Upcoming YA Horror on Elizabeth Bathory

Elizabeth Bathory is my favorite serial killer of all time. I don't really have a list, but if I did she would be number one for sure! So, when I found out there was going to be a YA horror novel based on her I was estastic! Elizabeth Bathory had killed and or tortured at least 650 people if not more which was noted during her trial. 300 witnesses gave their statements on the cruel ways of this woman. She would keep girls as her slaves and she would torture them to death. She didn't just commit the murders or tortures in one way, she had many. She would burn them with tongs, beat them, starve them to death, bite off pieces of their flesh and eat them, etc. The girls were between the ages of 10-14. There was even a suspicion that she would bathe in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth. But this is something that was never fully proven to be true. Given all the facts, I could absolutely believe she did something of that nature. If she could eat her victims, why wouldn't she bathe in their blood too? This also makes her one of the first vampires in history for the way she tortured her victims. Bathory was arrested for her crimes along with four other servants who aided her. In most cases back in 1600s you would executed for such terrible crimes! But Bathory was confined to her castle in 1611 instead of being killed due to her high status and a huge debt owed to her. Her servants on the otherhand who assisted her were executed. She died in 1614 at the age of 54 in her castle. This tale is very intriguing to me because she really went far to make these victims suffer. All to keep herself looking and feeling young. Talk about crazy, or perhaps genius? This woman did live until she was 54. Back in the 1600s the average life expectancy was only 35 years! Did she know something we all don't perhaps? Maybe she had the right idea, or she was a crazy serial killer. Anyway, here is summary and book cover of the book Blood Countess by: Lana Popović based on Elizabeth Bathory! It currently has a 3.79 average on Goodreads from early reviewers which is fairly good. It puts the book in that space where you will like it or maybe not, but it's still a good book either way. 

Blood Countess
A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula

In 16th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.