aging people for youth and beauty.

Accomplices and iron maiden

The hereditary defects of the Bathory family and the superstitions of Elizabeth herself played their role. She did not do evil alone: she was helped by assistants. The leader was the ugly hunchback Janos Uyvari, nicknamed Fitzko. Living in the castle in the position of a jester, he had heard plenty of ridicule and mortally hated everyone who was healthy and beautiful. Drifting around, he looked for houses where his daughters were growing up.

Then Ilona's maids Yo and Dorka entered the business: they came to the girls' parents and persuaded them to give their daughters to the countess for good money. They also helped Elizabeth beat the unfortunate, and then buried their bodies. Later, local peasants, sensing something was wrong, stopped responding to the promises of the owner of the castle. She had to hire new barkers who looked for her victims in distant villages.

Later, she ordered a miracle of torture technology in Pressburg - the "iron maiden". It was a hollow figure, made up of two parts and studded with long spikes. In the secret room of the castle, the next victim was locked inside the "virgin" and lifted up so that the blood would flow in streams directly into the bath.

Enjoying the death throes of the doomed maid, Countess Bathory showered her with shrill swearing, driving herself into a frenzy and executioner's ecstasy, after which she often fell into blissful swoons.

The blood is not of peasant women, but of noblewomen...

No sooner said than done. Elizabeth's agents persuaded twenty daughters of poor nobles to settle in Cheyte to entertain the countess and read to her at night. Two weeks later none of the girls were alive. This hardly helped their killer to rejuvenate, but Darvula did not care anymore - she died of fear, but in fact of epilepsy. But the insane fantasies of Elizabeth no longer knew the hold. She poured boiling oil over peasant women, broke their bones, cut off their lips and ears, and forced them to eat. In the summer, her favorite pastime was to undress the girls and put them tied up on an anthill. In winter - pour water on them in the cold until they turn into ice statues.

Murders were committed not only in Cheyta, but also in two other castles of Elisabeth, as well as on the waters in Pishtyan, where the countess also tried to restore the fading beauty. It got to the point that she could not go a few days without killing. Even in Vienna, where Elizabeth, by a grim coincidence, had a house on Bloody Street (Blutenstrasse), she lured street beggars to her and killed them.

Rumors of a "cheat creature"

It remains to be surprised that for so many years she got away with everything, especially since rumors about the crimes of the "Chate creature" spread in waves around the district. Perhaps those who speak of the killer's high patrons are right. So, the witnesses recalled a noble lady who came to the castle in an elegant men's suit and invariably participated in torture and murder, after which she retired with the countess to the bedroom. They also saw a gloomy gentleman with a hood hiding his face. The servants whispered that this was the resurrected Vlad Dracul, who once did his dirty deeds in neighboring Wallachia. The dominance of black cats in the castle, and the Kabbalistic signs inscribed on the walls, did not hide from the eyes. Rumors began about the connection of the countess with the devil, which was considered worse than the murder of peasant women.

exposure

The most banal reason put an end to the crimes of Elizabeth Bathory. Needing money for her rejuvenation experiments, the Countess mortgaged one of the castles for two thousand ducats. The guardian of her son, Imre Medieri, raised a scandal, accusing her of squandering the family's property. She was summoned to Pressburg, where all the nobles gathered for the Diet, including her relative and patron György Turzo. The latter has already received a letter from the priest, who had to bury nine girls killed by Elizabeth at once. At first, he was going to hush up the story in a family way, but then the countess sent him a pie. Sensing something was wrong, Turzo fed the pie to the dog, and she immediately died. The enraged tycoon gave the case a legal move. To begin with, he interrogated the relatives of Elizabeth who were in the city, who told a lot of interesting things. For example, her son-in-law Miklos Zrinyi once visited his mother-in-law, and his dog dug up a severed hand in the garden. The daughters of the accused were pale and repeated one thing: "Forgive my mother, she is not herself."

Returning to Cheit, the Countess composed a spell that Darvula taught her: “Little Cloud, protect Elizabeth, she is in danger ... Send ninety black cats, let them tear apart the heart of Emperor Matthias and my cousin Turzo, and the heart of the red Medieri ... "And yet she could not resist the temptation when a young maid, Doritsa, had been caught stealing sugar, was brought to her. Elizabeth beat her with a whip to the point of exhaustion, and other maids struck with iron sticks. Beside herself, the Countess grabbed a red-hot iron and pushed it into Doritsa's mouth up to the throat. The girl was dead, the floor was covered in blood, and Chait's owner's anger only flared up. The henchmen brought two more maids, and after beating them half to death, Elizabeth calmed down.

3 years in captivity

Elizabeth was caught literally on the doorstep - she was about to run away. It is worth noting that in one of the travel chests were neatly packed instruments of torture, without which she could no longer do. Turzo, with his power, sentenced her to eternal imprisonment in his own castle.

Her henchmen were taken to court, where the witnesses were finally able to tell everything they knew about the crimes of their former mistress. Ilona and Dorka had their fingers crushed and then burned alive at the stake. The hunchback Fitzko was beheaded, and his body was also thrown into the fire.

In April 1611, masons arrived in Chait, who blocked the windows and doors of the Countess's room with stones, leaving only a small gap for a bowl of food. In captivity, Elizabeth Bathory lived in eternal darkness, eating only bread and water, without complaining or asking for anything. She died on August 21, 1614 and was buried near the castle walls, next to the remains of her nameless victims.

They say that moans are still heard from the damned castle at night, terrifying the area ... However. beauty and cruelty continue to go hand in hand for centuries. And it doesn't matter whether the Middle Ages is in the yard, or the twentieth century ... Transylvania, Russia or - the female mind (or female madness) at any time is capable of presenting terrible surprises.

Are you constantly getting killed and can't complete the last task in FarCry 5? Here you will find a complete description of the mission. Useful tips and tricks will help you get it right the first time.

FarCry Primal: the passage of the final

In FarCryPrimal, the final game will come at the moment when you destroy the last stronghold of the Izil and conquer the lands of the Urus. At the end, countless hordes of enemies will meet, cruel and well armored. Be sure to arm yourself to the teeth and stock up on all things to the maximum.

Last mission. Izil homeland.
In order to start it, you must meet additional conditions:
you will need the power of a mammoth to break through the gate;
only Tinsei can prepare you for the battle with Batari (the main boss), he will give the Krati mask.

If all these conditions are met, then the final game of Far Cry Primal will become available and you can advance to the homeland of Izil.

On the location, on the way to the key point, you will meet a mammoth, which you need to saddle up and demolish the gate blocking the passage to the lands of Izil.
At the first outpost of the enemy, we kill all the soldiers. The easiest way is to trample them with your mammoth. After the victory, you need to talk with the captive Vinja. The lattice can be broken by a mammoth, but there is a chance to kill the captive, it is easier to crack it with a baton. After the conversation, it will be necessary to recruit a team of fellow tribesmen to attack the Batari temple.

