6. Joan of Arc’s Right Hand Man Was an Out and Out Monster
Joan of Arc’s right-hand man was Gilles de Rais, a respected knight and beloved national hero. He was assigned to guard Joan of Arc, fought in several battles at her side, and became her chief lieutenant. King Charles VII honored Gilles de Rais by naming him Marshall of France. He retired from the military in 1434, but soon dissipated his wealth with reckless spending. To raise more cash, he turned to alchemy in the hope of turning base metals into gold. He also turned to the serial rape, torture, and murder of children.
In 1440, de Rais kidnapped a priest. That triggered an investigation, which revealed that the celebrated hero had been murdering children by the hundreds. He lured lower-class children to his castle with gifts, and after they were fed and pampered to put them at ease, the children were led to a bedroom where they were seized by Gilles and his accomplices. As he confessed, he derived sadistic pleasure from watching their fear when he revealed what was in store for them: torture, sodomy, and murder. He was executed by burning and hanging, and his deeds inspired the fairy tale of Bluebeard, about a wealthy serial-wife killer.
