by Evan Andrews
They say that truth is stranger than
fiction, but it might also be spookier. History is filled with accounts
of barbarians, murderers and sorcerers who make the vampires and
slashers of Hollywood horror movies look positively tame by comparison.
In some cases, these historical terrors have even served as the
blueprint for scary stories and legends still recounted to this day.
From Vlad the Impaler to Jack the Ripper, meet seven of history’s
creepiest figures.
1. Vlad The Impaler
Vlad
III Dracula—better known by the gruesome moniker “Vlad the Impaler”—was
a 15th-century ruler of Wallachia (now part of Romania) who became
notorious for his rampant use of torture, mutilation and mass murder.
Vlad’s military exploits saw him praised by many as a hero, but his
unmatched cruelty and penchant for barbaric executions—often against his
own people—contributed to his reputation as one of history’s most
coldblooded leaders.
Vlad’s victims were supposedly killed through unspeakable means including disembowelment, beheading and even being skinned or boiled alive. Still, his preferred method was impalement, a grisly process in which the victim had a wooden stake slowly driven through their body before being left to die of exposure. After one famous military victory against the advancing Ottoman Turks, Vlad supposedly had around 20,000 men impaled on the banks of the Danube. When the second wave of invaders arrived, they are said to have immediately retreated upon seeing the grotesque “forest” of corpses. According to some accounts, Vlad enjoyed dining among the thousands of impaled bodies and would even dip his bread into the blood of his victims. This bizarre practice—along with the name “Dracula” and Vlad’s birthplace of Transylvania—would later partly inspire the vampire in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.”
2. Rasputin
Much
of Grigori Rasputin’s life is shrouded in myth, but history paints the
picture of a “mad monk” who steered Russia toward chaos. Rasputin began
his career as a populist holy man and was known to preach a religious
doctrine arguing that true salvation was only possible through
indulgence in sin. His reputation as a faith healer eventually saw him
summoned to the court of Czar Nicholas II, where he ingratiated himself
to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna after helping her hemophiliac son
recover from an injury. By 1911 Rasputin had secured himself a place as
the czarina’s closest advisor. He then began using his influence to
appoint incompetent and crooked officials while also indulging in drink
and perverse sexual appetites.
Rasputin had a con man’s charm and reportedly took delight in humiliating high society women by making them lick his dirty fingers after he had dipped them in soup. He was accused of raping a nun and known to consort with prostitutes by night even as he advised the czarina on state policy by day. Fearing that the wild-eyed sorcerer was leading Russia toward disaster, in 1916 a group of aristocratic conspirators poisoned him with cyanide. When the toxin failed to have its desired effect, the men reportedly shot him several times and then beat him before dumping his body into the freezing Neva River. Rasputin’s death ultimately came too late to save the royal family from public disgrace. The czar, the czarina and their five children were all murdered in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution.
3. H.H. Holmes
Born
Herman W. Mudgett, the notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes spent his
early career as an insurance scammer before moving to Illinois in
advance of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. It was there that Holmes built
what he referred to as his “castle”—a three-story inn that he secretly
turned into a macabre torture chamber. Some rooms were equipped with
hidden peepholes, gas lines, trap doors and soundproofed padding, while
others featured secret passages, ladders and hallways that led to dead
ends. There was also a greased chute that led to the basement, where
Holmes had installed a surgical table, a furnace and even a medieval
rack.
Both before and during the World’s Fair, Holmes led many victims—mostly young women—to his lair only to asphyxiate them with poisoned gas and take them to his basement for horrific experiments. He then either disposed of the bodies in his furnace or skinned them and sold the skeletons to medical schools. Holmes was eventually convicted of the murders of four people, but he confessed to at least 27 more killings before being hanged in 1896. “Holmes’ Horror Castle” was later turned into a grotesque museum, but the building burned down before it could be opened.
4. Elizabeth Báthory
Often called the “Blood Countess,” Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian
noblewoman who is widely considered to be history’s most deranged female
serial killer. Throughout the late 16th and early 17th centuries,
Báthory reportedly lured young peasants to her castle with promises of
high-paying jobs as servants. Once trapped in the citadel, these victims
were subject to unspeakable tortures. Some were beaten or stabbed with
needles, while others were stripped naked and left to freeze in the
snow. According to legend, Báthory even bathed in the blood of her
virgin victims, believing it would keep her skin radiant and youthful.
