Lady Killers
Page 25
Somehow it doesn’t stress me out that we’re all obsessed with serial killers. Maybe it should. (Mark Seltzer, a professor at UCLA who’s written extensively about violence, calls this obsession “wound culture”—our tendency to gather around trauma, unable to avert our eyes.) I don’t think our obsession stems from the fact that we are all secretly violent, using the serial killer to enact our darkest fantasies. I think it comes from our enduring love of stories. That being said, I have been haunted time and again while writing this book with a nagging sense of moral responsibility. I don’t want to accidentally make murder sound trivial or hilarious. I don’t want to make female serial killers sound like the ultimate feminists. I don’t want to be part of the long tradition of glamorizing serial killers, though I’m sure I’ve slipped up from time to time. But I believe in the healing and illuminating power of narrative, and I think there’s something to be gleaned from looking at evil, trying to understand it, wondering if perhaps we are all a little bit responsible. Should anything human be alien to us? That question is terrifying, and beautiful.
I cried twice while working on this book, both times over the same moment: the part where Anna Marie Hahn completely loses it on her way to the electric chair. Anna’s murders are some of the most coldhearted in the book—but, when faced with her own death, Anna couldn’t take it. I think that’s so poignant, so sad. It shows how desperately the human body wants to live, no matter how evil or reckless the soul within it has become. Even the most psychopathic woman can realize, when staring death in the eyes, that what she valued, in the end, was life all along.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Emma Carmichael for giving the “Lady Killers” column a home, first at The Hairpin and then Jezebel. Thank you to the people who actually read the column, especially to the reader who said it paired well with red wine. I like your vibe.
Thank you to the squad of super cool, morbidly hilarious women who worked on the book: to my amazing agent Erin Hosier, for loving psychopaths and immediately getting the feel of the book; to Dame Darcy, cult illustrator extraordinaire, for the gorgeous goth illustrations (some of which were done purely via the strength of her imagination, as there were no paintings or photographs available for a number of these women); and a million thanks to my editor Jillian Verrillo, for the beautiful editing, the encouragement, the answering of my paranoid emails, and all the care you took with the manuscript in general. The book is so much stronger because of you. Thank you so much to my editor Stephanie Hitchcock for fearlessly guiding the book to completion, to Sarah Bibel at Harper Perennial for fulfilling my dreams of a pink cover, and to everyone else at Harper Perennial for bringing this book to life.
For their researching, fact-checking, and mad bilingual skills: thank you to Hiba Krisht for help with Moulay and Raya/Sakina; thank you to Taka Okubo for delving into Miyuki Ishikawa (even though we didn’t find enough on her to ultimately include her), and to Hungarian Google, which informed me I was totally wrong about Erzsébet Báthory’s diary being housed in the national archives in Budapest. (Don’t worry, I had other reasons to be in Budapest.) I cannot thank my Russian translators, Rostislav and Alyona Tkachenko, enough—without you, there would be no Darya chapter, period. Thank you to Nefertiti Takla for generously directing me to your brilliant work on Raya and Sakina. Béla Bodó, Diana Britt Franklin, David Wilson, and Kimberly L. Craft—you don’t know me, but your meticulously researched books were invaluable to me. And a special shout-out to all the hard-working old-school journalists of the past for all the great headlines, impertinent pull quotes, and wildly inaccurate but colorful anecdotes. Nellie Bly, Genevieve Forbes—your bravery and empathetic spirit live on today in journalists around the globe.
Thank you to my siblings, always. John (my earliest partner in crime/writing) and Jenny: thank you for letting me tell you the news over IHOP and for being my rocks in Los Angeles. Sammy, you are so enthusiastic and unconditionally supportive about everything. Anna, my best pal/evil genius/advice-giver, what would I do without you? Hope I didn’t accidentally turn you malevolent! Extra love to Sammy and my cousin Aaron for reading the chapter on Alice Kyteler while you were scrambling around South America.
Thank you to my parents, Charles and Rhonda Telfer, for teaching me to love both history’s redemptive narratives and odd, forgotten corners. Thank you to all four of my amazing grandparents and my super-cool in-laws Chris and Lori for all the love and support.
