In hindsight, I should have used this topic for the Valentine’s Day Fright Stuff. I mean, what’s more romantic than an extremely attractive woman who may or may not be a vampire but is definitely bathing in the blood of young women and probably seducing them as well? I don’t know what is, but Báthory-inspired horror just makes me think of Valentine’s Day! As a life-long vampire fan, I have a soft spot in my heart for stories inspired by the dark history of the “Blood Countess.” But let’s be fair here for a second: like most powerful but maligned women in history, much of the gruesome legend that surrounds Elizabeth Báthory is now thought to be little more than slander by her enemies. Just as her crimes were most likely a front used to strip her of her influence and independence. There’s a lack of eye witness evidence that would be alarming by modern standards, and it’s no coincidence either that one of the aspects of Báthory’s punishment for the alleged murders was the removal of all the extremely valuable holdings she gained control of following her husband’s death. (Can’t have that, now can we.) There aren’t a ton of resources I could find about Báthory that seem at least plausibly credible – one of the downsides of having your legacy defamed by history, apparently, is that your story attracts a lot of oddity and not a lot of scholarly attention. There seem to be a few history books out there that might be worth tracking down, but really it’s slim pickings. This lack of options will also be made apparent later with the books I’ll discuss. Unfortunately, not many of them are written by people of color. If you want to learn more about Báthory, though, I recommend that you check out folklore blogger and podcast host Icy Sedgwick’s fascinating podcast episode debating the truth behind the legend. It was a huge help this week! Still, despite the likelihood of her innocence, Elizabeth Báthory’s infamy (however fictional) has outlived whatever her true story may have been. And not unlike the historical figure that inspired Bram Stoker’s famous vampire, the fictional version of Báthory is more likely to live forever than the woman who inspired her. The reality of it is a bit sad (and a bit rage inducing), but at the same time, people love a story. And a beautiful murderess who bathed in the blood of hundreds of young women is quite a story. So while we give a nod to the much defamed historical Báthory, who deserved better than her fate, in this week’s Fright Stuff, we also raise a glass to her bloody fictional legacy. They tried to destroy her, but you can’t keep a bad bitch down. And we’ll be remembering Elizabeth Báthory, in one form or another, long after their names are dust. Caveat: While I was putting this newsletter together, I made the disappointing discovery that apparently When I Arrived at the Castle is out of print. I choose not to take it out of the newsletter because, again, I find Carroll’s work brilliant, and worth the effort to track down. And, thankfully, we have libraries and the glorious power of inter-library loans!