Free the vinja

The detachment in FarCry Primal for the last mission will be assembled from the meeting captives, which are located at three points:

Village;
the altar of Sukhli;
training ground.

Keep in mind that the enemies you meet will be very strong and it will not be easy to deal with them. Use your mammoth and Red Fang for close combat, without them it will be very difficult (to resurrect the Red Fang you will need 6 red sheets, stock up on them in advance). In Far Krai Primal, when passing the final, the Red Fang will come in handy until the very end, do not forget to heal it.

Village

There are many enemies in the village, sentinels on watchtowers. Use the owl for reconnaissance and destruction of guards. The buildings in the village are wooden, feel free to set fire to them with arrows, this will help drive the opponents off the towers, otherwise they will mercilessly fire at you. The terrain is open, use the owl to bomb the village. Mammoth, like a tank, will easily crush all the enemies he meets on the ground. After the victory, free the captives.

Altar of Sukhli

For a change, you can go in stealth mode. The place of the altar with elevation changes, you can hide and quietly kill all enemies. For reconnaissance and inconspicuous killing, use an owl. In FarCryPrimal, the final can be played as you like, even in the barbarian mode, even as an assassin, the game does not limit this in any way.

training ground

It has a lot of izil and signal horns, try to remove the sentinel from the watchtower unnoticed. Then, in stealth mode, kill as many enemies as possible. But sooner or later you will be discovered and then forward - hand to hand. When you release all the Vinja, move to the temple, and be sure to replenish all supplies along the way, they will come in handy.

Temple of Batari

After meeting with the Vinja near the temple, you need to cut the ropes holding the obelisk to make a bridge over the abyss. While your brothers are destroying the supports, you must cover them with well-aimed archery. Use burning arrows, so you can set fire to the walls and the enemy will not be up to you.
When crossing the gorge, the GG will put on the Krati mask and all the enemies will scatter from him in a panic. Feel free to attack the temple and deal with enemies, no one will resist. In FarCryPrimal, any supplies will come in handy during the passage of the final, so carefully search the cave, you won’t be able to return later. When you exit the cave, Batari will attack you and take off his mask. Save checkpoint.

batteries

After saving, an eclipse and an epic battle with the priestess will begin. We cannot get close to it, the gate on the left interferes, we will have to fire at it with a bow and throw spears, and so the whole battle. It is more practical to attack Batari with continuous series of shots, and not aim with single hits (it seems that she is also being treated).

After a little damage, she will call for reinforcements and your faithful animal helper will come in handy here. Bombs with bees help well against enemies. Around and to the left, behind in the cave, weapons and supplies are scattered.

After you take away half of her life, the priestess will call the second wave of help. Take care of your companion - the beast and deal with extra enemies as quickly as possible.

When she has a quarter of life left, wait for the third group of the enemy.

And now the bar of Batari's life approached zero. She will open the passage and come running to you with her servants. You can take advantage of this and take her place at the only gate. Enemies will not be able to attack you from all sides. You can run through the gate and the altar in circles. While they are chasing you, go around and shoot them from behind.

Revenge

And so the hero reached the final in Far Cry Primal. After the death of Batari, a cutscene will start in which you can avenge all the torment and burn her on the altar with your own hands.

Final video

We watch a video where you are greeted as the greatest of warriors and after a drunken party we come to our senses near the village. Then it is given the opportunity to complete all secondary tasks. If there are no tasks, then it remains to watch the final video of Far Cry Primal, where the Urus is captured and the credits with an epilogue.

The region of Romania called Transylvania is known to everyone who is fond of ancient legends. It was there, as many people think, that the prototype of the most famous vampire Count Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, lived. And the count himself in all existing literary works and films had at his disposal an estate located directly in Transylvania. But this area is known not only for “vampire” stories. In 1560, in one of the castles of Transylvania, a woman was born, who later became famous for her incredible cruelty and a huge number of murders, the so-called bloody countess - Elizabeth Bathory.

Elizabeth's family was not distinguished by high moral principles, as well as many aristocrats of that time. Debauchery and cruelty reigned everywhere. In addition, there were mentally ill people, sorcerers and libertines in the Bathory family. If we add to this the general situation in the country - bloody feuds, fierce wars, during which the victims were impaled or boiled alive in cauldrons, then one can imagine what the world taught the girl. From a very young age, Elizabeth showed cruelty - she fell into a rage for any reason and could beat the maids half to death with a whip.

Since the girl was left to herself, it was not surprising that she was pregnant by a footman at the age of 14. Parents, having learned about this, decided to get rid of the child, and Elizabeth herself hastened to marry. Count Ferenc Nadashdy became her husband. They settled in the Chakhtitsky castle in Slovakia, which belonged to the Bathory family. By the way, it is from the name of this castle that another nickname comes from, with which Elizabeth was later dubbed - Chakhtitskaya Pani. It is with this place that the most horrifying part of the Countess's biography is connected.

The family life of the young couple could be called boring. Despite the fact that Elizabeth's husband was not often at home, she bore him three children, however, as was customary at that time, servants were involved in raising the heirs. Elizabeth was more worried about her natural beauty, which she tried to protect with all her might. The countess was really lucky with her appearance - she had strikingly white skin, long thick hair and a great figure even by the time when her age was approaching forty years. She was not lucky with her character. The cruelty that woke up in her in early childhood turned into a real pathology in adulthood. For any, even the smallest faults, Elizabeth severely punished the maids. In winter, she forced them to serve in the nude, after which she poured cold water over them and left them in the cold, drove needles under the nails of the guilty girls, and sometimes chopped off her fingers, she could burn them with a hot iron for a poorly ironed dress, and for theft - put a red-hot coin in her hand . But even these cruelties paled in comparison with what the countess began to do at a time when her beauty began to fade ...

In 1604, her husband died of a fever, and Elizabeth was left alone. At that moment, she was most interested in the question of how to return the outgoing youth. Once (according to the legend), when she hit a maid in the face during another fit of rage, blood from a broken nose got on the skin of the countess, and it seemed to Elizabeth that the skin in this place began to look better. After that, she called a local witch to her castle and asked her about the secret of youth. The old woman advised the countess to bathe in the blood of young virgins. It was not difficult for Elizabeth to follow such advice, which was so strange even by the standards of that era.

