“I want you to believe…to believe in things that you cannot.”
In 1897, Bram Stoker introduced the world to Dracula. The vampire. The legend. The inspiration for countless horror stories to come. But what inspired Dracula? Many people believe that the story is based on the infamous Vlad the Impaler of Romania. Maybe so. But what if I told you there was another, far closer to a real-life vampire than Vlad ever was. Hi, my name is Gabe Bauer, and this is Top Shelf History where we combine great stories with great drinks.
This is the Vampire Queen. It is the cocktail I have made for you based on the horrifying life of Elizabeth Báthory; the Hungarian noblewoman whose reputation was so terrifying it borders on mythical. The drink is made with Hungarian plum brandy, maraschino liqueur, grenadine, and vodka.
Elizabeth was born on August 7, 1560, to a family of Hungarian nobles. The Báthorys were one of the most prominent and wealthy families in all of central Europe and as such, Elizabeth’s young life was filled with luxury. She was educated, could speak several languages, and knew how to conduct herself as a lady and noblewoman. And like many young noblewomen of the time, Elizabeth married at the young age of 14 to a young Hungarian count named Ferenc Nadasdy on May 8, 1574. As a wedding present, he gave her a castle called Cachtice.
When war broke out between the Hungarians and the Ottomans in 1591, Elizabeth saw her husband join the Hungarian forces. His brutality on the battlefield terrified both enemies and allies alike, but his effectiveness won him adulation from the monarchy and earned him the title “the Black Knight of Hungary.” But, Elizabeth isn’t known today for her marriage or her husband’s tendency for violence. No, she’s known for being a serial killer.
Elizabeth was always thought to have tortured her servants. Some even speculate that Ferenc taught her how. But in 1601, a new sadistic influence entered her life in the purported witch, Anna Darvolya. The more time they spent together, the crueler she became. When Ferenc died in 1604 and his land holdings and all the responsibilities that came along with them were passed on to her, things escalated even quicker.
The townsfolk started to notice that girls were going missing and that there seemed to be a pattern… girls would visit the castle, and then never return. Something had to be done. They raised their grievances to the king. Hearing these accusations, King Matthias II appointed Gyorgy Thurzo to investigate and try the case. And oh the stories he uncovered…
Elizabeth of was accused torturing and killing hundreds of young girls. Some said that she kept a personal diary of her victims which listed over 650 names. Others said that Elizabeth would kill the young virgin servants and then bathe in their blood to preserve her beauty. While, the diary was never found and many historians refute the peasant claims of Elizabeth’s infamous blood baths, she was found guilty of multiple counts of murder and sntenced to home confinement for the rest of her life. The servants believed to have helped her were condemned to death.
Now, while Elizabeth Báthory seems to meet all the expectations of a real life vampire, there is another theory that has been put forward by some historians. They ask, what if Elizabeth wasn’t a vampiric murderer? What if she was a target of the king’s greed? I said earlier that Elizabeth was always thought to have abused her servants. Elizabeth, who had large swaths of land in her possession; who was hated and feared by the peasantry. These historians believe that King Matthias II exploited the hysteria surrounding Elizabeth in order to claim her land as his own.
What’s the truth? I think it most likely falls somewhere in between. But whether she was a demoness who killed out of pure sadistic evil or an abusive countess whose behavior made her the target of opportunistic nobles, Elizabeth Báthory’s mark on history is unmistakable. And bloody.
