Gilles de Rais or Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou. He was a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. So, how is it that his reputation turned to a killer of children?
The True Face Of Evil
Gilles ‘Baron’ de Rais fought alongside Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans. This was around La Roche-Bernard in France in September 1438.
de Rais was a young lord who was hailed as a hero. So, understandably any mother would be honored to have their ten-year-old son go live with de Rais and become his page. Unbeknownst to the mother, she would never see her young son again.
WARNING: Pedophilia | Rape | Gore | Torture | Kidnapping | Masturbation | Assaults | Killing | Stalking | Abuse | Psychological Abuse | Brutality.
His outstanding career as a soldier in the Hundred Years’ War and as a comrade in the arms of Joan de Arc should have sealed his fate in history.
Instead, de Rais went down in history for his brutal sexual acts against hundreds of children. His depravity and rampage are amongst the worst known serial killers. He knew no bounds in his quest for blood and suffering.
Richer Than Kings And More Depraved
At one point in time, his wealth rivaled those of the monarch. His hot-headedness and impetuousness translated well as a skilled and fearless fighter on the battlefield.
After Joan died in 1431, de Rais started spending more and more time at his estate. He spent his vast fortune on decorations, servants, and a sizeable military retinue. de Rais commissioned music and works of literature as well.
As he continued to spend recklessly, he started selling family lands, causing a bitter fight among other family members.
de Rais was responsible for the ritualistic murder and torture of scores of children. His trial was around September 19th and lasted till October 22nd, 1440.
The scores of testimonies detailed horrifying encounters of corruption, satanism, theatrical opulence, and sick delusion. Rumors and innuendos surrounded Gilles de Rais. However, his money and power protected him from much scrutiny. After all, he was only killing servants’ children.
From A Knight To A Sexual Predator
So, how many children did the occult serial murderer kill? It is estimated that he killed around one hundred and forty children. How can such a man get away with a vast amount of killings?
In the 15th century, his status and feral standing in the lower classes allowed him to do as he pleased. In de Rais’ case, he was taking children away from their parents without repercussions.
The Baron started killing around 1432. It is believed that most of his carnage was done at a fortress in Champtocé. It would then continue at the castle in Machecoul, just outside of Nantes.
His depraved court went out each night hunting down peasant children on roads and bringing them back through secret passages and rooms. He and his followers would spend the rest of the night partaking in violent sexual acts against them.
How Hard Can You Ensure Your Place In Hell
These homicidal acts revolved around beheading his victims while still alive. Before doing this, these innocent children were brutalized before they met their demise. It seemed like the Baron had a preference for beheading. He even had a special sword he called a braquemard to see his victim’s head with.
de Rais also psychologically tortured his victims by dressing them in fine clothing, providing them with a lavish meal, and then plying them with alcohol before hanging them as they lost consciousness.
[The boy] was pampered and dressed in better clothes than he had ever known. The evening began with a large meal and heavy drinking, particularly hippocras, which acted as a stimulant. The boy was then taken to an upper room to which only Gilles and his immediate circle were admitted. There he was confronted with the true nature of his situation. The shock thus produced on the boy was an initial source of pleasure for Gilles.
Wikipedia
After they were reawakened, they were subjected to horrific horrible acts of sexual assault until they met their deaths. de Rais would also like to kidnap them in pairs and watch each other as they were tortured and killed in the same manner.
The Baron took great sexual gratification in watching his victims die slowly, and the more they suffered, the more gratification he got.
A Morally Depraved Psychopath
de Rais was an insatiable killer, and no amount of depravity satisfied him. He bound the victims and masturbated on them, usually on their stomachs and thighs.
Occasionally, de Rais would get a female to masturbate between her thighs, enjoying this act instead of penetration. He would then have her partially disembowelled. He would later proceed to masturbate on the entrails.
His other gruesome acts consisted of keeping the heads of the males he considered pretty on a mantle. de Rais would kiss the decomposing lips frequently. He was a sadist who enjoyed beauty among his male victims.
Gilles de Rais was a sadist, pedophile, murderer, cannibal, and necrophile. Still, it was rumored that he was a satanist who offered severed eyes, ears, and hearts from his victims to conjure a demon called “Barron.”
It is believed he did the occult ritual because he was running out of money and thought of the illegal practice as alchemy.
Inhuman Bloody Orgasms
In his lust for sex and violence, de Rais was often left incapacitated, falling unconscious after his bloody acts. After killing and mutilating his victims, he would frequently sodomize the corpse, taking pleasure in the act that he would faint upon reaching orgasm.
de Rais often sodomized and defiled his dead victims. He was frequently disembowelling them in the process.
He would also sit on his victim’s stomachs as he cut their throats from ear to ear, enjoying watching their eyes as life escaped them, and would usually masturbate as they bled out.
Once he was done with his victims, he had his servants dispose of them by burning them. They would let them down into cesspools if they couldn’t wholly burn the bodies. He would also display them as trophies in his sick, personal collection.
Returning The Demon To Hell
de Rais wasn’t arrested until September 1440, when he kidnapped a priest after a dispute unrelated to the murders. Under threat of torture, de Rais confessed to the charges and described ritualistically torturing dozens of children kidnapped by his servants over a period lasting nearly a decade.
The Baron was executed in Nantes on October 26th, 1440, because he was contrite in the face of execution. There was a three-day fast observed after his death by the town.
© Gothic Bite Magazine 