Thus began a bloody decade. The countess surrounded herself with faithful and as cruel as herself, assistants, who, on her orders, lured from all over the area, as well as from distant villages, young innocent girls, allegedly to serve in the castle. The most beautiful girls were sent to their death immediately, others were temporarily left in the status of servants. The bloody massacre took place in the cellars of the castle. The girls were literally torn apart, skinned, and even the countess herself, in a fit of bloody ecstasy, tore off pieces of meat from the body of her victims with her teeth (at least, accomplices of Bathory's crimes later testified to this during interrogations). In the final, the victims' arteries were cut, the blood from which was lowered into the bathroom in which Elizabeth bathed, confident that these procedures stop the aging process and make her even more beautiful. The corpses of those killed were first buried, as expected, but when it seemed suspicious to the population that the servants were dying not one by one, but two, three, and even ten or twelve at a time, Elizabeth decided to dismember the bodies and bury them in the forest.

Some time after the first murders, Elizabeth was horrified to discover new wrinkles, and demanded to call again that old sorceress who had once advised her to take blood baths as a panacea for aging. The witch, when she was dragged to the castle, stated that the procedures did not bring the desired result, since the countess took baths from the blood of commoners, and the blood of noble people should be used.

Thus began the second wave of massacres. Elizabeth's accomplices lured twenty young girls from noble families to the castle under the pretext of entertaining the countess, and after a couple of weeks not one of these girls was among the living. By the way, the process of murder itself has become more technologically advanced - by order of the countess from Pressburg, a torture device called the “iron maiden” was delivered to the castle, which is a hollow figure of two parts equipped with sharp long spikes, inside which the victim was locked. The figure was raised, and the girl's blood flowed into the basins prepared for this.

The cruelty of the Countess knew no bounds. She began to commit her bloody follies not only in the Chakhtitsky castle, but also in other family estates. She knocked out the teeth of the peasant women who got into the castle, broke the bones, doused them with boiling oil, cut off their ears, noses, lips and then forced them to eat. Elizabeth could not live without killing even a few days. It is amazing that this nightmare continued for a whole decade.

An accident put an end to the bloody story. Elizabeth urgently needed money, and she mortgaged one of the family estates. One of those close to the family - the guardian of the countess's son - complained about the waste of family property to Elizabeth's relatives. On this occasion, a family council gathered, which was attended by a relative named Gyorgy Turzo, who had already heard about the atrocities of the countess from the local priest. At first he wanted to hush up the matter, but after Elizabeth sent him a pie, and he, sensing something was wrong, gave it to the dog, and she died after the treat, Thurzo set the matter in motion. He interviewed people from the village, as well as relatives who had been in the countess's castle, and learned many shocking facts. However, it was required to catch the killer in action.

We didn't have to wait long. Elizabeth, although she understood that clouds were gathering over her, could not restrain herself and perpetrated a bloody massacre on the maid who turned out to be a sugar thief - she beat her with a whip and iron sticks, and then pushed a red-hot iron into the unfortunate mouth. On the morning of the next day, Turzo appeared on the threshold of the castle, accompanied by soldiers. It was then that they discovered the girl's corpse, instruments of torture, basins of dried blood, as well as Elizabeth's handwritten diary, in which she described the details of all her massacres. The list of victims turned out to be huge, it included 610 names, but they say that Chakhtitskaya pani actually accounted for 650 lives.

Elizabeth tried to escape, but she was caught on the way. A suitcase was found with her, in which there were instruments of torture - apparently, the countess simply could not do without blood. Turzo sentenced the Bloody Countess to life imprisonment in her own castle, while her accomplices were executed. In 1611, masons blocked the doors and windows of the room in which the countess was kept with stones, leaving only a small gap for serving food. And, in complete darkness, eating only water and bread, the most cruel woman in history - a serial killer - lived for three years. Elizabeth Bathory died in 1614, she was buried next to the bodies of her victims, near the walls of the castle.

They say that until now at night strange moans are heard from the side of the castle, from which those who live nearby, the blood runs cold ....

In 1729, a learned Jesuit monk accidentally stumbled upon a strange document in the Budapest archives, which, due to its eerie content, lay buried under other papers for another century. Those were court materials on the case of Countess Erzhebet Bathory, who believed that the blood of young girls killed by her would preserve her youth and beauty! The monster from Cheyte - as the locals called her - became the female version of the rapist and sadist Gilles de Rais, Bluebeard, before whom, by the way, she bowed. What was the reason for this woman's bloody orgies? Was it one of the manifestations of vampirism or sadism? Or maybe a whole complex of pathological properties of her nature? Experts have yet to answer these questions, because so far little has been known about the deeds of the Bloody Countess.

Around the monogram, a dragon coiled into a ring - a symbol of the ancient Dacian family of Bathory.

Surrounded by griffins, wings and wolf fangs, how proudly this woman holds herself in the darkness of the canvas! She was blonde, but only thanks to an Italian invention fashionable in her time - frequent washing of her hair with ashes and a decoction of fennel and chamomile, and then rinsing her hair in an infusion of Hungarian saffron. That's right: both the long dark curls that the servants kept for hours in front of burning candles in winter and at the sun-drenched window in summer, and Elizabeth's face, covered with a layer of creams and ointments, became light. In keeping with the fashion, by that time already obsolete in France, her tied hair is barely visible in the portrait: they are hidden under a pearl diadem.

In truth, Erzsébet Bathory came into this world not quite a human being. She looked more like a tree or a rock or a wolf than a person. Maybe the very fate of her family allowed this special flower to bloom? Was she simply a daughter of her time, when the mind still burrowed through the mists of primeval savagery? It is certain that between Elizabeth and the outside world there was a kind of vacuum, like soft upholstery in a lunatic cell. This is evidenced by her eyes in the portrait: she wanted to grab, but could not touch. It was this desire to stay awake, but not to live, that gave rise to a taste for blood, for someone else's blood. Perhaps this was a mystery hidden to her as well.

However, she was not a dreamer. Such a spirit always cuts its way through the shell of banal conventions. A dark sea of cruelty rises from the depths of the soul through vanity, many small things, domestic quarrels and family troubles. Elizabeth, of course, was concerned about many problems: the upbringing of three daughters, the life of countless relatives, and hundreds of others. This worried her much more than music, romantic poetry or bullfinches and larks. But if her gypsy court musicians began to play their wild melodies, or if she suddenly smelled the smell of a bear or a fox while hunting, her detachment disappeared at the same moment. Later, she returned to court dances, which, although they were performed in the Hungarian manner - quite quickly, still remained cold and lifeless, like a withered ivy branch.

Although she was beautiful and there were no flaws in her beautiful figure, her gaze did not evoke thoughts of love in anyone. She was pulled out of time like a mandrake out of the earth. The seed from which she grew was as corrupt as the hanged man's seed that produced the mandrake.

