The blood countess as sample or real vampire in history and literature

Abstract EN

The current research attempts to test the hypothesis that vampirism is a real phenomenon involving real people in history.

It aims at differentiating between a real or actual vampire who sucks blood, but who is not repelled by garlic or crosses and had died just as any other human being, and expected vampire in myth and legend who comes from the burial place and drinks the blood of the victims to subsist.

Therefore, the study focuses on the characteristics of one of the most notorious real female killer "vampire" in history and literature who killed, tortured and drank the blood of her young victims to gain energy, beauty and youth.

She is Elizabeth Bathory who is known also as "Blood Countess".

The study consists of three sections; section one presents a definition of vampirism and its background in folklore and literature to show the history of vampires.

Section two presents the main differences between real vampires and mythic vampires.

Section three is divided into two parts; the first part presents a study of Bathory's biography to understand the main reasons behind defining her as a real vampire.

It focuses on crimes she committed during the last twenty five years of her life.

The Second part presents Elizabeth Bathory in literature.