Elizabeth Báthory: The Blood Countess of Hungary

Countess Elizabeth Báthory was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in 16th-century Hungary - and possibly history's most prolific female serial killer. Between 1585 and 1610, she allegedly tortured and murdered up to 650 young women in her castles across Hungary, all in pursuit of eternal youth and beauty.

The accusations were horrifying. Witnesses testified that Báthory would drain girls' blood and bathe in it, believing it would preserve her looks. She allegedly bit chunks of flesh from victims' faces and bodies, burned them with hot irons and pokers, froze girls naked in the snow, and forced victims to eat their own cooked flesh. Servants described dungeons filled with torture devices and bodies stacked like firewood. Some girls were kept in cages too small ...