The Bathory family has been known for both good and evil since ancient times. Two of its oldest representatives, who lived at a time when the family had not yet received its name (Bathor means "brave"), the brothers Gut Keled, born in Staufen Castle in Swabia, united the Dacian tribes, galloping on their fast horses with spears adorned with trembling dragon heads. ribbons in the wind, and blowing horns made from the beak of a stork or an eagle. According to the Vienna Chronicle, in 1036 Emperor Henry III sent them at the head of his troops to help the Hungarian King Peter. The family, whose family nest was the village of Gut, became famous during the time of King Shalomosh (XI century) and Duke Geza (XI century). In subsequent years, royal patronage no longer left her. Later, the Bathory family was divided into two branches: one part settled in the east of Hungary - in Transylvania, the other - in the west of the country. Peter Báthory was a canon in Satmar, in northeastern Hungary, but he was never ordained and left the church. He became the founder of the Bathory-Eched family. On the slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, you can still see the ruins of the ancient Bathory castle. For a long time, the Hungarian crown was kept in it - the crown of St. Stephen with an inclined cross. The founder of the western branch of Bathory-Shomlyo, whose lands were located near Lake Balaton, was Johann Bathory. Glory and fortune continued to accompany both families: Stefan III, Stefan IV the Big-footed were the rulers of Hungary, the Czech Republic (in 1526-1562) from the Habsburg dynasty. Erzsébet Báthory belonged to the Eched branch: her cousins Shomljo were kings of Poland and Transylvania. All of them, without exception, were spoiled, cruel, dissolute, temperamental and courageous people.

Black magic flourished here at all times. Dragons, wolves and vampires, despite the expulsion of evil spirits by bishops, inhabited the forests and appeared at the first call of sorcerers. Here, in the east, in the lair of sorcery, in the shadow of the sacred Hungarian crown, Erzsebet was born. There was nothing of an ordinary woman in her, in which even the mention of demons can cause horror. The demons were already in her - in the dark depths of her huge black eyes, in her face, deathly pale from the ancient poison. She had a high, proud forehead, a movable, like a snake, tongue. The limp curve of her chin seemed to harbor some unknown vice. Her portrait says little about her. While the usually female figure on the canvas strives forward to show herself in all her glory to those who look at her, and telling her story, hidden in the darkness, Elizabeth in the portrait is completely closed in herself - a flower that has grown on mystical soil. The skin on her delicate hands is exaggeratedly white. Her arms are almost invisible, but it is clear that they are very long. On her wrists are gold bracelets, slightly above which are wide, Hungarian-style sleeves. She is pulled into a high corset embroidered with pearls, dressed in a pomegranate-colored velvet shirt, against which a white apron looks even more contrasting - a sign of a noble woman in her country.

Elizabeth was born in 1560 in one of the castles belonging to the Eched family. Her father, Gyorgy Báthory was at the same time an ally of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary, Ferdinand I, and his worst enemy Zapolya. For her mother Anna, this was already the third marriage; she had other children from the previous ones.

Anna Báthory, daughter of Istvan Báthory and Katalin Telegdi, was the sister of the Polish King Stefan Báthory. She came from the Shomlyo branch. For her time, she received a good education and spent hours reading the Bible and the History of Hungary in Latin. Since a rare girl in her time could read and write, it can be said that her parents made her an exquisite person. It is worth mentioning that the history of Hungary at that time was still quite short and consisted of several legends of the ancient Ugric peoples, direct descendants of Japhet, and legends about past battles. In one of them, for example, Princess Emesh dreamed that a hawk was worshiping her and that a whole galaxy of great kings was coming out of her womb. The cradle of the Hungarian people was Scythia, the country of the hawk Almos.

Anna Bathory had two sons - Janos and Gyorgy. Her first husband died in 1545. From him she inherited, among other things, the castle of Erděd, which became part of her dowry when she later became the wife of György Báthory. The young widow did not tolerate loneliness well; she married Antal Druget of Gaumont, who also soon descended into the grave. Anna did not stop there and in 1553 she married her cousin from the Eched dynasty, Gyorgy Bathory, to whom she gave birth to four children: the crazy and cruel Istvan (husband of Fruzina Druget), Erzhebet, Zofia, the future wife of András Figedya, and Clara, who married Michaelis Kisvarda.

The proverb “An apple does not fall far from an apple tree” does not fit well with Elizabeth. Her sisters Zofia and Clara weren't particularly cruel, at least according to the notions of the era. Elizabeth's father died when the girl was only ten. Undoubtedly, therefore, already in 1571, she was engaged to Ferenc Nadasdy: her mother had to marry two more daughters. Anna Bathory safely lived to a ripe old age and, in addition to the instructive example of her life, left her inconsolably grieving children the castles of the estate, managed in the best way.

Gout was a hereditary disease in this family. This fact will hardly surprise anyone if we remember that people of that time ate mainly meat and game seasoned with hefty portions of spices and lived in Bathory in a country where excellent strong wines were common drinks. Another hereditary disease was epilepsy, known at that time as "brain fever". Despite the fact that, trying to defeat the disease, the Polish king and uncle Erzhebet - Stefan Bathory turned to both sorcerers and alchemists, he was destined to die in agony. Her other uncle, Istvan, who assisted the Habsburgs in their quest to prevent the coronation of Matthias Corvinus on the Hungarian throne, was an illiterate, cruel man and a notorious liar. As the governor of Transylvania, he was expelled from his post and fled, taking with him the entire treasury. Moreover, he managed to make sure that even the Turks paid him. Another cousin of Shomlyo, King Gabor of Transylvania, was also exceptionally cruel and greedy. Death came to him in the mountains at the hands of a hired killer. His special vice was incestuous love for his sister Anna, who reciprocated his love. He left behind two daughters who, like many children of that era, died at the age of nine and twelve, respectively. Another uncle, also named Gabor, who lived in Echede, was possessed by evil spirits. He often threw himself on the ground and rolled on it, gnashing his teeth. The behavior of the dissolute brother Erzhebet Istvan shocked even his worldly-wise contemporaries. He was the last member of the Bathory-Eched branch and died without issue. All the people mentioned here were incredibly cruel and did not stop at nothing in fulfilling their whims.

One of the most famous members of the family was Elizabeth's paternal aunt, Clara Bathory, daughter of András IV, King of Transylvania. This woman survived four husbands and in the end was recognized as "unworthy to bear the name of Bathory." It was said that she, on her own initiative, got rid of at least two husbands. It is authentically known that she strangled her second husband in his own bed. Later, under rather ambiguous circumstances, she married the nobleman Johan Betko, and then Valentin Benko from Pajai. In the end, she was carried away by a young lover, to whom she presented the castle. However, this story ended tragically: they were both captured by the people of the Turkish Pasha. The Ottomans roasted a young lover on a spit, and Klara was raped by a whole Turkish detachment, after which her throat was cut while still alive. Naturally, of all the relatives, it was this aunt who was of the greatest interest to Elizabeth.

