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by Bran Stoker. Since our dear Erzibeth Bathory, by many, is believed to be one of the main influences of Stoker's Vampire Classic, I thought it apt to include the Mercury Theater intro into the Serial Killer Podcast's final episode in her saga. This is episode number H. So, if you haven't listened to the other seven episodes in this series, please do so before listening to this one.
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I really appreciate listener feedback, so please feel free to post reviews, comments or questions there. And so it is, dare listener, that everything comes back to the beginning. As the famous song lyric goes, we are back where this epic tale began, alongside Palatine Thursau and his men, by Castle Setche on the 27th of December 1610. The same day that Thursau set out towards Setche, his young wife, Countess Ershebeth Jobur, sent a letter to him.
The letter reads as follows. My lovely soul, dearest, as you requested I sent a kitchen maid. They say that she is still the same, but whether it's true or not, only God knows. Well, whatever commandment has been broken, then it is very likely that after this it will easily be done, and it is possible that these people provide false testimony against them.
Who knows what is at the castle? They say that she does the beating-flogging herself with her hand. And if she had to meddle, and if she was surely, then it could have been thoroughly investigated, as your grace commanded. I will be taking care of matters here, with all my might, my lovely soul, my beloved, and my lord." End quote.
The night before the Palatine arrived to apprehend the Countess Bathory, she was well aware that the net was closing in around her. She was desperate, and along with one of her few friends, the mistress of Miava, she went out into the clear night with a scribe. The scribe was ordered to transcribe the following spell. Help, O, help, you clouds!
Help, clouds! Give health, give Ershebeth Bathory health, send, O, send forth, you clouds, ninety cats. I command you, leader of the cats, let you hear my command, and assemble them together, from wherever they may be. Whether they are on the other side of the mountain, beyond the water, beyond the sea, that these ninety cats come to you, and from you, should go straight into the heart of the King Machas, and also the heart of the Palatine.
In the same way, should they chew to pieces the heart of the Red Magiri, and the heart of Moses, the Geraki, so that Ershebeth Bathory shall not suffer any grief, whole eternity, so it is done." End quote. Spellcraft and Dark Magic did little to help Lady Bathory. As we remember from episode one, when Thursos men entered Chechen Manor that night, they found the bodies of dead or dying girls stroned about, all having suffered from torture, beaten, flogged, burned, and stabbed. Within a few hours, additional bodies and victims would be found within the castle itself.
At least thirty known witnesses, townspeople and servants of Thursos arrived to take part in what was clearly a long-awaited spectacle. The Manor house, located in town, was thoroughly searched, and then the party of armed men escorted the counters up the hill to Castle Sache. She was accompanied by the whole crowd. Witness testimony from those present revealed what happened next.
That procession went directly to the castle keep, the central fortification containing both main tower as well as dungeon. A search for bodies began, and the group immediately found what they were looking for. While the counters stood by, watching in silence, the men came upon the body of a dead girl. According to Sache Castle Proweviser, Michael Hervoith, a coat was placed over the body, and it was taken out on a cart.
The men gathered about to inspect the dead bodies down in the dungeon, more closely. Hervoith, reported seeing cruel injuries to the victims' cheeks, shoulder blades, and hands, with large wounds inflicted along with severe birds. Their flesh, he alleged, had been torn out with pliers. The men soon found another girl, who had terrible wounds but who was still alive.
When asked who caught her, she said the woman named Katellin had ripped out the black and blue marks and the festering flesh with pliers. The Lady Naddasty, i.e. Ershebut, had joined in and beaten her with her fists so severely that her right arm and hand was destroyed. An older woman, who was still alive, was also found.
Her feet had been bound together because she had refused to hand over her daughter to the Lady with own Naddasty. Ershebut was led back to her manor house while the men continued their search of the castle. She gave a statement in which she maintained her innocence, claiming any wrongdoing was a sole activity of her servants. The four servants apprehended with her, the three-old women and figs show, were held overnight.
