In this episode, Gideon and Kathy delve into the sordid, gory story of Countess Erzsebet (the Hungarian variation of Elizabeth) Bathory, a/k/a “The Blood Countess.” Born into an aristocratic family with lots of in-breeding in 1560 in the Kingdom of Hungary (an area that is part of Slovakia today), Bathory came to believe that blood was the tonic that could help her achieve eternal youth, and she ended up torturing and killing up to 650 young maidens, in hopes of preserving her smooth, alabaster skin. She used many methods of luring maidens to the castle, and even more methods of extracting the young women's blood - including torture devices like the Iron Maiden. She drank blood, bathed in blood, and even forced a few women to eat their own flesh. Apart from these horrific acts, Bathory was very adept at running and defending her massive estate, and even indulged in meaningful philanthropy. The story of Bathory was an inspiration of Bram Stoker when he wrote "Dracula" (in addition to the Romanian Vlad the Impaler). Bathory was also a model for many characters in literature and film, including the Queen in Snow White. It may not be a surprise that Bathory is also a muse for several heavy metal bands from around the world.

Is Erszebet Bathory the Baddest of all of our Bad Elizabeths so far? Does mental illness mitigate how bad she was, or was she simply misunderstood?

Later, Actress, director, writer, composer, and polyglot, Julie Delpy joins the discussion. You may know her from many things, notably for acting in Linklaters beloved films “Before Sunrise," “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight”, she even earned Oscar nominations for Best Screenplay for the latter two. Gideon and Kathy talk to Julie about her 2009 film “The Countess,” which tells Bathory’s story. Delpy talks about her first encounter with a real life Bathory when she was young, shooting in the actual castles where torture took place, AND the challenges of acting and directing while wearing a very restrictive corset. Julie Delpy can currently be seen on the Netflix series, “Hostage,” and soon in director Rucen Ostlund’s latest black comedy, “The Entertainment System is Down” alongside actors Keanu Reeves, Kristen Dunst and Delpy's “Countess” co-star, Daniel Bruhl.

This is the last episode of "Bad Elizabeth" of 2025, thanks to all who helped us make this series a success including - and especially - the listeners! We are taking a short hiatus, and will have more episodes in the new year, featuring more questionable Elizabeths. Exciting things ahead, please continue to give us those five star reviews, and spread the word! We really appreciate it.

----------------------------------------

Hosted by Gideon Evans & Kathy Egan-Taylor

Producer & Engineer: Will Becton / Executive Producer: Amber Becton

Theme Song Composed by Alexis Cuadrado & Danny Gray

Recorded @ Jett Road Studios

----------------------------------------

Sources:

Bathory

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blood-countess-elizabeth-bathory-slovakia-serial-killer-new-theory/

Countess Elizabeth Bathory: The Life and Legacy of History's Most Prolific Female Serial Killer

Charles River Editors

https://a.co/d/3uSadXd

Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsebet Bathory by Kimberly L Kraft

https://a.co/d/dHnLGdM

The Countess:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0496634/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B005DD7GE2/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

This episode Kathy and Gideon look at Elizabeth "Betty" Broderick whose case was chewed over by Daytime Television hosts of the 1980s like Oprah Winfrey and supermarket tabloids. Elizabeth and Dan Broderick were the couple who seemed to have it all, but once infidelity became an issue in the marriage, all hell broke loose. Betty stalked and terrorized Dan and his new girlfriend including driving her car into a house. It all ended in violence and America became obsessed with the case and consumed multiple television series and podcasts for decades after it all occurred. What is it about this case that fascinates Americans, is there something relatable or universal about the players or do Americans just love to see rich, good looking, people go down.

Our special guest is Griffin Matthews (the Flight Attendant, You, Dear White People), joining us from Madrid. His experience playing a Flight Attendant gives him special insight into that world, which is pertinent, since one of the victims was a Delta Flight Attendant. In dissecting the particulars, Griffin brings up another famous Elizabeth: Elizabeth Edwards, who took credit for building her husbands career. We also discuss with Griffin what it's like being an American transplant in Europe as well as acting in Spinal Tap 2.

----------------------------------------

Hosted by Gideon Evans & Kathy Egan-Taylor

Producer & Engineer: Will Becton / Executive Producer: Amber Becton

Theme Song Composed by Alexis Cuadrado & Danny Gray

Recorded @ Jett Road Studios

----------------------------------------

Sources:

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story

https://www.netflix.com/title/80241855

It Was Simple: The Betty Broderick Murders

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-was-simple-the-betty-broderick-murders/id1513430448

Dirty John: Betty: The Betty Broderick Story (podcast)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirty-john-season-2-the-podcast/id1513500047

The Betty Broderick Story: A Woman Scorned

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirty-john-season-2-the-podcast/id1513500047

Telling On Myself by Betty Broderick

https://a.co/d/9QOp9sC

Oprah interviews Betty Broderick

https://a.co/d/9QOp9sC

Fatal Attraction

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B8SWV9Q3/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

One Angry Betty - LA Magazine

https://lamag.com/crimeinla/one-angry-betty1/

----------------------------------------

Jett Road Studios - Website - YouTube - Instagram - Substack

Bad Elizabeth - Instagram - YouTube - Substack

Kathy and Gideon talk about the woman many consider the worst Canadian serial killer - Elizabeth "Bethe" Wettlaufer. Wettlaufer, who grew up near Woodstock, Ontario, fits into the True Crime sub-genre of Nurses Who Kill. She worked at various rehab and medical facilities and administered deadly doses of insulin to many of her older patients, but the horrible things she did didn't come to light until much later. After admitting her crimes to various people, nothing happened to her. Was this an example of "Canadian nice" or was it just that Wettlaufer didn't "look" like a killer, and therefor nobody could believe it.

We also welcome to the show, Charles Graeber, author of the best selling book "The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder" which was made into an award-winning film starring Eddie Redmayne as American Nurse Killer Charles Cullen. Graeber explains how the hospitals ignored whistleblowers, and allowed Cullen to get jobs at other facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania where he continued murdering patients. Cullen was quite possibly responsible for as many as 400 killings. And while Cullen did end up behind bars, the hospital administrators were never held accountable. Perhaps there's more than one villain in these stories...

----------------------------------------

Hosted by Gideon Evans & Kathy Egan-Taylor

Producer & Engineer: Will Becton / Executive Producer: Amber Becton

Theme Song Composed by Alexis Cuadrado & Danny Gray

Recorded @ Jett Road Studios

----------------------------------------

SOURCES:

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber

https://a.co/d/81TLJmc

The Good Nurse (film)

https://www.netflix.com/title/81260083

"Living with a Serial Killer: Elizabeth Wettlaufer"

https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/living-with-a-serial-killer/8729766680284507112/seasons/2/episodes/elizabeth-wettlaufer-episode-6/06fc97a9-48ee-3cb8-a292-ad141236f59b

"Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer: Elizabeth Wettlaufer"

https://www.primevideo.com/region/na/detail/0SX2ANK3N5DM7AY19FW6I6YXRR?ref_=atv_dp_pb_core

----------------------------------------

Jett Road Studios - Website - YouTube - Instagram - Substack

Bad Elizabeth - Instagram - YouTube - Substack