Sigismund Bathory - King of Transylvania during the time of Sultan Mohammed III and Emperor Rudolph II (last third of the 16th century), - another cousin of Elizabeth, was notorious for his inconsistency and inconstancy of his character, bordering on dementia. Without going into the details of his political intrigues, it will suffice to mention his relationship with his wife, the Austrian princess Marie-Christina. He married her in 1595 to secure his alliance with the Habsburg dynasty. But soon, under the pretext that his wife is cold to him and screams in his sleep when she accidentally touches him, he insistently demanded an annulment of the marriage. In an effort to achieve this goal, he went so far as to declare himself, perhaps not without reason, impotent, assured him that every night ghosts appeared to him, which his wife did not notice. In the end, he imprisoned his wife in Kovar, and he himself went to Prague to discuss the terms of a future divorce from Rudolf II. After long negotiations, he returned to his wife, but after a short time he fled from her to Poland, after which they gave up on him. His brother András Báthory, who for a short time was the king of Transylvania, died tragically. He was hacked to death on a mountain pass. Then the wounded head was sewn to the body, and the neck was wrapped with a white cloth. In this form, he was exhibited in the church of the city of Gyulalehervara. On an engraving from that time, you can see his pale face with a battle ax wound above his left eye.

Elizabeth grew up charming. No one could resist the charms of a young, lively beauty. In front of her downcast eyes with long eyelashes, in front of her cheeks, the line of her mouth. Wherever she appeared, it was in her power to seduce and tame any victim. Other women were nothing compared to her, a high-born witch and whore. If she were cheerful, everything could turn out differently, but she was never cheerful, and she rarely spoke, more and more in a defiant, sarcastic manner. What else can be done with a woman of her type, except to worship her, dress her in starched shirts and adorn her with pearls? No lover has ever rushed to meet with Elizabeth. Only witches and nannies, selflessly devoted to their primitive cult, which brings only pain and trouble to the rest of humanity.

Elizabeth knew about her power - the power given by magic, herbal juices, human blood and the North Star, power before which men were powerless. The forest sorcerers raised her in a world that had nothing to do with the world of other people. The time has come - and she felt the need for a sacrifice. Her thoughts turned to the young girls: “Their blood will no longer bring them happiness. From now on, she will beat in Me - another Me. I will live their lives, their youth, which made others admire them. With their help, I will finally find love. Save my youth, juices of young flowers!

The brilliant and arrogant Elizabeth looked down even on her relatives, although she tried to hide her vicious instincts with them. At all family gatherings, she appeared in a spotless white dress, adorned with pearls, and in a pearl diadem, her beautiful eyes shone with an insane brilliance. White and silent, like a swan between the branches of the reeds, depicted on the shield of her husband Nadashdi. But in the depths of her soul, in the very heart of her being, she remained a cruel, dissolute Bathory. Only half-sisters were able to embarrass her. And one day, Elizabeth decided to take revenge on one of them. She persuaded her nanny Yo Ilona to kidnap her maid for her own needs. Could the wife of Istvan, the dissolute elder brother of Erzhebet, who whispered scandalous stories heard from his French mistress into her ear, change anything? The Frenchwoman was the wife of an officer sent to serve in Vienna. She took possession of Istvan, taught him the quirks of the Valois court, unacceptable in the simplicity of the Hungarian marital bed.

Elizabeth listened to his stories without surprise, a few weeks later she returned in her carriage to Cheyte to meet her Ferenc, who, having once again covered himself with glory, had to set off again.

While Ferenc Nadasdy's optimistic horoscope has survived to this day, Erzsébet's horoscope has not survived. However, its content is not difficult to guess. There was no need for an astrologer to be present at the birth, among her nannies, diapers, to predict her fate. At the heart of her bloodthirsty sadism is the Moon under the harmful influence of Mars and Mercury. She was born under the sign of the cruel Scorpio. The Moon in conjunction with Mercury gives rise to manic psychosis, clouding of consciousness and periods when a person becomes unable to tame his desires. At the time of Elizabeth's birth, Venus, from whom she inherited her beauty, was in conjunction with Saturn - this explains her unwillingness to enjoy the ordinary joys of life, her silence, her ability to endure suffering and, finally, inflict suffering on others. It was the Moon, whose gloomy forces dominated her, that Elizabeth was looking for with her eyes during her crazy night horse rides. The countess saw her reflected in the snow, in herself, in her melancholy, in her inability to control her satanic whims.

At this very time, the book "Secrets of the Moon" was printed. The book was neither a poem nor a collection of spells. It was about the Moon moving in the darkness of the night sky, about the beneficial and harmful aspects of its influence on people. “From the beautiful union of the Sun and the Moon, the delightful combination of a golden-feathered rooster and a silver hen, everything that exists is born.” Dressed in silvery silks, the Moon is a symbol and guiding star of a woman, the embodiment of kindness and harmony of Mother Nature. But Elizabeth was not born under such a moon. Rather, under the one that on the new moon makes birds of prey faster, more agile and merciless. Her Moon was a symbol of all the incurable wounds inflicted in her light, a symbol of the madness that took possession of the wounded soldiers when they were left to spend the night in her rays. It was this pale star, sowing destruction, destroying crops, causing trees to rot, that accompanied Erzhebet on her trips through the night forest filled with screams, the sounds of jumping and flapping wings ... echoes of the bloody feast of the animals she spawned - wolves, moles, wild boars, frogs, mice, rats, hedgehogs, wild cats and owls. In a white robe with images of wolf fangs embroidered on it, Elizabeth galloped melancholy through the night forest. She was consumed by the very melancholy that, according to the Eastern sage Avicenna, "causes sadness, isolation, suspicion, fear and painful visions."

Elizabeth never thought about death. Despite her madness, she was forced to live in this world before falling into a distant heaven or hell. She sought to know the joys of this world, the gross pleasures of her country and her time. She wanted to own beauty and love alone. Excessive narcissism, seen in her every action, did not allow her to maintain contact with the real world. Maybe the wild music, the tunes in the sorcerer's huts filled with the acrid smoke of belladonna and dope leaves smoldering there, her wild nightly hunts... maybe all this together kindled an inhuman fire in her eyes. As a wolf is destined to live like a wolf, so Elizabeth was destined to live her own life, in which there was no place for remorse. Having committed another crime, she never tossed about in her bed, did not cry and did not beg for forgiveness. Her madness gave her every right to do so. Her fall was not due to the fact that she did something unworthy of herself. She was never able to understand why she, a noble person, had to endure so many hardships in the last years of her life.