And most of all, thank you to Charlie Kirchen—my soulmate and one true love and someone I am, like, creepily obsessed with—for being there every step of the way (and long before, too). Thank you for letting me regale you with tales of death, for all the perfectly brewed coffee, for being the Clyde to my Bonnie (symbolically, not literally!!), for letting me filch that Nietzsche quote, for encouraging both my writing and catering, for inspiring me with your own hard work, and for giving me the type of love that makes it seem like anything is possible. I can’t wait for you to read this!
Notes
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was made. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature on your e-book reader.
The Elusive Population
xiThe Elusive Population: Farrell, A. L., Keppel, R. D., and Titterington, V. B., “Lethal Ladies: Revisiting What We Know about Female Serial Murderers,” Homicide Studies 15, no. 3 (2011): 228–52.
xiLess than ten percent: According to stats gathered from the Radford University/FGCU Serial Killer Database and information presented in Hickey, Eric W., Serial Murderers and Their Victims (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1997).
xi140 known female serial killers: Vronsky, Peter, Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters (New York: Berkley Books, 2007), 3.
xiA blog for the Men’s Rights movement: See the index listed on unknownmisandry.blogspot.com.
xiIncreased in the US since the 1970s: Schurman-Kauflin, Deborah, The New Predator—Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers (New York: Algora Pub., 2000), 12.
xiCollective amnesia: A concept explored in Pearson, Patricia, When She Was Bad: How and Why Women Get Away with Murder (New York: Penguin Books, 1998).
xiiReactive homicide . . . instrumental homicide: Perri, Frank S. and Lichtenwald, Terrance G., “The Last Frontier: Myths and the Female Psychopathic Killer,” Forensic Examiner (Summer 2010): 50–67.
xiiiAbove-average attractiveness: Harrison, Marissa A., Erin A. Murphy, Lavina Y. Ho, Thomas G. Bowers, and Claire V. Flaherty, “Female Serial Killers in the United States: Means, Motives, and Makings,” Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology 26, no. 3 (2015): 383–406.
xiiiThe vantage-ground of SEX: Harland, Marion, “The Truth about Female Criminals,” North American Review 150, no. 398 (January 1890): 138–40.
xiiiThat side of her, however, is rarely invoked: Perri and Lichtenwald, “The Last Frontier.”
xiiiMyth of female passivity: Ibid.
xivOne must not suppose them like others: Questions sur les empoisonneurs, BA, MS 2664, fol. 45 trans. in Mollenauer, Lynn Wood, Strange Revelations: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV’s France (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007), 63, 159.
xivHot Female Murderers: This list can be found, as of November 6, 2016, at the revered site holytaco.com/female-murderers-casey-anthony.
xvMan will desire oblivion: Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, On the Geneology of Morals (New York: Vintage Books, 1989).
Chapter 1: The Blood Countess
3The Blood Countess: This nickname is a common one for Erzsébet, appearing in many of the below publications.
4She spoke not only Hungarian and Slovak: Thorne, Tony, Countess Dracula: The Life and Times of the Blood Countess, Elisabeth Báthory (London: Bloomsbury, 1997), 84. McNally, Raymond T., Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983), 19. Penrose, Valentine, The Bloody Countess (London: Calder a
nd Boyars, 1970), 15. Craft, Kimberly L., Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory (Lexington, KY: Kimberly L. Craft, 2009), 14.
4Epileptic seizures: McNally, Dracula Was a Woman, 19. Craft, Infamous Lady, 13.
4Her parents happened to be cousins: McNally, Dracula Was a Woman, 16, 18–19. Penrose, The Bloody Countess, 15.
4Horse’s body: McNally, Dracula Was a Woman, 21.
4Occasional public execution: Craft, Infamous Lady, 13.
5Run her in-laws’ massive estates: Thorne, Countess Dracula, 89.
5Erzsébet, at fourteen: McNally, Dracula Was a Woman, 30. Thorne, Countess Dracula, 92.
6Occasional flash of the strong-willed personality: Craft, Infamous Lady, 41.
6Catch with their severed heads: Ibid., 63.
6Loaning money to the Hapsburgs: McNally, Dracula Was a Woman, 60.
7Star kicking: Ibid., 127.
7Clawed glove . . . stung by insects: Craft, Infamous Lady, 64.
7Wild beast in female form: Ibid., 62.
7The Lady became more cruel: Testimony of Ficzkó, trans. in the appendices of Craft, Infamous Lady.
7Reduced the rights of peasants and serfs: Bledsaw, Rachael L., “No Blood in the Water: The Legal and Gender Conspiracies Against Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Historical Context” (master’s thesis, Illinois State University, 2014), 30.
