The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1985-08-01 / 8. szám
GALÉRIA HUNGARICA THE FEMALE “DRACULA” OF CSEJTHE CASTLE-by-Roger B. Goodman “You, Elizabeth, are like a wild animal. You are in the last months of your life. You do not deserve to breathe the air on Earth, nor to see the light of the Lord. You shall disappear from this world, and you shall never reappear in it again. I condemn you, Lady of Csejthe, to lifelong imprisonment in your own castle.” These words, spoken by the Lord Palatine of Hungary at the end of a sensational trial held in the small market town of Bisce on January 2,1611, marked the end of the hideous career of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, known as the “Blood Countess,” and the beginning of the legend of the Lady Vampire. Elizabeth and Báthorys Elizabeth Báthory was born in 1560 to one of Hungary’s most illustrious families. The history of the Báthory family was filled with stories of heroism and sacrifice, of great devotion and of unbelievable cruelty. Some of Elizabeth’s forebears were reputed to have been in league with Satan; some were known as madmen. All were known for the wildness and luxury of their lives. But most of all they always held positions of the highest eminence in the land because of their feats of unparallelled valour in the service of their King. Elizabeth, an unusually beautiful child, was touched by the Báthory spirit. Her childhood was a lonely one. Her closest companions were aged crones, wise in the lore of the mountains and ancient times. From them she learned magical spells, dark formulas and ancient chants. She was seen coversing with savage wolves that swept out of the forests surrounding her castle-home. She would walk unaccompanied into the dark woods and emerge much later, unharmed, with a strange smile on her quiet face. All the servants except the oldest ladies were terrified by her. The Legend Begins The Beautiful Elizabeth attracted the attention of many of the greatest nobles of Hungary. One of them, Count Ferenc Nadasdy, soon to be famous as “The Black Hero of Hungary,” won her hand. When they were married, Elizabeth was fifteen years old and the Count was twenty-six. On learning that she was betrothed, Elizabeth was heard to murmur, “So be it." That was the only comment she ever made about her marriage. After some time of celebration and partying at the castle of Csejthe, a strange pattern began to develop. When the Count was absent — and this was often, since he was constantly campaigning against the Ottoman Turks—the castle lay under a pall of silence. Elizabeth August, 1985 spent endless hours gazing at herself in long mirrors in her chamber. And she became increasingly harsh in her treatment of the servants. Every time a servant was to be punished, the Countess was on hand. Her comments were always that the steward was not sufficiently harsh in his laying on of the whip. On one noted occasion Elizabeth herself struck a young woman who had been careless in serving her. A drop of blood from the maid fell upon Elizabeth’s arm. The Countess seemed transfixed and stared at the ruddy drop as though under a spell. It was from this moment that the sinister and fearful reputation of Elizabeth Báthory began to grow. The Horror of Csejthe Castle It became terrifyingly apparent to all within the castle and in the surrounding area that the Countess had a morbid and frightening obsession: she was convinced that the only way she could remain young and beautiful was to bathe constantly in the blood of young maidens. The reality of this obsession was discovered by the people of the area when they came upon the corpse of the young maid the Countess had struck. The body was horribly slashed and mutilated. It was later verified that the young woman’s blood had been drained into a special tub and that the Countess had bathed in it. What made the story even more terrible was the fact that many young women in the vicinity who entered into the service of the Countess were seen going into the castle and were never seen or heard from again. It soon became difficult for Elizabeth to obtain female servants from nearby. So she had her retainers scour the kingdom, even to pursue young ladies of the finest families. These young heiresses would arrive at Csejthe Castle and be welcomed royally by the Countess. She would fest them and provide the most luxurious and dazzling costumes. Then one of the young ladies, dressed and combed and perfumed with particular care, would be led to a special chamber where she would be greeted by the Countess herself and several retainers. None of these young women would ever be seen again. At least the rumors and stories circulating throughout the entire realm, coupled with the disappearance of the young ladies from the great families, caught the attention of the authorities in the capital itself. And Count György Thurzo de Bethlenfalva, the Lord Palatine of Hungary, visited Castle Csejthe at the head of Royal troops. To the surprise of the Lord Palatine, the Countess denied nothing about the deaths of all the young ladies. She explained that they had died of some dread disease, and she had thought it best to keep their remains within the castle walls. She voiced great indignation that anyone felt she had done anything wrong. She was furious at the thought that the Lord Palatine, who was a cousin of hers, would actually search the castle. The Horror Unveiled In the Countess’ private chambers the soldiers found books of magic and occult ritual. But it was in the castle vaults that the real horror lay. Here were all sorts of devices of torture. Hooks, knives, iron cages, manacles which still held the lifeless bodies of many maidens. And there were devices for drawing blood from still living bodies into the great vats and tubs for storing the blood. The sight was so horrible that the veteran soldiers were sickened. Throughout all this the Countess sat wordless and still, regarding herself in her mirror and caressing her jewelry. She answered the irate accusations of the Lord Palatine with bland denials of wrongdoing; she actually threatened to call upon the King, Mathias II, to avenge this insult to her honor. The End and The Beginning The scandal and uproar caused by the revelation of the Countess' crimes were such that the matter came to trial...Because of the influence of the Bathorys and the Nadasdys, Elizabeth was spared the executioner’s axe. In the words of the Lord Palatine: “The families which have won in the eyes of the nation such high honors on the battlefields shall not be disgraced by the murky shadow of the bestial female...” But Countess Elizabeth Báthory was sentenced to be walled up in her own chamber in the castle of Csejthe. A tiny opening far up in the wall, to allow the passage of food and air, was the only outlet. And here, clad in all her finery and jewelry, Elizabeth spent the last days of her life. Thus ended the earthly story of Elizabeth, Countess Báthory. But there were then, and still are now, those who say that the Countess’ evil and restless spirit haunts the brooding forests and mountains. They claim that she is of the living dead, sleeping in a coffin during the day and at night, as a vampire, preying upon lost wayfarers and lonely foresters. And the story, as these stories always do, persists right on up to our age of electronics and high technology. Page 9
