Eighth: The Lady herself also tortured and murdered? And how did she torture the poor (ones) and kill them? (Did her Ladyship torture them herself, and what exactly did she do and how did they die?) (In still another version, the question read: “How did they torture and murder those poor creatures?” This could mean that the writer loosely recorded the questions, or the sequence of questions aligned for the final version).
Answer: When she herself did not torture them, she transferred them to the old women who tortured the girls, whom they put in the coal storage for a week without food, and whoever gave them something to eat in secret was immediately punished. (When the girls shamed themselves, they were made to stand naked. The girls were locked in the laundry for a week and allowed to starve. Anyone who brought them food in secret was immediately punished.)
Ninth: In what sort of places at Csejthe, Sárvár, Keresztúr, Beckov and elsewhere were the poor (ones) tortured and killed? (In addition to Csejthe, Sárvár, Keresztúr, and Beckov, where there any other places where these miserable beings were tortured and murdered?)
Answer: At Beckov, the same were tortured in the chamber next to the wash-kitchen (at Beckov and Komna, they were tortured in the laundry); at Sárvár in the interior of the castle where not everyone (no one) was allowed; at Keresztúr, in the latrine (they were dragged into a secret room); and at Csejthe, in the kitchen (torturing took place at the laundry). Even while we were traveling (when on a trip), her Ladyship tortured them herself in the coach. She hit them, (would bite them), and stick them in the mouth with needles.
Tenth: Who, of important people, knew or saw the deeds of the Lady? (What other well-known persons were present or who knew about the acts of the Lady?)
Answer: The Court Master Benedikt Dezso (commonly spelled Benedikt or Benedek Deseö) knew best over the others (knew about it the most, was into everything, and knowledgeable more than the rest); however, no one ever heard him say anything about the Lady (But he (apparently the accused) never heard the gentleman say anything about it.) Also, the other servants knew about it in general, even the riff-raff. A certain “Obstinate” (Iron Headed) Stefan,” now beyond the Danube, who recently left the Lady’s service, knows everything better than even the witness. He also talked freely with the Lady, and carried several dead bodies away but, where? The witness does not know. (There was here another fellow who called himself Stefan Iron Head who recently left the Lady’s service and headed out for Zadunajska (the Transylvanian Danube). The same knew about everything much better since he witnessed and even freely made jokes/played games with the Lady. He buried several girls, but the witness was unaware of where.)
(Regarding the mysterious character Istaka (István or Stefan) called “Iron Head,” it may be that Ficzkó tried to pass off some of the guilt on him or, perhaps out of fear, even invented him. According to the court records, “Stefan Iron Head” disappeared into Transylvania. Oddly, no one else seemed to know anything about or mention him, unless he is the man referred to simply as “Kozma,” by the other defendants.)
Eleventh: For how long have they known or learned that the Lady began committing these cruel deeds (How long did anyone know about the horrible deeds of this woman and did anyone do anything to prevent the murders)?
Answer: She had tortured the girls even during the lifetime of the late Lord, but not so often murdered them as now. The poor Lord spoke to her about it, but did not forbid it. (Even the lord knew about the murders. The lord himself prohibited and disapproved of it; however, she ignored his complaints.) Anna Darvolia came to her, and she (Anna) killed the girls, and also the Lady became more cruel. (Later on, Mrs. Anna Darvulia arrived and, after that, she (Darvulia) began murdering girls. The lady herself became crueler and crueler and things got worse.) Something like a pretzel was kept in a box, with a mirror in the middle, before which she prayed for two hours. (She would conjure with the assistance of a small box and a braided mirror at which she sat.) Item: the Mistress of Miava made some sort of water in the morning, and at approximately 4:00 p.m., the Lady bathed in a baking trough; then she poured the water in the creek. (Majernicka of Myjavy (Erzsi Majorova) prepared some water and brought it around four in order for the lady to bathe herself in it. The water was discharged into the creek and, along with other mixtures, was blended in a washtub where something was put into it.) She wanted to bake two cakes in the trough, of which she wanted to poison both the King, the Lord Palatine and Imre Megyeri. (The mix from this was given at the table to the king, the palatine, and also to Imre Megyery in order to poison them.) But these gentlemen became aware of it and bested the Lady with the physical; because once they had eaten the first baked item, they all got stomach aches, and so she dared not permit the second baked item to be prepared/served. (They must have realized the lady was trying to poison them because they said so. It struck them badly and they complained about a foul stomach after eating the prepared baked items.)
