Cambridge University academic’s quest to clear Elizabeth Bathory’s name

“I dug and I dug and all of those 650 women belonged to one particular class of young women who were basically the people who lived in that region before the Hungarians came,” she says.

“They had been noble, then dispossessed of their properties, so they occupied this liminal and bizarre space and, because of the wars taking place at the time, many of the men had died so they were unmarried as well.

“You’ve got a bunch of unmarriageable teenage deposed noblewomen. So what Bathory did was set up a school to teach them how to read and offered them sanctuary.

“She basically sets up an institute – which is something I love because I work in education.”

The historical evidence shows that, during the later investigation into Bathory, just one body was found at the castle.

There were, however, numerous reports of coffins leaving the castle grounds.

“When I went to the castle I was interested to find that there were numerous tunnels,” says Dr Bayley. “And there was a printing press documented at her other castle.

“The other thing that is on record is that after Bathory’s husband dies, she goes and spends today’s equivalent of £26bn on clothes bought from Venice,” says Dr Bayley. “That’s not buying for personal use, that’s a business.”

The evidence gathered by Dr Bayley has left her wondering whether, far from being tortured and murdered, these young women were moved away (possibly ferried away covertly inside coffins) from a region then at war into the countess’s various European business interests.