Not to be that one dick but the people defending Erzsebet Bathory/Báthori Erzsébet are (somewhat) right. She really was a well educated woman, she loved her serfs and they loved her as well (some say she was a motherly figure to them), she took in a lot of widowed women after the Osman-Hungarian fights (regardless of nationality), she studied medicine and she did run a hospital in the Csejte castle. Hungarian historians have proven all of this a long time ago (mostly via old letters).
The legends and myths about her torturing women is just that, legends and myths. All these accusations came from a Lutheran preacher and writer Magyari István who wanted Báthori Erzsébet's money and property. The bathing in blood rumor came out more than a 100 years after Báthori's death (Turóczi László:Tragica historia, 1729) and the torture rumors came out more than 200 years after Erzsébet's death (Mednyánszky Alajos: Malerische Reise auf dem Waagflusse in Ungern or Festői utazás a Vág folyón Magyarországon, 1844/1826). Some sources say that her husband requested Báthori to torture women (her husbnad sent his ideas to her via letters from the battlefield).
It's true that (at that time) they found the remains of young women around the property (around 600 bodies). Their bodies were "damaged", but I didn't find a source that says they were indeed tortured (most likely badly beaten). Also fun fact: there is two other suspects who could've committed these crimes (both of them are women) namely Thurzó Szaniszlóné and Listhius Anna Rozina. The later one seems more likely to commit these crimes than Báthori Erzsébet but I won't go into that. Thurzó György arrested Báthori Erzsébet (in 1610) based on rumors and she was sentenced to life in prison but other sources and old letters suggest that she was just under house arrest.
Sorry for the long history lesson but I though this was cool to know.
Also Source: Lots and lots of Hungarian sites and my shortened version of them. I doubt linking them would do you guys anything but if you want them, I'll share.