Báthory allegedly massacred as many as 80 peasant girls—though the number may be as high as 600—but it was only when she turned her attention to young noblewomen that she was finally stopped. In 1611 she was bricked up inside her castle chambers with only a small opening for food. She would die four years later in 1614. Some historians have since argued that Báthory was framed by political enemies. While this claim is disputed, there is little doubt that her reputation has become thoroughly intertwined with myth and legend. Along with Vlad the Impaler, she is said to be one of the historical influences behind Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”
5. Jack the Ripper
In 1888, London’s Whitechapel district was gripped by reports of a
vicious serial killer stalking the city streets. The unidentified madman
was known to lure prostitutes into darkened squares and side streets
before slitting their throats and sadistically mutilating their bodies
with a carving knife. Between August and November, five streetwalkers
were found butchered in the downtrodden east end district, sparking a
media frenzy and citywide manhunt. While he was originally known simply
as the Whitechapel murderer, the killer soon earned a chilling new
moniker: Jack the Ripper.
Without modern forensic techniques, Victorian police were at a loss in investigating the Ripper’s heinous crimes. Eyewitness testimonies were often contradictory, and after taking his final victim on November 9 the killer seemed to disappear like a ghost. The case was finally closed in 1892, but Jack the Ripper has remained an enduring source of fascination. The most popular theories suggest that the killer’s understanding of anatomy and vivisection mean he was possibly a butcher or a surgeon. Over 100 possible suspects have been proposed, and the term “Ripperology” has even been coined to describe the extensive study the case receives.
6. Gilles de Rais
Gilles
de Rais was a 15th-century French nobleman, soldier and
companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War. Rais’
military career earned him many plaudits, but his distinguished
reputation and opulent lifestyle hid a horrific dark side that included
charges of Satanism, rape and murder. Beginning in the 1430s, Rais
reportedly began torturing and brutally killing young children, many of
them peasant boys who had come to his castle to work as pages. After
sexually molesting these servants, Rais would murder them by cutting
their throats or breaking their necks with a club. Others were
decapitated and dismembered, and Rais was even known to kiss the severed
heads of some of his victims.
Rais indulged in these sadistic habits unchecked until 1440, when he attacked a priest over a land dispute. This drew the ire of the cult, which launched an investigation and soon uncovered the baron’s history of depravity. A famous trial ensued in which Rais was charged with murder and sodomy and accused of practicing alchemy and other satanic rites. He eventually confessed under torture to having murdered as many as 140 children—though some have claimed the number may be much higher—and was hanged to death and then burned in October 1440. Some historians have since suggested that Rais was the influence for the 17th-century folktale “Bluebeard,” which follows a wealthy baron who murders his young wives.
7. Tomás de Torquemada
From
1483 to 1498, Tomás de Torquemada presided over the Spanish
Inquisition, the notorious catholic tribunal used to try heretics and
nonbelievers. In order to force their confession, these victims were
subjected to gruesome punishments including strangulation or being
stretched on the rack. Others were waterboarded or put through
strappado, a grueling torture in which subjects were hanged by their
wrists until their arms dislocated.
A Franciscan monk, Torquemada was the man responsible for reorganizing the Inquisition and expanding its scope to include crimes like blasphemy, usury and even sorcery. Torquemada also ordered the expulsion of thousands of jews, muslims and blacks, all of whom he believed would taint the spiritual purity of Spain. Those that converted to christianity were allowed to remain but risked being tortured or executed if they tried to practice their faith in secret. All told, some 2,000 people were murdered during Torquemada’s reign as Grand Inquisitor, most of them beheaded or burned at the stake.
Vlad’s victims were supposedly killed through unspeakable means including disembowelment, beheading and even being skinned or boiled alive. Still, his preferred method was impalement, a grisly process in which the victim had a wooden stake slowly driven through their body before being left to die of exposure. After one famous military victory against the advancing Ottoman Turks, Vlad supposedly had around 20,000 men impaled on the banks of the Danube. When the second wave of invaders arrived, they are said to have immediately retreated upon seeing the grotesque “forest” of corpses. According to some accounts, Vlad enjoyed dining among the thousands of impaled bodies and would even dip his bread into the blood of his victims. This bizarre practice—along with the name “Dracula” and Vlad’s birthplace of Transylvania—would later partly inspire the vampire in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.”
2. Rasputin
Much
of Grigori Rasputin’s life is shrouded in myth, but history paints the
picture of a “mad monk” who steered Russia toward chaos. Rasputin began
his career as a populist holy man and was known to preach a religious
doctrine arguing that true salvation was only possible through
indulgence in sin. His reputation as a faith healer eventually saw him
summoned to the court of Czar Nicholas II, where he ingratiated himself
to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna after helping her hemophiliac son
recover from an injury. By 1911 Rasputin had secured himself a place as
the czarina’s closest advisor. He then began using his influence to
appoint incompetent and crooked officials while also indulging in drink
and perverse sexual appetites.Rasputin had a con man’s charm and reportedly took delight in humiliating high society women by making them lick his dirty fingers after he had dipped them in soup. He was accused of raping a nun and known to consort with prostitutes by night even as he advised the czarina on state policy by day. Fearing that the wild-eyed sorcerer was leading Russia toward disaster, in 1916 a group of aristocratic conspirators poisoned him with cyanide. When the toxin failed to have its desired effect, the men reportedly shot him several times and then beat him before dumping his body into the freezing Neva River. Rasputin’s death ultimately came too late to save the royal family from public disgrace. The czar, the czarina and their five children were all murdered in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution.