. . . .
The second defendant heard was Ilona Jó, widow of István Nagy. The woman whom the Countess trusted to serve as nursemaid for and raise her own children was now on trial for butchering young girls not much older than her noble charges. Like her accomplices, Ilona Jó attempted to place as much blame on others whenever possible, particularly on the deceased Anna Darvolia. Also like the other defendants, she was asked the same questions as Ficzkó. Her answers followed immediately after his in the following, abbreviated format:
Second: Ilona Jó, widow of István Nagy, testified on the above points in order, as follows:
Regarding No. 1: She lived ten years with the Lady and was the nursemaid for the three girls and also Pál Nádasdy.
2: She does not know the number of victims, but she has killed enough.
3. She does not know of which families they were; but she knows two Sittkey women; then a sister of Gregor Jánosi; also, two noble girls were brought to her from Vécsei, also two from Cheglét: the one she killed, the other is still alive. Also, the Lady Szell had brought a girl, and one was also brought from Poland. The (wife of) Janós Bársony also brought a large, tall girl, the daughter of a nobleman, from where Janós Poliani lived; she was also killed. In, she know fifty or more who were murdered.
4. The (wife of) Janós Szalay, then (brought) a Jewish and a Slovak woman to live at Sárvár. The (wife of) Janós Szalay also brought two or three girls, although she knew that the same would be killed, but the one named Chiglei is still alive. She went away with Janós Bársony and remained there, but the (wife of) Janós Barsony herself brought a noble girl from south of Poland. Stablemaster Dániel Vas brought many around; the Lady Homonnay looked for girls but found none, except for a little one from Vécsey.
5. Also she herself brought girls when the Lady ordered it, but Darvolia in particular murdered the same; she put them in cold water all night, bathed and beat them. The Lady herself heated a key, and then burned the hand of a girl. She also did the same with coins when the same were found with them and did not give them to the Lady. In addition, she herself murdered the Lady Zichi, along with an old woman, at Ecsed. At Sárvár, she killed the Lord’s sister (translation mistake: it was a sister of Helen Jó) - which he saw with his own eyes - in the summer stripped naked, covered with honey, and made to stand the whole day and night in great pain until she fell sick and dropped to the ground. The Lord punished her, lighting oiled papers between the toes, which would make her stand up even if she was half dead. István Szabó brought enough girls from the Verpén area for gifts, the rest for payment. One (girl) was given a petticoat, the other a little winter skirt. Also, the (wife of) Balthasar Horváth, who lives in a village near the monastery, has brought many girls. Szilvásy, as well as the Court Master, have seen that the Lady herself tortured the girls, stripped naked, and made to stand before them. Dorkó cut the swollen bodies of the girls with a pair of scissors, and once, when the Lady allowed it, the servants here gave the girls mouthclamps. She threw the girls to the ground naked and beat them so violent
ly that one could scoop handfuls of blood from her bed, and ashes had to be strewn. In a village near Varannó she also killed one of them, and left the Declarant behind in order to bury her. She herself stuck a knife into the girls, and beat them and tortured them in many ways.
6. After Darvolia went blind, the women Dorkó and Kata beat the girls, as well as the Declarant, so long as she was healthy (i.e., able to do so).
7. She does not know where the corpses are now buried, but they were first carried to a wheat shaft. The women Dorkó and Kata took five corpses to Sárvár during the day with singing and also buried them at Keresztúr accompanied by (ministry) students.
