Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

Geeky

Are you aware how awful and dark history really is??

Você está ciente de como a história é realmente terrível e sombria?

Você é capaz de dizer se estes terríveis fatos históricos são verdadeiros ou falsos?

Ist dir bewusst, wie schrecklich und finster die Geschichte wirklich war??

Kannst du sagen, ob diese schrecklichen historischen Fakten wahr oder falsch sind?

Can You Tell If These Gruesome Historic Facts Are True Or False?

Though this is a popular myth about her, it isn't one that was popularised until the 17th and 18th centuries, long after her death. Additionally, when the original 300 witness accounts that persecuted her were first published, [none of them mentioned blood baths](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UDpOAQAAIAAJ&jtp=241&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)–though they did describe plenty of other gruesome acts.

It's (most likely) false.

Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th century Hungarian noblewoman who notoriously killed and tortured hundreds of innocent victims, would also bathe in their blood.

The most notable example of this was after the Battle of the Kalkan River, when the Kievan Rus army (now modern day Russia) suffered a brutal defeat. The Mongols had a belief that they could not shed noble blood, so they needed a more creative way of taking out the nobility after they defeated their enemies. The Mongols had their victory feast on a platform under which the Kievan nobles were bound, resulting in a great time for the Mongols and suffocation and [death for the Kievan princes.](https://books.google.co.uk/books?dq=battle+of+kalka+river+suffocated&id=4-fgV3iF0eAC&lpg=PT193&pg=PT193#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20kalka%20river%20suffocated&f=false)

It's true!

Mongols would kill the nobles in the armies they defeated by binding them, putting a large board over them, then having a feast on the board and crushing the enemies underneath.

Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, was a particularly cruel 15th century prince. Though he didn't drink blood, he had a reputation of sadism and cruelty, and [his name inspired Bram Stoker's _Dracula_](https://books.google.co.uk/books?dq=bram+stoker+vlad+the+impaler&id=WEjagMjg1VEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q=bram%20stoker%20&f=false).

_Dracula_, the classic novel by Bram Stoker, was named after a real person.

The practise was called mummia, and was done well into the 20th century. [Mummies were ground up and consumed as medicine.](https://books.google.co.uk/books?dq=mummia&id=GmuTDAAAQBAJ&lpg=PT117&pg=PT117#v=onepage&q=mummia&f=false)

Egyptian mummies are hard to come by today because so many of them were ground up and used as medicine by Europeans.

Of course, he didn't do all the killing himself personally, rather this is the death toll of the Mongol army that he led. This number also doesn't include the thousands that died of the bubonic plague, something the Mongols are credited for spreading.

It was actually a whole lot more – many historians putting the death toll [at around 40 million](https://books.google.co.uk/books?dq=mongol+40+million&id=xxB9AgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA5&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=mongol%2040%20million&f=false)

[A German spy was found parachuting](https://books.google.co.uk/books?dq=tower+of+london+execution+german+spy+1941&id=aX9jYpiJXawC&lpg=PA142&pg=PA142#v=onepage&q=tower%20of%20london%20execution%20german%20spy%201941&f=false) into England in the midst of the Second World War and was consequently hung in the Tower.

Actually, the last execution didn't happen all that long ag –it was in 1941.

The last execution at the Tower of London happened over a hundred years ago.

Two major outbreaks (in 1395 and 1665 respectively) killed half of the population of London, but plague outbreaks would happen every few decades in the sprawling city and kill around 20% of the population each time.

[It's true, but it's actually even worse than that.](https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/5014/5434/6066/london-plagues-1348-1665.pdf)

Half the population of London was wiped out due to the black plague.

There's no evidence that elephant dung has been used for contraception. However, ancient Egyptians believed that [crocodile dung dipped in plant slime and inserted into the vagina](http://en.muvs.org/topic/what-women-in-antiquity-used-to-do-for-contraception-en/) was effective contraception.

It's false!

Elephant dung has been historically used as contraception.

Not bad! You probably paid close attention in history classes, or at least when they talked about the gory stuff.

You're a gruesome history expert! You never get tired or bored of finding out all the terrible ways in which humans have behaved towards one another.

Puzzles

A história não deve nada aos filmes de terror.

Você saberia dizer se estes fatos históricos horripilantes são verdadeiros ou falsos?

BuzzFeed

Wusstest du, wie schrecklich und finster Geschichte wirklich ist?

Weißt du, welche dieser schrecklichen historischen Ereignisse wirklich wahr sind?

About BuzzFeed Community

Community Brand Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community

Sorry, this content is <i>no longer</i> supported.

BuzzFeed Community Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community Leaderboard

BuzzFeed News has breaking stories and original reporting on politics, world news, social media, viral trends, health, science, technology, entertainment, and LGBTQ issues.

All the best animals on the internet. The snuggle is real.

BuzzFeed has breaking news, vital journalism, quizzes, videos, celeb news, Tasty food videos, recipes, DIY hacks, and all the trending buzz you’ll want to share with your friends. Copyright BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

BuzzFeed News | Breaking News | Original Reporting | News Analysis

Animal Pictures and Videos - Adorably from BuzzFeed

Name

Thanks for subscribing!

Stay up to date with our latest BuzzFeed video. Enter your email to subscribe!

Oops! Upload an image or add text to submit.

BuzzFeed has the hottest, most social content on the web. We feature breaking buzz and the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to your friends.

Can You Tell If These Gruesome Historic Facts Are True Or False?

Share This Article