The Headless Ghost of Count Nadasdy

Once upon a time, the wealthy Hungarian Count Franz III Nadasdy lived in Vienna. His grandmother was the legendary Countess Elisabeth Báthory, considered one of the world’s most famous serial killers. The Hungarian count worked tirelessly for Hungarian independence and conspired with rebels to achieve this goal. However, the planned attack was discovered and the count was sentenced to death by beheading. Although the death sentence was inevitable, Emperor Leopold I showed mercy by sparing him and having his right hand, the so-called oath hand, chopped off. This was customary for traitors. On April 27, 1671, the count was accompanied by his servants to an underground hall in the Old Town Hall at Wipplingerstraße 6-8 in Vienna’s 1st district. There was an altar covered with a black cloth, and the count took a seat on a black chair standing on a black carpet. His servants then unbuttoned his coat, combed his hair, and blindfolded him. After that, the sentence was read out, along with the emperor’s pardon. The count then cried out “Jesus and Mary” seven times before the executioner beheaded him. After the cruel beheading, his bloody corpse and head were placed in a coffin, which was carried into the courtyard of the town hall and presented to the people. A painting in a room on the ground floor of the Old Town Hall still bears witness to this execution today. The count himself is said to have had a bad premonition about his death as early as 1669, which he wrote down in his secret diary. He dreamed that he was dressed in Hungarian clothing, headless and covered in blood from the waist down. The ghost of the count, carrying his head under his arm, is said to have been seen both in his castle in Pottendorf and in the Loretto monastery. The count is still revered as a national hero in Hungary today because of his patriotism.