8. She herself, the Lady, beat and tortured the girls so much so that she was covered in blood, even having to change her shirt, and the bloody wall had to be washed. When Dorkó beat the girls, the Lady herself stood nearby.
9. Overall, anywhere she went, she looked immediately for a place where they could torture the girls. In Vienna, the monks even threw pots at the window when they heard the frightened cries. Also at Bratislava, Mrs. Dorkó beat the girls.
10. Namely, Balthasar Poki (Poby), Stephan Vaghi (Vagy), the Court Master (Benedikt Deseö), and all officials and servants knew of the atrocities; also Kozma (Stephen “Iron Head” perhaps?) knew about it.
11. She does not know when the Lady began committing these cruelties, because by the time the Declarant had come to her, she had already begun the same: but Darvolia had instructed her in cruelty and was her confidante. The Declarant knew and saw that she burned the genitals of the naked girls with a burning candle.
. . . .
Dorottya Szentes, also called Dorka or Dorkó, the widow of Benedikt Szucsov (also spelled Benedek Szeoch or Szócs), was the third member of Erszebet’s retinue to be interrogated. She testified that she brought Ilona Jó to Erzsébet Báthory’s court and that she (Ilona Jó) was there only five years. She did not know when her Ladyship began to participate in the criminal acts—only that there were about 36 dead girls. She did not know exactly where they came from, only that they were hired as seamstresses and maids and that they came from the local area. Szentes was interrogated on her statement that she assisted her Lady with the torture because it was so ordered. If she failed to act, the Lady would do it herself.
She stuck them with needles, burned them in the foot and legs with red hot spoons and iron bars, and pried pieces of their bodies off with tongs. Once, when the Lady suffered from a lengthy illness, in order to punish the girls, she ordered that they be brought to her sickbed. There, she pulled off chunks of their flesh with her teeth. At one time, five girls died over the course of ten days from the effects of torture. Szentes further accused Katalin Beneczky of having locked them away at Leceticz.
Szentes’ remarks are occasionally abbreviated with scribal commentary such as, “Same as the others stated,” or “consistent with prior testimony.” This could be the result of avoiding the rewrite of a lengthy, repetitious testimony, or it can simply denote the fact that the accused testified in accordance with the others. It is also indicative of the curative (abbreviated) style of the time. By now, it had been established that the local people cooperated with Erzsébet Báthory and her retinue, that they sent many girls to her court, that girls were tortured and killed there over the course of many years, and that the members of the domestic staff were well aware of what went on, including: Court Master Benedikt Deseö; Stable Master Dániel Vas; and Steward (Provisor) Jakob Szilvassy. There were other staff members, as well, such as Baltazar Poby and István Vagy (both of whom had made statements in secret hearings conducted back in April 1610) who knew what was happening there. All identified Anna Darvolya (Darvulia), the servant of Erzsébet and Ferenc Nádasdy at their court at Sárvár, as the origin and prime inflictor of cruelty. Her testimony is given as follows: The third, Dorottya Széntes, the widow of Benedikt Szócs, confessed on the following, above-asked questions in order:
Regarding No. 1. It has been five years since she has been with the Lady. Mrs. Ilona lured her to the castle with beautiful words that she would be taken on by Lady Homonnay.
2. She knew of approximately 36 young women and sewing girls killed by the Lady.
3. From which families they came and to whom they belonged, she does not know but, rather, said the same as the above, that they came from many places.
4. The (wife of) Janós Szalay, the (wife of) Janós Bársony, and the Widow Keöcsé living in Dömölk. The (wife of) Janós Liptay brought some to Csejthe. She confessed the same way in all matters as the previous two Declarants.
5. Consistently she admits what the two previous Declarants had confessed, with the addition that the Lady also tortured the girls…. and that if the Declarant would not beat the same, then (the Lady) would do it herself with a club, like a chair leg. She stuck the lips of the girls together with needles and also tortured them in this way. When the Lady was sick and could not beat anyone, she ordered the Confessant over to her (the Confessant had dragged the victim onto the bed) and bit a piece out of the face and the shoulder. She pricked the girls through their fingers with pins, and said: if it hurts the whore, then she can pull it out; if she did so, the Lady would beat her again and cut off the finger.