The next day, they were taken in chains to Bicha for formal proceedings. On the 30th of December, Lady with own Naddasty was taken back up to Castle Setche and formally imprisoned there. While her accomplices now held in the prison of Bicha, and their confessions tortured out of them before the trials began. As her servants were tortured and confessing in Bicha, the Countess was imprisoned deep in the very same dungeons at Castle Setche, where she had tortured and killed so many young girls.
The local priests, who up until then had been her servants, went to her to offer consolation and to make sure she didn't commit suicide. According to one of the priests, the following occurred. Immediately upon seeing the priests, however the counters flew into a rage. You priests are the cause of my captivity, she spoke furiously in Hungarian.
Reverend Zajarayas immediately apologized to her in Hungarian. His apology calmed her down momentarily, to which she then said to him, You might not be at fault, but the pastor of Setche is. Reverend Zajarayas had obviously dealt with her before. He spoke softly and said to Carmelunatic or wild animal, your grace should not believe this.
I can prove with witnesses that it is so, she said. At this point, Reverend de Ponekhanush, who had managed to catch up with the conversation through his interpreter, declared, I have preached God's word, and if it caused your grace to examine your conscience once, I have nothing to do with it because I never named you. The counters replied testily in her native Hungarian. Then you, you will die first.
Then Mr. Magiri, you too have brought all this trouble upon me and are the cause of my arrest. What? She said, don't you believe me that because of this situation a revolt will soon take place?
The Hajduk, who have already gathered beyond the Thais River, have written to me yesterday that even the prince of Transylvania will avenge my wrong. Ponekhanush, remained silent as this was spoken. According to him, his interpreter did not relate everything that she said in Hungarian. However, the pastor noted that the counters now wish to send off letters and that she called for a night.
She said nothing out loud, and no one questioned her as to what she was doing. Ponekhanush thought a man whom she called was someone from her entourage. The fact that she could still summon servants sent secret messages and make threats made him very nervous. Meanwhile, the counters continued to accuse the priests of being the sole and unjustified cause of her imprisonment, maintaining her innocence.
Reverend Zahrayas attempted to change the subject. Do you believe that Christ was born for you, died and rose for the forgiveness of sins? She is shot back. I also know Peter Faber.
Faber was a Catholic priest and co-founder of the Jesuit order who worked to bring Protestants, such as these ministers back to the Roman Catholic Church. What she said would have been insulting to them. Immediately, Reverend Zahrayas gave her the holy Bible and asked her to read it in prison, to which she retorted, I needed not. Meanwhile, still stewing over her past remark, Ponekhanush demanded, I want to know who has caused your grace to have so much contempt for me by claiming that I am the cause of your detention.
She turned to him and said flatly, I will not tell you. Her temper suddenly flared, now you have angered me. She leveled her gaze at Reverend Zahrayas as well, and soon both of you will have angered me. I do not wish to anger you.
Ponekhanush persisted. I only wish to clear myself of the accusation of having been the reason for your detention. I have been a mistress and mother to all my staff. She snapped back.
I have never been treated right, neither in the small nor the large by either of you. Ponekhanush immediately insisted that she think well of him because he prayed to God for forgiveness of her sins. She looked at him for a moment, then said in her most patronizing way, to ask God for the salvation of someone else, especially in a special case. It is a good work.
Meanwhile, Pastor Nicolao's Baroshios, who had been present on the night of the raid, would see the dead or dying girls for himself, and had heard from the still living that they had been forced to eat their own cut-out flesh. He stood by in silence while she went into another rage. Unifarias and wicked priests are the cause of my captivity, but I gave my brother, Garbor Bathory, a message, and you'll soon have realized that you and your children will regret my fate. Your grace, Baroshios suddenly spoke up.
Please do not despair, but rather kindly accept this call to repentance and partake only communion. Her face fell for a moment. It looked almost like a pout. How could I do this when all of you are my enemies?
Baroshios said gently. Your grace is surely aware of what all has already been discovered here, and what terribleness has been confessed under torture by your old women and the servant Fisko. Her expressions suddenly hardened again. I will not admit to anything, she flirted, even if they tortured me by fire.
