Behind the New Town, on the banks of the Vah, are the haunted ruins of Čachtice Castle. Legend has it that Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614), aka the Blood Countess, had her disciples kidnap young girls in the area so that she could bathe in their blood and thus maintain her youth. Elizabeth was thirsty for secret knowledge and medicinal plants. It is not known where the remains of the Countess are buried, as the castle was destroyed during the Rakoczi uprising in 1708.