Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian countess, was accused of torturing and murdering more than 600 young women. According to witnesses, she would beat and starve her victims as well as cut off their fingers and jab them with needles. On December 30, 1609, Báthory and her servants were arrested. The servants were put on trial in 1611, and three were executed. Although never tried, Báthory was confined to her chambers at Castle Csejte (now in Čachtice, Slovakia). She remained there until she died in 1614 at age 54.
Modern scholarship has questioned the veracity of the claims. Báthory was a powerful woman, and some believe the acts attributed to her were politically motivated slander that allowed relatives to appropriate her lands.