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| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Elizabeth_Bathory_Portrait.jpg |
According to History.com, Elizabeth Bathory's sadistic acts of physically torturing local young ladies was officially made public on this day in around the year 1610. In the article Bathory was instructed in Satanism by an uncle and sadomasochism by an aunt. What a family!
However, a Wikipedia article doesn't mention anything about family influences other than the level of her nobility. Her nobility raises questions of conspiracy theories and also questions regarding the credibility of sources who make Bathory out to be the most prolific serial killer ever. While her horrific behavior was publicly ignored for years because of her position, King Mathias began seeking evidence against her. Was it because she was starting to target aristocratic daughters instead of her usual peasants or because the King owed her a lot of money and wanted a way to get out of the debt? Who knows. The article states that scholars still debate the number of her victims, her motivation and the means and extent of her methods of torture. Apparently, the popular stories of her bathing in the blood of virgins to retain her youthful appearance are probably fiction. It did say that she bit chunks of flesh from their bodies. Maybe she did think she was a vampire! Pretty scary either way.
The basic truth here is still true today; wealthy people with social status and political connections are punished less severely (if they're prosecuted and punished at all) than people without those particular assets. However, kings overrule countesses, so eventually Bathory was arrested and sentenced to house arrest for her crimes. Powers of the rich and connected are the ultimate power, not magic or supernatural powers, when it comes to getting away with torture and murder, or as Bram Stoker suggested in Dracula, the power of solid teamwork and ample financial resources can overcome anything.
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