So then Baroshios said, somewhat confused. After considering all of this, you still stand by your statement that you are innocent and that only the old women committed these horrendous deeds. Yes, she declared. I stand firmly by it and nothing else.
Then why? He wanted to know. Did you allow your old women to do such things? Her answer shocked all of the priests.
I did it, she said, because even I myself was afraid of them. In a document dated 28 July, 1611, notary Andrash of Karashtur, dutyfully recorded the testimonies of 224 people. Court officials, servants, administrators, townspeople, clergy and nobles from all throughout Erzibat's vast holdings. The king also received a report of the testimonies given under torture by the Countess' four accomplices.
In some, the results, unfortunately, were not what anyone wanted to hear, including King Machios. In a shocking ton of events, these witnesses laid bare the putrid, dirty laundry of not only the Countess, but also the outwardly illustrious Batharina Dasky families and neighboring nobility in no uncertain terms. Hungary's beloved war hero, Feerank Naddasti, was exposed as a villain who brutalized servants taught his wife bizarre torturing games and covered up her murders. Personnel from Erzibat's court and towns, respected squires and nobles were accused of assisting in the murders by procuring girls, in some cases their own relatives, engaging in a cover-up or turning a blind eye.
As the allegations continued to pour out, suddenly Imre Magiri was on the defensive. He and young Paul Naddasti had to lobby intensively now to protect their own staff against accusations of complicity or cover-up. The king was beyond astonished, as much as he wanted to implicate Erzibat Batharina, he could not risk such terrible evidence against Hungary's national war hero, or against so many of its other nobles. That would raise the ire of too many.
Desperate, he called another tribunal of witnesses to be certain of the testimony. Besides Setchen, the worst offenses seemed to have occurred at the Batharina Dasky holdings at Sarvar, Carre Stur, and Lokenhouse. Mocians quickly ordered Deputy Notary Moses Giroki to summon key witnesses from those particular holdings. Twelve were called, with the report completed on the 14th of December, 1611.
Those testifying came from the nobility and supposedly held the highest credibility. Among them were star-witnesses, including court officials Benedict De Séo and Jakkopr, Gilvasi, the two men who had rare permission to witness the Countess and her accomplices in action. To the king's dismay, these witnesses repeated exactly what had been said about the shameful going on. No mistake had been made.
At Thursau's repeated urgings now, the king finally conceded. Countess Batharina would not be brought to public trial. Relieved, Thursau immediately broke a clever deal. In light of the evidence, he recommended a sentence of Perpetuis Carceribus, or Perpetual Life imprisonment, rather than the death penalty.
However, he included a caveat to please King Matias. Legally, it would be as though Countess, Ershebeth Batharina, never existed. Matias' death to her would be immediately cancelled and a small portion of her lands would cede to him. Also, any documentation regarding the Countess, including all legal records of the incriminating proceedings, would be sealed.
Finally, by order of Parliament, the name of Ershebeth Batharina would never again be spoken in polite society. King Matias agreed to the terms. As a result, the Batharina and Ndasty reputations, including Ferengths and National Armors, remained intact. Sarvar passed the Paul Ndasty, and Ershebeth's son-in-law were appointed permanent administrators of her other estates until Paul came of age.
The lands of Protestant nobles were temporarily preserved against undue Catholic advances. And in 1612, the following year, King Matias was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. For everyone, the news was good, except for Countess Ershebeth. Stone Masons arrived shortly thereafter to carry out her final sentence.
She was never to be let out of confinement. Most likely, she remained below in the dungeon of the Castle Keep. She was walled in, with only a single space left between the bricks, large enough for the passage of food, supplies and excrement. Likely, during the first few months after imposition of her final sentence, she received visitors.
Her daughter, Cattlein, for instance, who brought supplies such as candles, parchment, ink, and favorite food items. As her sons-in-law, Counts-drugeth-doh-manai, and Zrinyi, assumed full responsibility for administering her estates, there must have been at least a few visits in which they, or their representatives, inquired after details. We also know that Georgi Thars' wife, Ershebeth-Zhobur, paid more than a few visits in January of 1612. Each time that Countess-Zhobur visited, however, she left, with more than what she came with.
