In an unpublished story from At the Heart of History, Virginie Girod tells the bloody story of Élisabeth Báthory (1560-1614).
In 1610, in a small village in the Carpathians, in what is now Slovakia, Countess Elisabeth Báthory was sentenced to eternal prison in her own castle. She is accused of having kidnapped and murdered several dozen young women after subjecting them to the worst abuse. After her death in captivity, the case of the woman nicknamed the “bloody lady of Čachtice” inspired many legends. But did she commit all the crimes she is accused of?
Topics covered: vampire, youth, youthism, rite, superstition
At the Heart of History is a Europe1 podcast.
– Presentation: Virginie Girod
– Writing: Solène Grandclaude
– Production: Armelle Thiberge and Morgane Vianey
– Director: Nicolas Gaspard
– Composition of the credits: Julien Tharaud
– Promotion and coordination of partnerships: Marie Corpet
– Visual: Sidonie Mangin
Jacques Sirgent, Erzsebeth Bathory: the blood of the innocentWhite Truck, 2010
Kimberly L. Craft, The Private Letters of Countess Erzsébet BáthoryCreateSpace, 2011
Kimberly L. Craft, Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet BáthoryCreateSpace, 2014
Online resources:
Élisabeth Báthory, the Bloody Countess – National Geographic
“No, Countess Élisabeth Báthory did not bathe in the blood of virgin servants” – Madame Figaro
Cambridge University academic’s quest to clear Elizabeth Bathory’s name – BBC
To have :
The Countess, Julie Delpy, 2009
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