3. H.H. Holmes
Both before and during the World’s Fair, Holmes led many victims—mostly young women—to his lair only to asphyxiate them with poisoned gas and take them to his basement for horrific experiments. He then either disposed of the bodies in his furnace or skinned them and sold the skeletons to medical schools. Holmes was eventually convicted of the murders of four people, but he confessed to at least 27 more killings before being hanged in 1896. “Holmes’ Horror Castle” was later turned into a grotesque museum, but the building burned down before it could be opened.
4. Elizabeth Báthory
Often called the “Blood Countess,” Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian
noblewoman who is widely considered to be history’s most deranged female
serial killer. Throughout the late 16th and early 17th centuries,
Báthory reportedly lured young peasants to her castle with promises of
high-paying jobs as servants. Once trapped in the citadel, these victims
were subject to unspeakable tortures. Some were beaten or stabbed with
needles, while others were stripped naked and left to freeze in the
snow. According to legend, Báthory even bathed in the blood of her
virgin victims, believing it would keep her skin radiant and youthful.Báthory allegedly massacred as many as 80 peasant girls—though the number may be as high as 600—but it was only when she turned her attention to young noblewomen that she was finally stopped. In 1611 she was bricked up inside her castle chambers with only a small opening for food. She would die four years later in 1614. Some historians have since argued that Báthory was framed by political enemies. While this claim is disputed, there is little doubt that her reputation has become thoroughly intertwined with myth and legend. Along with Vlad the Impaler, she is said to be one of the historical influences behind Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”
5. Jack the Ripper
In 1888, London’s Whitechapel district was gripped by reports of a
vicious serial killer stalking the city streets. The unidentified madman
was known to lure prostitutes into darkened squares and side streets
before slitting their throats and sadistically mutilating their bodies
with a carving knife. Between August and November, five streetwalkers
were found butchered in the downtrodden east end district, sparking a
media frenzy and citywide manhunt. While he was originally known simply
as the Whitechapel murderer, the killer soon earned a chilling new
moniker: Jack the Ripper.Without modern forensic techniques, Victorian police were at a loss in investigating the Ripper’s heinous crimes. Eyewitness testimonies were often contradictory, and after taking his final victim on November 9 the killer seemed to disappear like a ghost. The case was finally closed in 1892, but Jack the Ripper has remained an enduring source of fascination. The most popular theories suggest that the killer’s understanding of anatomy and vivisection mean he was possibly a butcher or a surgeon. Over 100 possible suspects have been proposed, and the term “Ripperology” has even been coined to describe the extensive study the case receives.
6. Gilles de Rais
Gilles
de Rais was a 15th-century French nobleman, soldier and
companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War. Rais’
military career earned him many plaudits, but his distinguished
reputation and opulent lifestyle hid a horrific dark side that included
charges of Satanism, rape and murder. Beginning in the 1430s, Rais
reportedly began torturing and brutally killing young children, many of
them peasant boys who had come to his castle to work as pages. After
sexually molesting these servants, Rais would murder them by cutting
their throats or breaking their necks with a club. Others were
decapitated and dismembered, and Rais was even known to kiss the severed
heads of some of his victims.Rais indulged in these sadistic habits unchecked until 1440, when he attacked a priest over a land dispute. This drew the ire of the cult, which launched an investigation and soon uncovered the baron’s history of depravity. A famous trial ensued in which Rais was charged with murder and sodomy and accused of practicing alchemy and other satanic rites. He eventually confessed under torture to having murdered as many as 140 children—though some have claimed the number may be much higher—and was hanged to death and then burned in October 1440. Some historians have since suggested that Rais was the influence for the 17th-century folktale “Bluebeard,” which follows a wealthy baron who murders his young wives.
7. Tomás de Torquemada
A Franciscan monk, Torquemada was the man responsible for reorganizing the Inquisition and expanding its scope to include crimes like blasphemy, usury and even sorcery. Torquemada also ordered the expulsion of thousands of jews, muslims and blacks, all of whom he believed would taint the spiritual purity of Spain. Those that converted to christianity were allowed to remain but risked being tortured or executed if they tried to practice their faith in secret. All told, some 2,000 people were murdered during Torquemada’s reign as Grand Inquisitor, most of them beheaded or burned at the stake.
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