In 17th-century Hungary, recently widowed Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy discovers that her youthful appearance and libido can be temporarily restored if she bathes in the blood of young women. She enlists her steward and lover Captain Dobi and her maid Julie to help with the kidnap
and murder of several local girls, whilst having another sexual affair
with a young Lieutenant, Imre Toth. As a cover for her crimes while in
her rejuvenated state, she takes the identity of her own daughter,
Countess Ilona, whom she had Dobi hold captive in the wood. However,
castle historian Fabio grows suspicious. Eventually, she kills a
prostitute called Ziza. It doesn't help. Dobi finds Fabio, who has a
book-chapter about blood sacrifices and tells Elisabeth the truth in
return for being allowed to live.
He says only a virgin sacrifice will
help Elisabeth remain young and beautiful. She then kills more virgins,
from peasant girls to the servant girls in the palace. Fabio tries to
tell Toth the truth about his lover, but Dobi kills Fabio before he can
do so. Dobi then shows Elisabeth to Toth to steer him away from her.
Elisabeth forces Toth into marrying her but her daughter Ilona arrives
home. Elisabeth grows old again and tries to kill her daughter but kills
Toth instead. Elisabeth, Dobi and her maid are sentenced to death for
their crimes and are last seen awaiting the hangman in their cell. In
the last scene, the peasants curse her as "devil woman" and "Countess
Dracula".
Countess Dracula was based on Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Báthory
(1560-1614), who was responsible for the deaths of allegedly 600 girls
and young women, all of which involved torture and gruesome methods of
killing.
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