History is full of people killing each other,
and while the first serial killer to ever be recognized as such is believed to be a
Roman woman during the 1st century AD, the first person to be recognized as a serial
killer by his contemporaries was a French war hero- and his body count puts modern serial
killers to shame. Gilles de Rais is believed to have been born
on September in 1405, during a very troubled time in France's history. Born into the very heart of the Hundred Years'
War, de Rais' family and its lands in Brittany were caught right in the middle of a struggle
for the kingship of France. This was a hard time which made for hard men,
with native French, invading English, and a mix of various other European powers all
vying to support one side or the other and claim the largest kingdom in western Europe
for themselves. De Rais would not have a happy childhood,
despite he himself being a child prodigy. It's believed that by age 7 he was fluent
in Latin and read both military and religious scripture, seeking to educate himself in military
discipline, moral, and intellectual development. De Rais would follow in his father's footsteps
and serve for the cause of French sovereignty, but his life was nearly derailed when it's
believed that he witnessed his father killed in a horrible hunting accident. Following the death of his mother, de Rais
went into the care of his grandfather who tried to marry him off to wealthy heiresses-
one even as young as 4 years old while de Rais himself was barely a teenager. Eventually he was betrothed to a rich heiress
while 15 years old, substantially increasing his family's wealth. Forced to grow up fast, de Rais entered military
service at the age of 16, gaining great fame for his courage and loyalty. He was assigned to protect Joan of Arc in
her campaign against the English, and was devastated at her execution in her trial for
heresy. Despite his repeated personal tragedies, de
Rais earned great wealth and prestige, becoming a national hero. Unfortunately, this national hero would come
to harbor a very dark secret. Historians theorize that severe PTSD from
his childhood trauma, the death of his close friend Joan of Arc, and decades of horrific
medieval warfare took its toll on de Rais, leading him down dark paths. He began to exhibit antisocial behaviors and
a deep depression, allegedly claiming that he no longer wanted to live. Looking to isolate himself, he moved to a
remote castle deep in his barony, leaving even his wife behind. It would be here that one of France's darkest
chapters would be written. De Rais had seemingly become obsessed with
his own salvation and constructed a massive cathedral, the Chapel of the Holy Innocents. In biblical scripture, only children and mentally
handicapped individuals are considered innocents, which would lend a particularly dark intonation
to De Rais' private chapel. Right about this time, children began to go
missing from the lands surrounding de Rais' properties. At the time it wasn't uncommon for nobles
to simply take the children of peasants to raise them as their personal pages or assistants. Particularly lucky children might even be
made into squires, giving them a shot at a slightly better life than normal. Yeah, next time you see someone making a big
deal out of England's royal family, kindly remind them that these are the same people
who could simply take a child from their parent's arms if they wished- and the parent would
never expect to see or hear from them again. However, more children than could reasonably
be expected to fulfill court duties in de Rais' estate were going missing, and rumors
began to circulate of evil magic and even satan worship. Having financed a luxurious cathedral and
put on an extremely costly play based on the Siege of Orleans, which was lifted by his
good friend Joan of Arc, de Rais was running into serious financial difficulties. He began to sell off properties in order to
continue funding his extravagant lifestyle, but in 1438 turned to alchemy hoping it could
fix his financial woes. Growing ever more obsessed with the occult,
he also began to seek out witches and sorcerers, even experimenting with the summoning of demons
straight from the pit of hell itself. Rumors said that he was successful, but de
Rais himself was quickly becoming more demon than man. Over the course of eight years hundreds went
missing from Brittany- eventually most of them being blamed on de Rais himself. It was said that he would host elaborate and
lavish parties in his castle, then lead his guests to private rooms where he would hang
them from the ceiling by their necks, then slice their throats open with a knife. His appetite for violence and sadism seemingly
knew no bounds, and he unleashed all of his fury on the young people of Brittany. By 1440 de Rais was coming ever more unraveled
psychologically. His downfall began when he stormed into a
local church and dragged a priest screaming and crying out in the middle of a service. De Rais believed that the priest had cheated
him on a business deal, but whatever evil plans he had for the man were thankfully stopped
before he could carry them out. The kidnapping of the cleric prompted an investigation
by church authorities, which quickly led them to discovering evidence of de Rais' sadism. A government investigation quickly followed,
confirming the church's findings about de Rais' crimes, and he and his bodyguards were
arrested on the 15th of September, 1440. The charges against de Rais would be murder,
sodomy, and heresy, and the trial to come would shock the nation that once viewed de
Rais as a hero. Dozens of local parents testified before the
court that their children had last been seen in the hands of de Rais' servants, or going
to his castle to beg for food, before disappearing. A furrier testified that his young apprentice
had been asked to go on a favor on behalf of two of de Rais' men, only to have the men
later said that they hadn't seen the boy and that he had likely been kidnapped by thieves
to be turned into a page. Even de Rais' former associates, some of who
were involved in the grisly acts of violence, testified against him, shocking the witnesses
and court officials. The testimony of what took place in de Rais'
castle was so gruesome and lurid, that the judges presiding over the case ordered the
most graphic pieces to be struck from the record- leaving us even today with only a
small picture of what really took place. Eventually, de Rais himself confessed to his
crimes. For weeks he had been adamant of his innocence,
but in a sudden reversal he confessed of his deeds and asked for forgiveness. The court canceled a promised torture session
after he confessed, and de Rais was found guilty by an ecclesiastic court. Turned over to a secular court, de Rais was
once more found guilty thanks to the testimony of his two close confidants and bodyguards. All three men were sentenced to death by burning
and hanging simultaneously, a punishment reserved for only the most vile of criminals, and on
Wednesday, October 26th, de Rais and his two bodyguards were led to the gallows. Once there the men had a noose fitted around
their neck and brush was littered at their feet. Having asked to be executed first, de Rais
encouraged his former bodyguards to seek forgiveness before being set on fire and hung. The two men would quickly follow. It's believed that de Rais killed between
100 and 200 young children and teenagers, the remains disposed of in the cistern, moat
and other hiding places after being burned up. However, throughout history some have believed
that de Rais was actually innocent and the victim of a noble and church plot of revenge. In 1992, de Rais was retried using evidence
from historical documents and exonerated of his crimes- though the trial was not held
by historians but rather by authors who had written on the subject. To this day, most historians agree that the
detailed testimony against de Rais more than outweighs any hint of innocence, and that
Gilles de Rais was without a doubt, the first registered serial killer in history. Now go check out America's Most Evil Serial
Killer, or click this other link instead.