The Middle Ages saw many public repentances, melodramatic gestures of remorse. But Elizabeth could not stoop to such gestures. She was a Protestant, but she was not religious, she can be called a witch or a sorceress, but not a mystic. Elizabeth saw the highest good in life, but was not able to live like the rest. Her cruelty was both revenge and a way of being. In order to be self-confident, she had to constantly hear praise for her beauty. She changed dresses, jewelry, hairstyles five or six times a day. She lived in front of her huge gloomy mirror, which was specially made according to her drawing. She spent long hours in front of him, day and night, looking at her reflection. It was the only door she managed to open, the door to herself. All women smile when they see themselves in the mirror, but she remained calm and silent. Dressed in red velvet trimmed in black and white, adorned with pearls, Erzsébet spent long hours in a room lit by candelabra alone with herself - with an elusive self, whose many faces she never managed to embody in one image.

Why did not Elizabeth sacrifice to the goddess Kali, about whom she, who lived in that era, could hardly know, but whose cult she unconsciously sent, not a single man? Perhaps a drop of Bengali blood, the blood of a distant eastern country where a cruel goddess ruled, told her so? Elizabeth inherited from the "Mother of Remembrance" only her sensuality and taste for blood. The awful stench didn't make her sick. Decaying corpses lay in different rooms of the castle. Even in her own room, which was always lit with a jasmine oil lamp, the floor was stained with unwashed blood. Like the ascetic priestesses of Kali, whose hands were saturated with the smell of rotting skulls, which the Ganges often throws onto its banks, Elizabeth was not confused by the smell of death. She simply interrupted him with incense.

This goddess accepted only girls as sacrifices. She became so convinced that she was right that she began to believe that everything is allowed if it brings her pleasure. She chose tall and beautiful girls. In her notebook, she wrote opposite someone's name - "she was good." This meant that the girl disappeared into a terrible abyss after her numerous predecessors. Surprisingly, Elizabeth lived in an exclusively female environment. Men made up almost half of all the servants in the castle, but they were never present at the murders. Very young maids walked around the house and the courtyard completely naked. These women brought water and firewood to the room appointed for the murder. These women remained in locked rooms alone with the Countess and her next victim.

As soon as Elizabeth arrived somewhere, she first of all looked for a suitable room for her torture. No one outside this room was to hear the screams. Like a bird on the lookout for a nest, the Countess traversed the rooms and cellars in each of the castles in search of the best place to carry out her terrible plans. Elizabeth was aware of the vicious inclinations of her aunt Clara. Nothing that we know about her makes us doubt that she herself shared her aunt's passions, rather the opposite. They saw each other and visited each other quite often. The countess also tried to have an affair with one of her servants named Jezorlav Ishtok Ironhead. He was an incredibly strong man of enormous stature, so cocky that he was able to "indecently joke and publicly debauchery" in public places. But even he was afraid of her and fled.

As for the child that Erzsebet allegedly gave birth to by a young peasant, the possible date of this event is so uncertain that it is not clear where to place this episode in her life. Perhaps this happened shortly before her marriage, when Erzsébet obtained permission from Orxoli Nadashdi to say goodbye to her mother, to whom she went accompanied by only a maid. It cannot be said that Anna Bathory was delighted with the news, but nevertheless she tried to do everything so that all sorts of rumors did not arise. She was afraid of a scandal and a possible break in a successful marriage arrangement. She must have taken her daughter secretly to one of the remote castles, possibly Transylvania, on the grounds that she had contracted a contagious disease. Anna took care of her daughter and granddaughter herself. At baptism, the newborn girl was given the name Erzhebet, and the care of her was entrusted to a woman from Cheite, who received a large allowance and vowed to take the secret of her birth with her to Grave. This woman remained in Transylvania, where her husband soon moved. A generously rewarded midwife was sent to Romania, and she was forbidden to appear in Hungary for the rest of her life. After that, Anna and Erzhebet went straight to Varanno, where it was decided to hold a wedding ceremony.

According to other sources, Erzsébet gave birth to a girl at the age of forty-nine, which is unlikely. It is also possible that she gave birth to a child during one of her husband's long absences. Didn't she seduce the groom once at a rural wedding, only to once again demonstrate the power of her charms? After all, the bride complained that she "lost such a handsome man" ... However, not very loudly - after all, "a very noble person" was involved in the case.

Sometimes a mysterious woman in a man's dress came to Elizabeth, whose name is not possible to establish. One of the servants stated in court that he once inadvertently witnessed that the countess, together with this unknown woman, tortured a young girl, whose hands were tied and bloodied so much that “it was unbearable to look at.” It was not Ilona Kochiska, as the servants knew her. Besides the fact that this woman wore men's clothes, she hid her face under a mask and, apparently, belonged to the highest circles of society.

She appeared several times, always unexpectedly. At that time, Elizabeth was about forty-five. Shortly before that, she fell in love with a peasant and even tried to persuade Ferenc Nadasdy to raise him to the nobility. She then had an affair with Ladishlash Bende, a nobleman who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Then - with a certain Turze. Everywhere she was surrounded by corrupt and vicious people. She allowed herself such expressions that you would hardly hear from another woman of her position. Especially during her bullying of girls who were losing their minds from the pain caused by the needles that the Countess drove under their nails. She walked around the room around her victim like a predatory animal, and shouted curses. By her order, the maids Dorko and Yo Ilona burned the girl's body with candle fire. The Countess laughed devilishly. The last words the unfortunate victim heard were: "More, more, more!"

Around this time, Elizabeth realized that it would be much more interesting to torture a naked girl with another woman, without maids to witness. Apparently, her unknown friend was of the same opinion. Now they indulged in their terrible entertainment together in the back rooms of the castle, unaware that several times they were accidentally caught doing this by servants and maids who fled the estate without even demanding their salary. These people remained silent until the very trial.

The Hungarians built their castles on the impregnable Carpathian rocks no less than on the plain. Fortress walls were often erected in the form of flowers or "stars that fell to the ground", as can be seen by looking at von Pürkenstein's book, published in Autsburg in 1717. Plain fortresses were most often built rectangular or square, like Illawa, and were surrounded by moats. Later fortresses were built in the Byzantine style with onion domes on lookout towers. The oldest castles made of gray stone, the construction of which began under Charlemagne, were located on mountain slopes and did not have moats. They had few windows and, in general, a place to live, but a huge number of spacious cellars and underground passages. This was also the castle of Cheyte, in which Erzsebet Bathory spent most of her serene life. She liked the thick stone walls that hid from prying eyes and ears everything that happened behind them, low ceilings and the castle itself, located on top of a bare hill. She and her husband owned at least sixteen castles, but it was this one, the most remote and gloomy, that Elizabeth chose as her residence. There was another argument in favor of this choice: Çeite was located on neutral territory near the Austro-Hungarian border. The countess was also attracted by the sinister atmosphere of these places. She seemed to feel safe here. The castle was surrounded by forests inhabited by owls, wild animals and sorcerers - she could hardly have found a more suitable place to live. The countess stayed at Illawa, Bezko and other castles only when necessary. Cheite was the main lair of her sadism. In the basement of the castle, right under the foundation stone, lay the remains of a woman. According to the custom that existed at that time, masons buried alive the first girl they came across in order to ensure the birth of future heirs of the castle. Almost all castles stood on the bones of innocent victims. The nobility often moved from castle to castle. When the nobles got bored with life on the plain, they moved to their Carpathian possessions. Such a change of place was greatly facilitated by the summer heat. With the onset of heat, hundreds of carriages set off for the mountains along roads that ran through impenetrable forests and fast-moving rivers. On moonlit nights, the owners of the castles hunted foxes and deer, as well as the last surviving bears and aurochs, when they managed to track them down. Cellars and underground passages in these castles were numerous and extensive, even if the castle itself was small. On the vine-covered slopes of the Carpathians, the peasants stored their crops in caves, which also served as their refuge in the event of an unexpected attack by the Turks or even their compatriots, if the village did not submit to the rule of the Habsburgs.

