Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory (14 page)

      For example, Szentes and Ilona Jó stated that, when a girl was reported as having stolen a gold piece, the Countess had the piece heated until red hot and then had it pressed into the girl’s hand. The Countess would stick pins and needles into the girls’ lips or under their fingernails. If the girls cried from the pain, she allegedly said, “Well, if it hurts the whore, then she can pull it out,” but if any of the girls dared remove the needle, the Countess would immediately beat them and cut off the fingers in a rage.

      Once, when Katalin Beneczky had tired from administering an uninterrupted beating, Dorottya and Ilona Jó, who had been watching, started shouting, “Hit her! Hit her again! Harder! Hit her harder!” The victim, already half dead, was finished off when the Countess herself took up a cudgel, supposedly the width of an armchair, and continued with the beating herself. She would actually have to change her shirts, as they became too blood-soaked to wear.

      Her accomplices stated that she would order János Újváry to strike the girls in the face over and over and would then order them locked up in the coalhouse to be starved for a week. Katalin Beneczky testified seeing Erzsébet take a candle to the private area of one of the girls. Although the majority of torturing took place in the washhouse or kitchen at Csejthe (no doubt, since the blood could be washed away more easily there), Szentes added that once, when the Countess was indisposed in bed, she ordered the offending girl to be brought directly to her bedchamber. There, she grabbed the girl from her bed, biting her on the face and shoulder.

      As mentioned, the Countess also ordered girls to be submerged in freezing water or doused with water in the winter weather. Most died from this treatment.

      Katalin Beneczky recounted another bizarre story that probably took place in October of 1610. When Erzsébet’s daughter, Anna (now Mrs. Zrínyi), was visiting Csejthe, the entire female staff was sent upstairs and ordered to remain there. It may be that the Countess merely wanted them out of sight or out of the way, for the mistreatment that followed appeared to be the sole doing of Dorottya Szentes. Beneczky states that Szentes held the girls “in strict captivity like criminals.” Those who objected received a cold-water dousing and were made to stand naked outside, overnight. Szentes then watched over them carefully, assuring that they be starved as further punishment. When the male servants became aware of this, they tried to sneak food to the girls. Szentes, however, prevented this, watching over the girls so carefully that no one could help: “May the thunder slay anyone who gives them something to eat!”

      Some days later, when the Countess decided to take a trip to the nearby spa at Pieštány with her daughter, she sent Katalin Beneczky to retrieve one of the girls to accompany them. From the trial transcripts, we learn that Katalin herself sometimes refused to perform beatings, such that she herself was punished so severely that she once needed a month of bedrest to recover. It is clear that Anna Darvolya, Dorottya Szentes, and Ilona Jó were the most vicious. For some reason, however, the Countess retained the meaker Katalin Beneczky in her employ—and allowed her to remain alive—despite her refusal to participate fully. In fact, Beneczky was often given the task of hiding bodies or finding new girls. Evidently, the Countess had a soft side for her. It was also said that Beneczky would sneak food to the girls at great risk to herself. In any case, she found all of the girls in deplorable condition as a result of Szentes’ actions; they had passed out from hunger, exposure and beatings.

      Returning to the Countess, Katalin said nervously, “Not a single one is in a position to travel with Your Grace.”

      Enraged with Szentes, the Countess clapped her hands together and declared that this should not have happened. The girls were then revived, only to be mercilessly beaten by the Countess and Szentes; they later died in a room of the castle.

15

THE
GYNAECAEUM
(1609-1610)

Anna Darvolya, who had been described as taking particular delight in torment and the one who taught the Countess and others how to torture servants, suffered a blinding stroke and become incapacitated, probably around the year 1609. At this point, the Countess turned more and more to Erzsi Majorova, the forest witch, for advice. In witness testimony, this woman was referred to as the Lady Steward or House Mistress of Miava, indicating that she held a close position to the Countess and, perhaps, had authority over even the four remaining accomplices who ran the Lady’s staff of domestics. It does not appear, however, that she actually lived at the court of Csejthe but, rather, only made appearances when summoned.

