Could Jack the Ripper have been an artist?

So much for artists being sensitive -- one Impressionist painter has been fingered as Jack the Ripper. But do the brutalized nudes on his canvases hint at actual murders?

Was a Hungarian countess the world's most prolific serial killer?

Elizabeth Bathory was never convicted of her crimes, but testimonies say she killed and tortured 650 people. Did she really bathe in her victims' blood?

Who was the real Count Dracula?

Bram Stoker's Count Dracula was inspired by a 15th-century Romanian prince: Vlad "the Impaler" Tepes. If you thought Dracula was scary, you may not want to read any further.

10 Historical Misconceptions

Some untrue historical events have been passed down for so many years that they have become truths. See our list of 10 historical misconceptions, including Sir Walter Raleigh's Cloak and Lady Godiva's Naked Ride.

El Cid

Cid, El , the popular name of Rodrigo (or Ruy) Díaz de Bivar (1040?–1099), a Spanish national hero.

Alexander Selkirk

Selkirk (or Selcraig), Alexander (1676–1721), a Scottish sailor. His adventures as a castaway inspired the plots of many tales, of which the best known is Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719).

Alfred Dreyfus

(1859-1935), a French army officer. He was the central figure in an espionage case that rocked France in the 1890's.

Baliol

Baliol, or Balliol, the name of an Anglo-Norman family prominent in Scottish history.

Blackbeard

Blackbeard (1680?–1718), the nickname of the English pirate Edward Teach, Thatch, or Thach.

Cola di Rienzi

Rienzi, Cola di, the assumed name of Niccolo Gabrini, (1313-1354), an Italian revolutionist.

Comnenus

Comnenus, the name of a noble family that ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185.

Comtesse Du Barry

Du Barry, Marie Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse (1743?-1793), a mistress of Louis XV of France.

Earl of Bothwell

Bothwell, James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of (1536?–1578), a Scottish noble and the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Earl of Leicester

Leicester, Robert Dudley, First Earl of (fourth creation) (1532?-1588), an English nobleman who was a favorite of Elizabeth I.

Flora MacDonald

Macdonald, Flora (1722–1790), a Scottish heroine. She is celebrated in Scottish folklore for aiding “Bonnie Prince Charlie” (Charles Edward Stuart, the “Young Pretender” to the English throne).