6. Soon, they were all helping the Lady with torturing, first one and then the other, along with the Declarant herself, because she forced them to do it.
7. Within a week and a half, five girls died at Csejthe, which they stacked one on top of the other in the storage room. She then went to Sárvár, and Kata dragged the same, right past the house staff, into the wheat pit. Confessant was with the Lady at Sárvár at the time. The remaining corpses, which they could not hide, were often publicly buried through the Preacher. The servants, along with Kata, carried one to Leceticz and buried it there.
8. The Lady herself beat the girls -- in general, the Confessant testified the same as the previous two.
9. In regard to the places of torture, she said that the Lady tortured wherever she was.
10. She said the same as the others.
11. She does not know when the Lady began her cruelties, because she was only with her for five years.
. . . .
The last accomplice to testify was Katalin Beneczky, considered by most to be the least cruel of the four and the only one to avoid execution. Her interrogatories resulted in the following:
The fourth: Katalin Beneczky, the widow of Janós Boda, confessed on the previously-asked questions as follows:
1. It has been ten years since she has been with the Lady; the (wife of) Valentin Varga, mother of the current pastor at Sárvár, had appointed her to be a washerwoman at the palace.
2. Since she was a washerwoman, she doesn’t know how many were murdered; she believes, however, that during her time with the Lady, it could be fifty that the Lady killed.
3. She does not know from which families or from where they came, because she did not bring any; she knew only the Sittkey women.
4. In all matters, she said the same as the others. The (wife of) Janós Liptay brought a girl, and she adds: that (the wife) of Miklós Kardos also brought two, such that she dared not even go into the village; however, the woman, Dorkó, brought in the most, and she brought in all of the ones that are now dead.
5. Continues identically with the foregoing, with the addition: that after Darvolia became blind and the two previous female Confessants had fully learned how to torture, the same forced this Declarant to perform beatings; indeed, the woman, Ilona, had them carry on with beatings until they were tired. Also, the women forced her into the beatings, constantly yelling at her and screaming: Hit her! Hit her! Harder! The girl who has now been found dead was so terribly beaten that, when she was already half-dead, Lady Nádasdy went inside and also started beating her, so that by 11:00 p.m., she had given up the ghost.
6. Mrs. Ilona was the most wicked in her bragging; even though she could do nothing by her own hand, she received permission from the Lady to control Sár
vár. The Lady Nádasdy even married two daughters of the same and gave them 14 beautiful gowns. She was above all others an advisor (to the Lady). Mrs. Dorkó beat the girls and also the Declarant when she was forced to do so; she herself was beaten when she refused to do it and once spent the entire month in bed because of the beating suffered. Once, when the Lady Zrínyi came to Csejthe, she sent her entire staff of housegirls, along with Dorkó, up into the castle, where Dorkó kept the girls in strict captivity like criminals, washing and making them bathe in cold water and then forcing them to stay outside, naked, for entire nights. May the thunder, she said, slay anyone who gives them something to eat. She guarded the same so strictly that neither the castle steward nor anyone else could feed them. But when the Lady wanted to travel to Piastány with Mrs. Zrínyi, she sent the Declarant up to see if one of them could go with her; she found all of them having fainted from lack of food, and said to the Lady, when she returned: "Not a single one is in a position to travel with Your Grace. " The Lady clapped her hands together; she was very angry with Dorkó and said that this should not have happened. The girls were brought out and died in a room of the castle. Because both the Lady and Dorkó beat them, and now that they had gone without food, they had to give up the spirit. A young lady from Dömölk, who was with the Declarant in a coach, died on the journey from Piastány to Csejthe. This girl had already collapsed at Piastány, but was propped up again and beaten by the Lady.
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory Page 15