      Unfortunately, dealings with the forest witch may ultimately have contributed to the Countess’ downfall. We know that she was becoming out of touch with reality, obsessing more and more over her advancing age and vulnerability. When politics and diplomacy let her down, she turned to black magic for assistance. Erzsi Majorova suggested that the Countess try more drastic measures: the blood of noble girls would have a more powerful influence than that of commoners. Erzsi began supplying her with spells, potions, and magical cakes, as well.

      It may be that the Countess had to turn to a fresh supply of noble girls since the peasant stock was quickly drying up. As rumors continued to spread about the disappearance of girls, parents began hiding their daughters when the Countess passed through town. Offers to work at the castle, whether for high wages, promises of marriage, or large payouts to the family, were increasingly being refused. Erzsébet’s helpers had to go out farther now and work harder to secure a steady supply of new female staff members—in some cases, traveling as far as Vienna—and they also began to engage a network of locals to help them. The payoffs worked. Later trial testimony would incriminate both nobles and commoners alike who participated in the procurement of girls, and the list of accused male and female “girl catchers” was long: Lady Anna Welykey; Lady Judith Pogan; the Lady Szell; Erzi Majorova; Dorottya Szentes; Janós Fizckó; Ilona Jó Nagy; the wives of Janós, György, and István Szabo; Dániel Vas; Katalin Homonnay; the Widow Keöcsé; and the wives of Janós Bársony, János Liptay, Miklós Kardos, and Balthasar Horváth.

      Someone eventually hit on the idea of creating a reason for girls of noble birth to come directly to the Countess rather than trying to solicit them. In the winter of 1609, Countess Erzsébet opened an academy of etiquette, a sort of finishing school for high- born young women, called a
Gynaecaeum
(Latin for “Women’s Residence”). The academy not only brought in much-needed funding, it also provided a fresh supply of young maidens. Apparently, the rumors had not yet spread amongst the aristocracy. The Countess’ social status enticed noble families to send their daughters to her for instruction in the social graces. Some of these young women were even related to her by blood or through marriage.

It was not long, however, before noble family members discovered that their daughters were either missing or admission to see them was strangely forbidden. Nobleman János Belanczky became concerned when he received no word from his sister who had recently been admitted to the Lady’s
Gynaecaeum
. Accompanied by his friend, Martin Chanady, the two men finally went to Erzsébet Báthory’s court at Beckov to demand the girl’s return. The Countess refused. Belanczky then demanded he at least be allowed to see his sister. The two men waited nearly an hour. The girl was finally brought out but, according to Martin Chanady, “she was severely weakened because of the great pain from torture and torment, so much that she could hardly hold out her hands, bitterly whining and crying.” Chanady recounted that she had been tortured to death after that and buried in Beckov. Why Belanczky and Chanady left the girl behind is not discussed in the testimony regarding this event.

Noblewoman Anna Zelesthey also testified that her daughter, Zsuzska, had been given to the court where she had been so badly beaten and tortured that the flesh literally fell from her bones before she died. How she knew this is not discussed in her deposition, nor whether she did anything or not to attempt a rescue. Nobles Melchior and Paul Nagyvathy testified that their sister had been entrusted and passed on to the
Gynaecaeum;
the brothers made extensive inquiries regarding her but learned only that she had died there. Nobleman Gaspar Ztubyczay lost his sister Anna; for Georgius Tukynzky, Benedict Barbel, and Dorothea Jezernyczky, it was a daughter.

Michael Herwoyth, Provisor of Csejthe Castle, said that “one could hear everyday the sounds of beatings being heard from her
Gynaecaeum
, including the crying and lamenting of the beaten girls; the fact that they were beaten more and more often and that they could be heard crying changed nothing….” The Castellan at Csejthe, Michael Horwath, stated that he knew of seven girls who had died at the
Gynaecaeum,
and that they had been buried in the little garden behind the courtyard at Csejthe. Unfortunately, the bodies were not buried deeply enough; dogs promptly dug up the bodies.