8Practically unpayable debt: Craft, Infamous Lady, 67.
8Unknown and mysterious causes: Ibid., 58, 116.
8Three dead bodies: Ibid., 57.
8Your Grace should not have so acted: Report of Mózes Cziráky, October 27, 1610, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
9She refused to participate in the torture: Craft, Infamous Lady, 104.
9Cut off their fingers: Testimony of Dorka, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
10Until their bodies burst: Testimony of Ficzkó, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
10No butcher under heaven was, in my opinion, more cruel: Letter from Janós Ponikenusz, priest of the church at Csejthe, to the theologian Élias Lanyí, January 1, 1611, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
10Erzsébet liked it all: All descriptions of torture taken from trial documents and testimonies of Dorka, Ficzkó, Ilona Jó’s, and Katalin, Ibid.
10Anywhere she went: Testimony of Ilona Jó, Ibid.
10Their mistress could neither eat nor drink: From András of Keresztúr’s report to Mátyás II, July 28, 1611, Ibid.
11Written by a Jesuit scholar: His name was László Turóczi.
12Change her shirt: Testimony of Ilona Jó, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
12Disturbed by dogs: Craft, Infamous Lady, 126, 127, 155.
12Forest witch: Ibid., 99.
13Anxious energy: Ibid., 90.
13Erzsébet’s bizarre excuse: Ibid., 107–8, 113.
14Knife still quivering in her foot: Ibid., 110.
15Public punishment would shame us all: Zrínyi’s letter to Thurzó, February 12, 1611, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
15Convinced she was trying to poison them: Craft, Infamous Lady, 127–8.
15The cats were instructed to destroy: Letter from Ponikenusz to Élias Lanyí, January 1, 1611, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
16Hidden away where this damned woman: Letter from Thurzó to his wife, December 30, 1610, ibid.
16Dungeons that had held her victims’ bodies: Craft, Infamous Lady, 133.
17175 to 200 girls: Ibid., 160.
17650 girls: Testimony of Szuzanna, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
17Serious, ongoing atrocities: Ibid., 244.
17Even if they tortured her with fire: Testimony of Nicolaus Barosius, pastor of the town of Verbo, ibid.
18As the shadows envelop you: Ibid., 171.
18Certain cultural and historical factors: For an in-depth discussion on the use of torture, the question of framing, and the Common Inquest, see Bledsaw, “No Blood in the Water,” 30.
19The Countess was put under house arrest: Thorne, Countess Dracula, 167. Penrose, The Bloody Countess, 168.
19Name would no longer be spoken in society: Craft, Infamous Lady, 180.
19Sing, beautifully: Stanislas Thurzó’s letter to György Thurzó, August 25, 1614, Craft, Infamous Lady appendices.
19No trace of Erzsébet: Craft, Infamous Lady, 184.
Chapter 2: The Giggling Grandma
23The Giggling Grandma: This was one of the more popular nicknames the press bestowed on Nannie during her glory days.
23Sick, aged aunt: Corsicana Daily Sun, “Possible Poison Victims Now 14,” December 7, 1954.
24I’m sure mighty proud: Pampa Daily News, “Nannie Doss Hams It Up for Newsmen,” December 8, 1954.
24Thinking crooked: Lawton Constitution, “Nannie Doss Enjoyed Good, Clean Romance,” June 3, 1965.
25Church woman: Kansas City Times, “Doss Tales as False,” November 30, 1954.
25No more Christian: Lima News, “Jovial Mrs. Doss Never Lost Smile Throughout Four Poison Confessions,” December 19, 1954.
25Turned black so quick: Ibid.
25I’d get down on my knees: Kansas City Times, “Full Story Not Told,” December 1, 1954.
25Some men were good: Ibid.
26She talks a lot: Great Bend Tribune, “Reticent Widow Investigated in Arsenic Deaths,” November 27, 1954.
26Smiling, talkative widow: Miami Daily News-Record, “Nannie Doss Admits Poison Deaths of 4,” November 29, 1954.
27If you don’t come to bed . . . I decided I’ll teach him: Bridgeport Telegram, “Affable Grandmother Confesses Poisoning 4 or 5 Husbands,” November 29, 1954.
27Out of bed: Logansport Pharos-Tribune, “Tulsa Widow Confesses Killing Five Husbands,” November 29, 1954.
