High above western Slovakiaʼs landscape‚ Čachtice castle sits on its rocky throne - a place where Elizabeth Báthory made her home around 4 centuries ago. This hungarian noble-woman became known in history for some really dark stuff
The stories about her are pretty wild: people say she killed somewhere between a few dozen and 650 young girls (which would make her the most active lady-killer in history). Local folks passed down tales that sheʼd take baths in their blood thinking it would keep her looking young
The castle itself - perched on its steep hill in todays Slovakia - has become sort of a spooky landmark. Its crumbly walls hold secrets that modern-day experts still cant figure out; some think the stories were made up while others believe theres truth behind the tales. The whole thing is wrapped in mystery and nobody knows for sure what really went down back in those days
This old tale shows how history can be super-tricky to pin down - especially when youre dealing with stuff from way-back-when. Even with all our modern research its hard to separate whats real from what people just made up‚ and the Báthorys story remains one of those head-scratchers that keeps historians busy