Day 12 of Blogtober, and I look back at one of the best novels written by John Blackburn, who was in essence the British Stephen King of his era (1960s-1970s). Our Lady of Pain is a novel inspired by the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, who may have murdered several hundred people while she was in power. I wrote an introduction to this book for Valancourt Books, and had a great time investigating the “real” history of Bathory and trying to separate the truth from the legend.

Our Lady of Pain starts as a mystery, where unexplained deaths lead to a truly twisted plan that connects all the way back to Bathory and her power over people…