Ferenc Nadasdy was born on October 6, 1555. He belonged to an ancient noble family with a long history. This dynasty originated in England during the reign of Edward I. His ancestors were invited by the Hungarian king to protect the country from enemies. The Nadasdis settled in western Hungary, near Scharvár and Eger near the Austrian border.

Orsholya Nadashdy took care of her son's marriage in advance. Being happily married, she believed that Ferenc should be guided by the example of his family. She rarely saw her son, who from a young age spent all his time in military exercises near Gunsch on the Austrian border. The Turks were never able to conquer this small town, whose defenders were patronized by Saint Martin. Witnesses claimed that the saint personally descended from heaven to fight the forces of the Muslims.

As for György and Anna Báthory from Eched, it was the ultimate dream for them to make their clan related to Nadasdy. Thus was decided the fate of eleven-year-old Erzhebet, who had already realized her beauty and wanted to shine at the imperial court in Vienna. Until that time, however, she had to live under the watchful gaze of Orsholi Kanizhai - a kind, but strict woman, whose lifestyle was very puritanical.

From the moment Elizabeth entered the castle gates in her father's four-horse carriage, her life changed. In the castle of her parents, she was left to her own devices. Noisy feasts and holidays were constantly taking place there, at which one could have fun and do whatever one wanted. Now entertainment has become rare. She spent her days in prayer under the supervision of a strict mentor. From the very beginning, Erzsebet hated Orshol, who made her work, never left her alone, constantly gave advice, decided what to wear, followed her every step and tried to penetrate her innermost thoughts. Life became a little easier when, in between battles, Tomas Nadasdy came to the castle. At such moments, life began to be in full swing and Orsholi did not have time to worry about the future daughter-in-law. The Archduke, who liked to have fun, always showed up with his friends without warning. But soon the old life returned. Elizabeth tried to break free. She secretly wrote to her mother. Anna, in response, begged to be patient until marriage, convinced her that after that everything would change. Elizabeth hated the castle in which he was forced to hide his beauty and youth. In her already embittered mind, plans for revenge were born. Therefore, when her husband went to fight against the Turks or went on business to Vienna or Pressburg and the Countess became the sovereign mistress of Çeite, her cruel and vengeful character could not but manifest itself.

Orsola decided to take Erzsebet to Leka Castle in the wild Tatras. There, the girl had the opportunity to remember a little childhood. She rode in the saddle along the forest paths, absorbed the mystical forces of nature. It makes no sense to say that Orsola owned many other castles, the most beautiful of which was Sarvar. All of them, however, were located on the plain. Orsholya suffered from a disease, which in those days was given little attention - she did not tolerate heat well. In Lek, the castle was located high in the mountains, where the air was fresh and a cool wind always blew, and was so inaccessible that, once settled there, it was difficult to decide to move again: this required a real well-equipped expedition. In addition, the Nadashdi loved this castle ... And they stayed in it forever: a double statue depicting spouses can be seen there today.

Ferenc Nadasdy was slow to marry, he had enough to do without a wedding. But he was the only son in the family. In addition, Orsholya believed that happiness is possible only in marriage. She taught Elizabeth a thousand sciences: what orders should be given, how to keep the dishes clean, how to make the laundry smell of saffron, how to iron and bleach shirts ... In those days, the mother-in-law's upbringing of the future daughter-in-law was in the order of things. In addition, Orsholya taught her to read and write, just as her own husband had once done with her. In a word, it cost her considerable efforts to make a daughter-in-law out of a silent child, corresponding to her taste. When her beloved Ferko came to Leka or to Shavar in the summer, a little pale girl with restless eyes looked at him. He resisted, but was told that his mother needed help and company, that, due to poor health, she did not have long to live (this was true - Orsholya died shortly after his marriage) and that, among other things, marriage is the key to happiness . After spending a little time, Ferenc again left his mother. Seething with malice, Elizabeth again reluctantly took up teaching and housekeeping. To the surprise of Orsholi, she acquired some of the virtues of the Amazon - she was not averse to starting a fuss with the local boys and galloping headlong through the sown fields, just like the daughter of the ataman of the robbers.

This continued until that very day in 1571, when Bishop Iloshvay of Cracow formally engaged her to Ferenc Nadasdy. She was 12, he was 17. After the engagement ceremony, he left again. Elizabeth did not need to change religion. Firstly, because it did not matter much, and secondly, she belonged to the Bathory family, which had recently converted to Protestantism. Despite the fact that Ferenc helped the Catholic Habsburgs and even later founded a Catholic monastery, the Nadasdies were also Protestants.

The famous poet Paliy Fabricius composed a dithyramb on the occasion of the birth of Ferenc, in which he predicted that the descendant of Nadashdi would become the "scourge of the Turks" and the patron of the arts - all this came true. The prediction that he would often catch colds and suffer from headaches also came true. The Moon and Mercury in Libra predisposed him to literature and prophesied his marriage to a beautiful girl - and the stars were not mistaken in this. It must be assumed that the poet said these words in order to please Ferenc's parents. Had he known that he would grow out of Elizabeth, he most likely would not have changed his predictions.

The castle in Čejte, erected in the 13th century, has always belonged to the crown of Hungary and Bohemia. Prior to Nadashdi, it was owned by the emperor's adviser, Count Orshag. And after the death of Erzhebet Bathory, Cheite became the property of her children. Later, the royal family sold the castle - along with Beko - to Count Erdodi for 210 thousand florins. In 1707, the troops of the Austrian emperor occupied it, but not for long. In 1708, he was in the hands of the rebellious Ferenc Rakoczi.

By tradition, the most beautiful and most convenient place was chosen for wedding celebrations. Leka and Cheite, located in a mountainous area and almost impregnable, were not very suitable for such a holiday. Therefore, all the invitees went to Varanno, located on the edge of the plain. It was here that on May 8, 1575, the wedding of Ferenc Nadaszdi and Erzsebet Bathory was celebrated. An event happened that was predetermined by her fate on the day of her birth. Elizabeth at that time was not even 15 years old.

