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.
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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
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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
50 min
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1 h et 12 min
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48 min