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A review by noahsentireass
The Bloody Countess: The Atrocities of Erzsebet Bathory by Valentine Penrose
5.0
Valentine Penrose--if you aren't familiar with this very cool queer surrealist you /must/ become so--does a fabulous job capturing the macabre legend of Erszebet Bathory, the original inspiration for Dracula and the vampire lore we see today!
I would like to emphasize the fact that what we "know" about this 16th century Hungarian countess (the bathing in blood and mass murder) is a thing of myth and folklore with no substantiated evidence. Do some digging yourself! was it more likely that Erszebet was a powerful woman, who owned more land in Hungary than the king himself, treated her servants cruelly (didn't literally every royal?), was very odd, performed pagan rituals and magic, was always surrounded by a gaggle of women, and was probably a lesbian and therefore was a threat and an enigma to powerful (or power hungry) men OR she was absolutely and totally unhinged, tortured and murdered almost 700 young girls, and bathed in their blood to stay young and beautiful? The blood baths weren't added to the legend until over a hundred years after Erszebet lived. The accusations of mass murder and "evidence" in the form of "catching her red handed" came from the greedy man, Thurzo, who's land bordered her own. It seems to me like several men conspired to ruin this woman's life and legacy.
more info on Valentine Penrose:
https://www.thedementedgoddess.com/valentine-penrose-ravages-brief-caresses/
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4419&context=gradschool_dissertations
I would like to emphasize the fact that what we "know" about this 16th century Hungarian countess (the bathing in blood and mass murder) is a thing of myth and folklore with no substantiated evidence. Do some digging yourself! was it more likely that Erszebet was a powerful woman, who owned more land in Hungary than the king himself, treated her servants cruelly (didn't literally every royal?), was very odd, performed pagan rituals and magic, was always surrounded by a gaggle of women, and was probably a lesbian and therefore was a threat and an enigma to powerful (or power hungry) men OR she was absolutely and totally unhinged, tortured and murdered almost 700 young girls, and bathed in their blood to stay young and beautiful? The blood baths weren't added to the legend until over a hundred years after Erszebet lived. The accusations of mass murder and "evidence" in the form of "catching her red handed" came from the greedy man, Thurzo, who's land bordered her own. It seems to me like several men conspired to ruin this woman's life and legacy.
more info on Valentine Penrose:
https://www.thedementedgoddess.com/valentine-penrose-ravages-brief-caresses/
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4419&context=gradschool_dissertations