A Cinematic Lookbook for
The Blood Countess
By Bella Alexander-Kemble
Table of Contents Elizabeth Bathory: - life story....................................................Pg. 3 - violent tendencies.....................................Pg. 4 Moodboard Pt. 1..........................................Pg. 5 Character & Costume Design......................Pg. 7 Moodboard Pt. 2..........................................Pg. 9 Set Design.................................................Pg. 11 Prop Design...............................................Pg. 15 Victims & Torture.....................................Pg. 19
Elizabeth Bathory: Life Story
In either 1560 or 1561, Countess Elizabeth Báthory was born into the Báthory dynasty. The Báthory family were of high importance and nobility throughout 16th century Hungary. At the time Elizabeth’s uncle, Andrew Bonaventure Báthory, was the Voivode of Transylvania (a Voivode was the highest-ranking Hungarian official figure, in charge of a state or province of Hungary, from the 12th century through till the 16th). Because of the family’s high status, new generations of Báthory’s were often the products of inbreeding, so to keep the family bloodline “pure” and “clean”—as was the case for Elizabeth. As a result of this, the Countess suffered from terrible seizures (or epilepsy, as it is now known). The believed cure for such an ailment in these archaic times saw the epileptic drink the blood of a non-epileptic—sometimes even going as far to stew it with other bodily fluids and drink the concoction from the non-epileptic’s skull (using it as a glass or bowl), and Elizabeth was taught to do this from a young age. At aged 10, Elizabeth was engaged to Fenerc II Nádasdy (a nobleman, who would later go on to lead the Hungarian troops as Chief Commander in the war against the Ottomans), and later married at when she was 14 and Nádasdy was 19. The wedding as an extremely grand event, with over 4500 guests said to have been in attendance. As a wedding gift, Nádasdy gave his new wife his family home, the Castle of Csejte. This is where the real horror of Countess Elizabeth Báthory begins. Perhaps due to her lifelong sickness, the Countess had acquired a thirst for blood. Upon moving into their new home, Nádasdy had his men construct a dungeon for Elizabeth, made specifically to meet her every requirement. She would prey on her young handmaidens, beating and mutilating them in her custom torture chamber, oftentimes causing the young girl’s deaths. By her own personal account, Elizabeth is said to have taken over 650 victims, each of which she would record in her journal. Eventually, Elizabeth grew tired of tormenting peasant girls (whom no one apparently cared for) so she slowly increased her victim pool to include young noblewomen, who attended a ‘finishing school’ the Countess, herself, taught. As these newer victims were of high societal status concern began to grow until finally, in 1610, Elizabeth Báthory was apprehended, tried, and convicted for her horrific crimes. Her punishment was to be confined to solitude, in a tower in her own castle, until her death at aged 43.
Violent Tendencies As mentioned, Elizabeth had an affinity for torturing women, particularly young girls. Her violent tendencies were first made apparent when she began to prick her handmaidens with needles or pins, if they displeased her, drawing blood. Gradually her blood lust grew, to the point where the Countess begun to torture and kill, committing unthinkable, heinous, cruel, acts upon her victims. Here is a list of some of the more notably horrifc methods of torture and murder committed by Elizabeth Báthory: • burning/mutilating/dismembering victim’s hands • biting off pieces of victim’s flesh - in one specific case, it is believed that Elizabeth forced a victim to cook and eat part of one of the girl’s breasts that the Countess had previously bitten off. • death by freezing (victims left naked and wet out in the cold wilderness overnight—or until the perish) • death by starvation • sticking of pins/needles under fingernails • leaving previously beaten victims to be eaten alive (they would be covered in honey and left out for the insects and small animals to feast on) • burning of red-hot irons, coins, and keys into victim’s flesh After the deaths of her victims, Elizabeth would drain their blood so that she could drink/ingest it. As previously stated, this is something that was believed to cure her seizures, but it has also been proposed that Elizabeth believed that by drinking the blood of the young that her own youth and beauty would be retained. As a result of her violent tendencies and horrific crimes, Elizabeth Báthory earned herself the name “The Blood Countess”.
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