With a ruined centuries-old castle looming up on the hill above , the Slovakian village of Cachtice could easily take a starring role in a Gothic horror film . However , exactly 400 years ago , on August 21 , the horror was all too real , as the life of the most prolific female mass murderer of all time -- a noblewoman by the name of Countess Elizabeth Bathory -- came to a grim end . It 's not an anniversary they 're likely to celebrate in Cachtice , where Bathory 's reign of terror still haunts locals , but for some -- me included -- there 's a strange fascination . In the lovely Slovakian town of Trencin , my friend Martin and I are joined by two guides , Ivan Kralik and Peter Pastier , who work in the local tourism office . They drive us to the town of Cachtice , 30 kilometers away , recounting the story of the Blood Countess . The macabre name came from her apparent tendency to bathe in the blood of her victims . She 's said to have believed the blood of virgin girls would maintain her youthful-looking skin . Bathory 's life has been the subject of films , books and online websites -- and is thought by some to have influenced Bram Stoker 's 1897 novel `` Dracula '' -- but seems to have been forgotten west of Vienna . Highborn and unaccountable , she was the absolute ruler of a patch of what is now Slovakia , and with the help of three of her servants sadistically tortured to death between 100 and 650 girls . We 'll never know the exact number . Missing daughters . She was married to a nobleman , Ferenc Nadasdy , a Hungarian national hero of the wars against the Turks . Although there were reported killings before his death in 1604 , afterward she seems to have become totally unhinged . She settled in Cachtice and more and more girls started disappearing from the surrounding villages . It was said she eventually ran low of girls to satiate her habit and she began to lure victims of higher born families , who began to notice their missing daughters . By 1610 , rumors of her horrible deeds had reached the Hungarian king , who sent his second in command , Palatine Georgy Thurzo , to investigate . In December 1610 , Bathory was arrested along with three of her servants , who were tortured and burned at the stake . She was n't put on trial but walled-in at Cachtice Castle , where she died on August 21 , 1614 . Castle restoration . Cachtice today is a well-off village with large houses sporting high hedges , satellite dishes and top-end SUVs parked in the driveways . We could be anywhere in Central Europe but for a large , wooden statue of Elizabeth Bathory in the main square . A sign points us to the castle , which stands 2.5 kilometers away in the middle of a thickly forested nature reserve . It 's a pleasant 40-minute walk up the narrow stony path under oak , beech and chestnut trees , through mulberry bushes and wild strawberries . The castle is a ruin , but pictured alone against a blue sky , looks majestic and aloof . It reopened in June 2014 after a much needed two-year restoration . One tower collapsed in the 1980s leaving only two towers standing : an eastern defensive tower with a chapel and a south-facing residential tower where Countess Bathory died . Amazingly , it 's still possible to walk around her living quarters , the likely location of her imprisonment and death . The roof has long disappeared , but the wall shows the sign of a ceiling . I reckoned it 's four meters ( 13 feet ) high in a four-by-five meter room . I shiver as I see the remnants of what looks like a bricked-up window . Sense of shame . What do the locals think of the Countess today ? `` The older generation seems ashamed of her . There were some protests when Bathory 's statue was erected in the square , '' says 18-year-old Adam Pisca , who has a summer job as a castle guide . `` The younger generation does n't view the past so bad . We know she murdered women but she is not important to us . `` Before the castle reconstruction , we had barbecues inside and camped in tents overnight ! '' Back in the village , we step into the 14th-century church of St. Ladislav where Father Vladimir Ondas shows us around . Elizabeth Bathory was buried here , but no one has found her grave . Her body was probably moved later to Nagyesced , the Bathory ancestral seat in today 's Hungary . Father Vladimir has a surprise for us , however . He unlocks the Gothic chapel outside , which boasts three painted wooden panels from Cachtice Castle . They are the only items remaining from the castle 's interior decoration . Next to the church there 's a small but interesting museum with portraits of Elizabeth Bathory and the people in her life , a reproduction of her clothes , old castle gravures and photos , as well as a range of heraldic insignia and local costumes . But it 's the local wine co-op we really want to see , and not just for the wine . The building stands on the site of the old Bathory manor house . It 's here that the Countess conducted most of her torture sessions . Today only an external wall still stands , but the original cellars that have seen so much pain and anguish are intact and are now used to store several wine barrels . Jozef Carada , one of the co-op owners , provides us with a tasting . The wines are uniformly excellent . Some bear a `` Bathory Blood '' label . The brand was discontinued in 2010 , but after customer pressure , it was reintroduced in 2014 along with a special vintage celebrating the 400th anniversary of her death . It 's ruby red , of course . Visiting Cachtice . Visitors will need their own wheels to get to Cachtice Castle . The closest town with decent hotels is Trencin , 30 kilometers north of the village of Cachtice . The best way to get there is by rail . There are 10 direct trains per day ( 60-80 minutes travel time from Bratislava ) . Tickets cost €6-16 ( $ 8-21 ) each way . There 's a ( slow ) bus service ; the travel time is approximately two hours ; tickets cost €6/ $ 8 . The best hotel in Trencin is the four-star Hotel Elizabeth ( Generala Milana Rastislava Stefanika 2 , Trencin ; +421 32 6506 111 , double room from $ 132 ) . There 's no direct connection via public transport from Trencin to Cachtice Castle . The best way to get there is by taxi ( $ 40 ) . The Trencin tourist office ( +421 32 6504 711 , kic @ trencin.sk ) or the reception desk at Hotel Elizabeth can arrange an English-speaking guide . Cachtice Castle is open May-October ( Monday-Friday , 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. , Saturday and Sunday , 10 a.m.-6 p.m. ; entrance $ 3.50 ) . Originally published August 2014 .
It 's unknown exactly how many girls the Blood Countess tortured and killed . Reports range from 100 to 650 victims . She was never convicted of her crimes but was kept under house arrest in Cachtice Castle . The Bathory name is now a brand of surprisingly excellent wines called `` Bathory Blood ''