Lady Dimitrescu took the Resident Evil community by storm, quickly becoming a fan favorite. Now playable with the new DLC, Lady Dimitrescu is everyone's favorite mutant mommy. But did you know our favorite Resident Evil villain is based off a real-life blood countess?
Elizabeth Bathory was born in 1560 to a noble family known for violence and inbreeding, with several family members reportedly suffering from physical and mental ailments. She married a powerful Hungarian count in 1575 and moved to Csejthe Castle in modern-day Slovakia. Exposed to violence throughout childhood, the countess and her husband tortured their servants and peasants without recourse. She became known as the Beast of Csejt for her torturous proclivities.
The inspiration of Countess Elizabeth Bathory can be seen in our favorite mutant mistress, Lady Dimitrescu. Her husband once gifted her a pair of gloves that had claws on the end that she could use to punish her servants. The Blood Countess really had a claw hand to torture the unfortunate should who entered her castle, just like our Lady D. She was also known to bite off pieces of her victims with her teeth. Her bloodlust and biting lead many to consider her a vampire, much like our very own Lady D.
Lady Dimitrescu 1/4 Scale Statue from PureArts
Countess Elizabeth is now widely known as the Blood Princess, named for her practice of murdering young women to bathe in their blood. Much like Lady Dimitrescu drinks blood to maintain her power, Elizabeth bathed in blood to maintain her youth and beauty.
However, she believed the blood of peasants was not restoring her youth and beauty well enough, so she began to kill young noblewomen, and her crimes could no longer be ignored. Eventually, in 1609, King Matthias II of Hungary launched an investigation into the Blood Princess, executing many of her cohorts. While Elizabeth Bathory escaped execution, she was confined to a room in her castle with only slits for air and food, where she died after three years.
You can pre-order the 3-foot Lady Dimitrescu 1/4 Scale Statue here!
Works Cited:
Bartosiewicz, Aleksandra. (2018). Elisabeth Báthory – a true story. Przegląd Nauk Historycznych. 17. 10.18778/1644-857X.17.03.04.