Even relatives of faithful servants were not exempt from torture and death. Janós Deseö, Castellan of Castle Keresztúr, testified that his niece, Kata Berényi, had been accepted at the Countess’ court. Rumors quickly circulated, however, that the girl was being beaten severely. He went first to one of Erzsébet’s accomplices, asking her to see his niece and perhaps give her a little money. The following is his account of what happened.

According to Deseö, the old woman said, “If you value your head, you should not dare to try this without the knowledge of Her Grace.”

Deseö learned that the Countess was planning an extended trip to Csejthe; she planned to take the niece with her for an unknown period of time, and he wished to intercept her traveling party before they left. As the horses were being fixed to the carriages, he met up with the Countess.

“Your Grace,” he said, bowing to her, “Might I please see my niece before you take your leave? I hear you are going to take her along to Csejthe and no one knows when I might be able to see her again.” He added breathlessly, “I also want to give her some money.”

Avoiding eye contact, the Lady replied evenly, “You definitely cannot speak with her now.”

As his face fell, she added, “But if you want to see her, you can see her when she climbs into the carriage.”

She then turned in a rage and hurried to her coach. At this point, only two horses had been hitched, yet she still ascended the carriage, believing the entire team to be ready. Meanwhile, Deseö caught sight of his niece. She was freezing and in tears, and seeing her brought him to tears, as well. He ran after the Countess.

“Merciful Lady,” he begged, “please do not take my niece with you! I implore you in the Name of God—not by me alone but on behalf of all my relatives.”

She cried to the coachman to hurry on now, while Janós Deseö grabbed onto the coach, weeping and begging. The horses secured, the coach lurched forward. Deseö recounted that his niece never returned and that she was later beaten to death.

. . . . .

We also know that by this time, the Countess was getting sloppy. She had managed to hide direct evidence of her torturing for years such that few knew more than rumors as to how the girls had actually died. But not any longer. The girls were now appearing in public with bandaged hands, welts, black and blue marks on their faces, and burn scars. And efforts to keep the beatings a complete secret were also slipping.

For example, when the Countess went to Trencsén in early 1610, György Pellio, a young man from town, saw one of her girls bound and violently beaten and lashed near the river. The girl was then forced into the icy water in her clothes and not permitted to remove them when taken out. Another local, Georgius Habdak, testified under oath that he had seen girls “who were cruelly shattered and covered in bleeding wounds,” and kept shackled by the creek. Michael Pepliczky said that in the autumn of 1610, when the Countess came to Csejthe, he saw “two ladies from her entourage with bruises and black and blue marks, and their faces scratched as if by nails.” Martin Gonda said that he himself “often saw virgins with swollen faces and hands covered with blue patches.” Andreas Somogy, a city official in Újhely, saw two girls whose hands were burned so badly that they needed help ascending into their carriage, and Judge Tomás Jaworka had frequently seen the faces of the virgins in her retinue “disfigured and covered with blue spots from numerous blows.” When craftsman Adam Pollio was called to the castle to do a job, he actually witnessed a “naked girl with her feet shackled to a table.” Perhaps the worst slip occurred when a tortured servant girl managed to escape and make her way back to town, a knife still stuck in her foot.

In addition to townspeople, church officials and grave diggers also saw their fill. Janós Palenyk saw for himself the bodies of the girls who died during the wedding celebration of Katalin and György Homonnay, “covered with horrible wounds, their faces crushed, burned and full of blue spots.” The sexton at the church in Kosztolány, György Mladych, added that they were “disfigured…shattered and covered with stains,” and Michael Palenyk testified to the same.

Even the household staff was seeing direct evidence now: Sárvár servant, Ferenc Török, testified to seeing girls with their arms tied up “such that their hands were blue and blood came from the fingers,” and the knight Ferenc Bornemissze said that, once, as he arrived into the house of the Lady, he witnessed girls “with their hands bound, wrapped with rein straps and hanging from the iron lattice at the window by their hair.”