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.