She was systematically raiding Countess Bathory's coffers, including her jewelry. The plundering was so bad, in fact, that the Lord Chief Justice, Count Sigismunder-Furgach, writing on behalf of the Supreme Court of Hungary, finally ordered Georgi Thursau to put a stop to his wife's pilfering. Slowly, the visits diminished, and people began to forget about Countess. No longer in charge of the estates, her importance faded.
Of course, she continued to write letters, protesting her innocence, and demanding an appeal, but no one answered. It is said that when supplies of parchment ended, she began writing on the walls. While by no means an ideal living condition, the Countess did have enough food, water, and air to survive. In her fifties now, she would still live another two and a half years behind the wall, at an already advanced age for the toym.
How she spent those last years is hard to say. Likely she no longer enjoyed the amenities, of a full staff, and had to eat the same food as the small crew assigned to guard her and maintain the property. For a noble woman accustomed to lavish feasting, the simple fear of commoners must have been both insulting and revolting to her, at least initially. It is also likely that, without the benefit of any ladies in waiting, the very act of dressing and undressing herself would prove a nightmare, for this noble who probably never had to do it herself, and perhaps did not even know how.
Also, given the complexities of 16th and 17th century female clothing, the elaborate, rare tying drawstrings of both her dress and corset would have been impossible to undo without assistance. Had she been imprisoned in one of these elaborate gowns, the ghastly possibility arises that she might never have been able to remove it after being walled into the dungeon. Eventually, however, Erzeba herself knew the end was coming. We know that she had no great affection for her sons-in-law.
As matters currently stood, upon her death both men plan to assume permanent control over the sizable properties they were administering on behalf of her son and two daughters. Thus, on the 31st of July, 1614, three weeks before she died, two priests from the Estergom Bishopric, Imre Agrienshi, and Andrash Karbaliach, arrived at Castle Satcha by her request to witness and notarize an addendum to her last will and testament in order to keep property and wealth away from her sons-in-law. Erzeba's attempts to keep property away from Georgi drew Geth the Hominai were likely in vain. A little less than three weeks later, on Thursday 18 August 1614, 16-year-old Paul Nardasti transferred one-third of the Dominion of Satcha and back off over to him.
Three days later, on the night of Sunday 21 August 1614, Countess Erzeba's battery was concerned about her poor circulation. She told her bodyguard, Look how cold my hands are. Her attendant told her that it was nothing and that she should simply lie down. With that, she put her pillow under her legs and then began singing with a beautiful voice.
She died two hours after midnight, apparently in her sleep. Erzeba was buried at the church in Chechen, some say in a crypt beneath the church while others claim the local cemetery on the 25th of November. It is said, however, that the residents soon began to complain that the infamous lady was lying under holy ground and demanded that she be removed. Erzeba's remains were thus supposedly taken back to the Bathory family estate in 1617.
Where she lies today, however, is something of a mystery. On the 7th of July 1938, the crypt at the Satcha Church was excavated, but Countess's tomb could not be found. In 1995, the family crypts at Nir-Battor were opened, but no remains of the blood Countess was found there either. Castle Satcha is a ruin, but still stands today.
And perhaps, if you go there on a starry moonlit night, maybe you'll see a cat's green eyes looking back at you from its dark-in-d ruined halls. What are the lights on? Go to sleep. It's all right, you can rest peacefully, that's just a sound effect.
Over there in the shadows, see? It's nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing at all.
I think it's nothing. But always remember, greatest and gentleman, there are wolves, there are vampires. Such things do exist. And with those words from my idol, Orson Welles, our tale of Erzeba's Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, comes to an end.
No other female killers come close to her depravity and evil acts. And let us hope, none ever will. I have been your host, Thomas Viborg-Thun, and this podcast would not be possible if it had not been for my dear patrons who pledged their hard-earned money every month. There are especially a few of those patrons I would like to thank in person.
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