Blood. Murder. Torture. Vampirism. Serial killer. Lady Gaga.

A few words that spring to mind when one thinks of Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous Hungarian noblewoman from deepest Transylvania, the home of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. What a surprise, then, to find a link within my own family to this infamous murderess …

Its been a while since I’ve written one of my spooky stories in time for Hallowe’en (and if you’re new here, you can check them all out here) but after some intense research, I’m back with another doozy of a connection. Once again, it comes with a word of caution. Don’t take this as board-certified genealogical standard research. Just for funsies!

If we scuttle up my father’s tree – ignoring a few rickety bridges that would make even Indiana Jones take pause – we end up in the Late Middle Ages of central and eastern Europe. A time of famine, plaques and endemic warfare. Later, the rise of the Ottoman Empire interrupted trade with the East, thus causing Western Europe to go out and explore the world. (A huge simplification, but go with me.)

In 1454 Kazimierz IV, King of Poland married Erszébet (Elizabeth) von Habsburg in Krakow. Her father, Albrecht, had been King of Bohemia and King of Hungary (courtesy of his father-in-law), and King of the Romans before his death. Kazimierz and Erszébet were my 15 x great-grandparents via their son Ulászló (Ladislaus). However, they also had another son, Zygmunt. He held various dukedoms, but then became King of Poland, Grand Prince of Lithuania after the death of his brother. He married an Italian noblewoman by the name of Bona Sforza. Their daughter, Anna, married the King of Poland & Grand Duke of Lithuania, Stephen. His native name was István Báthori de Somlyó. He had a sister, also called Anna, who had married a distant cousin of hers named György Báthori de Ecsed. They were rich. Incredibly rich. And held land and estates across Hungary. They had a daughter, Erszébet, who went on to marry a Hungarian Count by the name of Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld. Almost as wealthy as his wife’s family, the union brought two powerful families together in a melding of money and land. But as much as Erszébet was educated and worldly, Ferenc could barely read or write – making his name on the battlefield and he even became known as the Black Knight of Hungary. For him, the sword was far mightier than the pen – especially against those pesky Ottoman Turks.

After her parents and then husband died, Erszébet was one of the richest women in Europe. It wasn’t a surprise, then, that the rumour mill kicked into high gear. Stories of a salacious nature began to circulate: her willingness to educate the daughters of local nobility became tales of sexual frenzy (although nobody minded too much when it was just the daughters of peasants who she employed). Not just perverted lusts, however, but draining girls of their blood to sate her own unnatural desires. Covering them with honey and ants. Stabbing them with pins and scissors. Burning them with tongs. Freezing them in icy water. Over time these tales have become corrupted more and more until she has become a demonic predator, a vampiric beast searching for eternal youth in the veins of her over 650 victims.

Although long discredited by academics and historians, the image of Erszébet as Europe’s first/most prolific serial killer has taken lodge in the brains of many. Even recently, the character of Countess Elizabeth Johnson in American Horror Story is clearly inspired by Erszébet.

Erszébet died imprisoned in her own castle (well, one of her castles) in 1614. Her fortune at first passed to her children, but they were also driven from their native country, and her estates defaulted to the Hungarian crown; much to her chagrin – probably – as she was more likely to support her nephew, Gabor, who was the Prince of Transylvania (Transylvania had come under the KIngdom of Hungary in 1009, and gained semi-independance as the Principality of Transylvania by 1570 and became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire and never gained true independence) than the Habsburg rulers of Hungary.

So not a bad addition to the series on my spooky ancestors (or in this case the niece of my 1st cousin 15 x removed!) …

Happy Hallowe’en all!