It was wonderful spring weather. At this time, peasants from the village also celebrated weddings. The girls, adorned with flower wreaths and yellow beads, danced in a circle in the shape of the sun. In their songs, they sang of girlish beauty: “Know: you were not born by an earthly woman, you appeared to the world from the dew of a rose on Trinity Day.” The girl in the castle of Varanno, frozen in anticipation, did not at all resemble a rose on Trinity Day. Just like any other flower. Among the noble ladies of Hungary at that time it was not customary to hide the natural complexion under blush. Elizabeth was wearing a snow-white robe trimmed with pearls. The whiteness of her skin was set off by dark hair and huge black eyes. In the eyes of Elizabeth shone pride, like smoldering coals, ready to flare up at any moment. That morning, she would have had a hundred reasons to burst into another fit of anger, while the ladies-in-waiting fussed around the mistress, adjusting her huge wedding dress. This incredible outfit was not quite Hungarian and at the same time not quite oriental in style. Satin bumps rose among the pearl diamonds. Larger pearls - in the form of earrings and jewelry on the belt - made the bride even more beautiful. Starched silver ruffles emphasized the bottomless depth of the young bride's black eyes. Puffy sleeves ended in narrow cuffs, from which Elizabeth's hands peeked out. From the inside, talismans were embroidered all over the wedding dress: so that the young woman would be loved, so that she would give her husband an heir, so that she would be liked, always liked, so that she would not lose her majestic beauty over the years.

And now the darkness of the spring night seeped into the windows of the castle in Varanno, and below all the songs and dances did not subside. The woman, with wide-open eyes, motionless on the marriage bed, in the arms of Ferenc Nadashdy, was undoubtedly the demon itself, even if it was a “white demon”.

The fearless warrior Nadashdi was always afraid of his young wife, whom in each of his return home - under his mother's roof - he found noticeably matured and prettier. Even though she was fifteen on her wedding day, Nadashdi did not succeed in completely subordinating the proud woman to her will. Incredible, but true: although it was a union of the two most noble families of Hungary, very few details have come down to us regarding their marriage.

A letter sent from Prague by Emperor Maximilian, signed by him with his own hand, in which he blessed the young, has been preserved. And no other document. Unless, of course, do not count the inventory of given gifts. Maximilian sent as a gift to the newlyweds a golden jug with rare wine and two hundred gold thalers, the Empress - an amazing work of forged gold, so that the young could drink precious wine from one bowl, and in addition, oriental carpets embroidered with silk and gold. Rudolf, king of the Magyars, also sent his gifts. It was quite a traditional festival for the Hungarian nobility. Much was drunk and eaten. The halls shone with lights, everyone danced and had fun until they dropped, the gypsy orchestras, not knowing they were tired, played in the castle and in the courtyard. And, as usual, the celebrations dragged on for more than a month. Sometimes Elizabeth came out to the guests, even more arrogant and impregnable. And no one knew what anxiety tormented the majestic lady. Then she and Ferenc went to Çeite to set up a family nest. Elizabeth herself chose this place, obeying some obscure craving for solitude and the secret urges of her incomprehensible soul.

The valley in the gorge, where the Vah river carried its waters, lay at the very foot of the Lesser Carpathians. Vineyards are spread on the slopes: in those places they made excellent wine, in no way inferior to Bordeaux. On one of the slopes there is a village - white houses with wooden balconies and roofs. There were cornfields all around. An uncomplicated old church towered over the village. The path from the village led directly to the castle, located higher on the hill. There was not a single tree on that hill - only boulders and smaller stones. Only here and there came across stunted plants, fairly battered by winter weather. Above rose the forest, in which there were lynxes, wolves, foxes and martens.

Çeite Castle was open to all winds. They built this small structure thoroughly: hiding in it, it was possible to repel any attack. But you can't call it that convenient. Ancient foundations (all that remained of buildings erected long before the 14th century) underground passages made up an eerie labyrinth. On the smoky walls of the cells in the dungeon, you can still make out some inscriptions, mainly dates and crosses. They say that they were all made by the hand of girls who languished here in captivity. To this day, peasants cross themselves as they pass by the collapsed castle walls. It seems that another moment - and the dying cries of the unfortunate victims will reach your ears. It was in this place that Erzhebet settled after the wedding with two ladies-in-waiting, chosen by her mother-in-law, maids and Orshola Nadashdi herself. Ferenc again went to the battlefield. And his young wife had one concern - to bring the warrior an heir. The nights in Varanno were stormy and passionate, but every time the mother-in-law turned to her daughter-in-law with the same question, she shook her head. It is unlikely that Elizabeth was pleased that she was treated like a mare, from whom thoroughbred foals are expected. She spent whole days wandering around the castle. She could not bring beauty: Orsholya treated such activities with obvious disapproval. In the absence of her husband, Elizabeth was frankly bored.

Every morning her face was whitened with incredible care. Styling flowing hair was for Elizabeth, as for most women, the greatest joy and perhaps her favorite pastime. She carefully monitored the whiteness of her skin and most of all dreamed of people who would make this whiteness simply flawless. In those days, the Hungarians were universally known as great connoisseurs of the corresponding drugs, from which the most fragrant balms were made. In a special room next to the sleeping chambers of Elizabeth, stoves were installed for heating water, and the maids endlessly stirred thick greenish ointments in pots. Almost the only topic of conversation in the room was the miraculous effect of this or that drug. Waiting for the next miracle ointment to be prepared, Elizabeth gazed intently at her reflection in the mirror. She wanted to be the best of all. She really was beautiful with some incredible, blinding beauty generated by inexhaustible sources of eternal darkness.

Elizabeth was often unwell, and she surrounded herself with a whole legion of maids, who at the first call brought the hostess a special potion that relieves headaches, or let her breathe steam over a special composition made from mandrake. Everyone thought that the attacks of faintness would pass with the advent of the baby, and in order to bring this happy event closer, Elizabeth was strongly advised to take a lot of other drugs, including all kinds of roots, even remotely resembling a human figure. On her bed among the sheets were many talismans. But Orsholya every time looked at her daughter-in-law with undisguised sadness: as before, not a single encouraging word came from her lips. After unpleasant meetings with her mother-in-law, Elizabeth returned to her chambers, taking out her anger on the maids. She stuck needles into the unfortunate. When she got tired of it, she threw herself on the bed and fought in a frenzy, then, ordering to bring two or three peasant girls who were healthier, she bit and scratched them incredibly, violently biting into the young flesh with her sharp teeth. And the incomprehensible happened: while the victims of Elizabeth fought in terrible convulsions, her own pain receded for a while.

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