28Will you please take our names off your list: Brownwood Bulletin, “Endorsement of Widow Written by Poison Victim,” November 30, 1954.
28I lost my head: Bridgeport Telegram, “Affable Grandmother.”
29He got on my nerves: Pampa Daily News, “Defense Wants to ‘Shut Up’ Nannie Doss,” December 1, 1954.
29He sure did like prunes: Bridgeport Telegram, “Affable Grandmother.”
29Kill someone else: Miami Daily News-Record, “Suspect Gave Autopsy Okay,” November 29, 1954.
30You can dig up all the graves: Logansport Pharos-Tribune, “Tulsa Widow.”
30I’ll be next: Anniston Star, “Nannie’s Conscience Clear,” June 3, 1965.
31All that happened was that the police: Kansas City Times, “Doss Tales,” November 30, 1954.
31Simple, open: Ibid.
31Shrewd, very shrewd: Ibid.
32Ain’t that the dying truth: Pampa Daily News, “Nannie Doss Hams It Up for Newsmen,” December 8, 1954.
33Talking to you for a week: Moberly Monitor-Index, “Slayer of Four Husbands Will ‘Quit Talking,’” November 30, 1954.
34I was a normal person: Bundy’s final interview with James Dobson is available on video at https://vimeo.com/49018764 as of February 5, 2017, and the transcript is widely available around the web.
35Epitaphs: Brownwood Bulletin, “Widow Liked to Write Epitaphs for Tombstones of Her Poison Victims,” December 5, 1954.
35Now maybe I will get some rest: Neosho Daily News, “Doctors Begin Sanity Tests on Nanny Doss,” December 16, 1954.
35Maybe those docs at the hospital: Lubbock Morning Avalanche, “Confessed Slayer to Mental Hospital,” December 17, 1954.
35If you had small children: McKinney Daily Courier-Gazette, “Grandma Doss Described as ‘Ideal Patient,’” March 9, 1955.
35Mentally defective: El Paso Herald-Post, “Slayer of Four Husbands Held Insane by Examiners,” March 14, 1955.
36The hearing shapes up: Greenwood, S.C., Index-Journal, “Jury to Decide if Granny Doss Is Legally Sane,” May 2, 1955.
36I like people: Long Beach Independent, “Killer of Four Husbands Gets New Proposal,” March 26, 1955.
36Enough husbands: Ibid.
36Mrs. Doss is a mentally defective: H
arlingen, TX, Valley Morning Star, “Psychologist Holds Nannie Doss Insane,” May 3, 1955.
36She is a shrewd, clever: Palm Beach Post, “Woman Termed Shrew Who Slew Four Husbands,” May 4, 1955.
36Extensively at nothing: Pampa Daily News, “Nannie Doss Called Shrew by Prosecutor,” May 4, 1955.
36Cleverest criminal: Albuquerque Journal, “Nannie Might Kill Again, Sanity Hearing Jury Told,” May 4, 1955.
37I’ve never felt more sane in my whole life: Anniston Star, “Chuckling Mrs. Doss Agrees She’s Sane Enough to Face Trial,” May 5, 1955.
37Wore an attractive blue party dress: Salem, OR, Daily Capital Journal, “Grandma Doss Gets Life Term,” June 2, 1955.
37This court has never heard of a woman: Brownsville Herald, “Arsenic Slayer Gets Life Term,” June 2, 1955.
37I have no hard feelings: Sedalia Democrat, “Nannie Doss Gets Life Term for Killing Husband,” June 2, 1955.
37I thought I was just out of the headlines: Miami Daily News-Record, “Nannie Grants an Interview,” September 7, 1955.
38From a magazine story: Moberly Monitor-Index, “Accused Poisoner Sent to Hospital for Mental Tests,” December 16, 1954.
38Sounds sort of crazy: Miami Daily News-Record, “Nannie Grants,” September 7, 1955.
38Strictly for the fifty women prisoners: Miami Daily News-Record, “‘Like Being at Home,’ Nannie Says of Her Stay in State Penitentiary,” December 1, 1955.
38Just like a mother: Ibid.
38Just like being at home: Ibid.
39Numerous studies: Brower, M. C., “Advances in Neuropsychiatry: Neuropsychiatry of Frontal Lobe Dysfunction in Violent and Criminal Behaviour: A Critical Review,” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 71, no. 6 (2001): 720–6.