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Throughout history, we’ve seen our fair share of infamous villains, like the notorious Adolf Hitler, responsible for unspeakable atrocities against the Jews, or the chilling figure of Vlad the Impaler, who impaled 20,000 people alive.

But let’s not pretend men have monopolized evil. While society may have often relegated women to the background, a few bold women in history refused to let the guys hog all the villainy.

This article we’ll talk about the top 10 most evil women in history.

1. Wu Zetian The Dragon Emperess

Emperess Wu Zetian of China || Known for her ambition and the brutal methods.

Our first stop on the list of the most evil women in history takes us to China, where Wu Zetian’s rise to power is the stuff of legend. Starting out as a lowly concubine in the Emperor’s court, she climbed her way to become the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor. Along the way, she left a trail of blood—allegedly killing her own children, executing her brothers, and even poisoning her mother. 

Raised by her father to be sharp and intelligent, Wu’s beauty and brains helped her win the emperor’s favour (and later, his son’s). Once she was in his good graces, she wasted no time eliminating the competition, reportedly sacrificing her own newborn daughter to get rid of the empress and a rival consort.

Interestingly, some scholars argue that she was actually a forward-thinking ruler, advancing gender and social equality. Her anti-Confucian views, especially her feminist leanings, made her a target for smear campaigns by male historians of the time. Whether or not she was as evil as history claims, her brutal reputation earned her a spot on this list.

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2. Empress Lü Zhi – Crazy Emperess of China (241-180 BC) 

Empress Lü Zhi || Probably the most evil emperess in the history of china.

Empress Wu Zetian often steals the spotlight as one of China’s most powerful female rulers, but let’s not forget the original queen of chaos, Empress Lu Zhi—the very first female empress in recorded Chinese history.

Lu Zhi wasn’t just any empress; she was a ride-or-die wife to her husband, Emperor Gaozu of Han, sticking by his side through all the ups and downs. But as soon as the emperor started getting cozy with his concubines, things turned dark.

One concubine, in particular, caught Lu Zhi’s attention—she not only gave the emperor another male heir, but that new son was quickly becoming the emperor’s favourite, threatening Lu Zhi’s son’s claim to the throne.

To protect her son’s future as crown prince, she poisoned the concubine’s son and then unleashed revenge on the concubine herself. We’re talking limbs cut off, eyes gouged out, and to top it all off, she pushed her down a latrine (yes, a toilet). If that wasn’t bad enough, Lu Zhi even invited her son to witness the whole gruesome spectacle. 

If that does not put you on the list of the most evil women in history, I don’t know what will.

3. Elizabeth Báthory – Vampire Countess (1560-1614)

Elizabeth Báthory || The blood countess.

The next person on our list takes us on a journey far from China to the heart of Europe, where we meet Elizabeth Bathory, a noblewoman from the infamous House of Bathory.

Elizabeth wasn’t just any aristocrat; she’s said to have been one of history’s most notorious serial killers, with rumours claiming she murdered up to 650 young women, bathing in their blood to preserve her youth. If you’ve never heard of “Countess Dracula,” you might be more familiar with her in another form: some believe she inspired the evil queen in Snow White.

But here’s the twist—just like with Wu Zetian, not everyone buys the blood-soaked legend. Some historians argue that Elizabeth was actually evil since no bodies were actually found at her castle grounds.

Whether guilty or not, she definitely paid for her alleged crimes—locked away in her own luxurious castle in Slovakia until her death. Not a bad prison, if you ask!

4. Daria SaltykovaBlood Countess of Moscow

Saltykova during one of her torture sessions.

Daria Saltykova was Russia’s version of Elizabeth Bathory, notorious for her cruelty against her servants. She earned a gruesome reputation after killing at least 38 of her serfs—though some witnesses claim the real number could be as high as 138.

Most of her victims were young women who she tortured in horrifying ways. Nothing was off the table; they were whipped, burnt alive, frozen, and starved to death.

Her reign of terror began after she was widowed at just 26, left with two sons, an enormous estate, and 800 serfs to control. Daria spiralled into violence, making life a living hell for those under her power. It wasn’t until Catherine the Great came to the throne that things changed. One brave serf, who had lost three wives to Daria’s cruelty, managed to get a letter to Catherine, sparking Daria’s downfall.

Labelled a “monster of the human race,” Daria was stripped of her noble status, her wealth, and even her right to be called a woman. Before being thrown in prison for life, she was forced to stand in the middle of Moscow’s Red Square with a sign branding her as a “torturer and murderer”—a public shaming that matched the horror of her crimes.

5.Leonarda Cianciulli – The Itallian Soapmaker

Leonarda Cianciulli || The Itallian soap Maker. She is shown here after her arrest.

A mother’s love knows no bounds, right? Well, in the case of Leonarda Cianciulli, it literally knew no bounds—and not in a heartwarming way. Leonarda, an Italian woman, murdered three women and turned their remains into teacakes and soap, which she happily handed out to her neighbours and friends. 

So, what drove this sweet, elderly woman to become one of the most evil women ever? Superstition. Leonarda had a tough life from the start, with a childhood full of trauma and heartbreak. She lost 13 of her children to miscarriages and infant mortality, leaving only four to reach adulthood. Her eldest son, Giuseppe, was her pride and joy.

Over time, anxiety and depression consumed her, leading her down a dark path of superstition. When Giuseppe enlisted in the Italian army during World War II, Leonarda became convinced that only human sacrifice could protect him and break the supposed curse on her family.

Leonarda Cianciulli Murder Weapons
The Weapons Leonarda Used on Her Victims

With her reputation as a wise, caring mother, she lured three women into her home and killed them, turning their bodies into baked goods and soap. Her plan unravelled only after the family of her final victim raised the alarm. Thus, Leonarda earned her notorious title as the “Soapmaker of Correggio,” ending up with 33 years in prison and 3 in a criminal asylum. 

6. Miyuki Ishikawa – Japanese Baby Killer (1897-1987)

Miyuki Ishikawa ||Killer Nurse In post world war 2 Japan

It’s the aftermath of World War II; Japan is left shattered, with cities in ruins and people struggling to survive. Along with the chaos comes a baby boom, as is often the case after wars. But for many families, this blessing was mixed with the curse of extreme poverty.

Enter Miyuki Ishikawa, a midwife with a sinister “solution” to the flood of babies born into these desperate conditions. She took it upon herself to end their lives—sometimes at the parents’ request, sometimes by her own twisted judgment. 

She also roped in her husband, who handled the payments from the parents, and a doctor who forged death certificates to cover their tracks. It’s said that other midwives knew what was going on—some even quit in protest—but shockingly, no one stepped in to stop her. 

Things only came to light when 40 infant bodies were discovered in a mortician’s home, with another 30 found at a temple. Miyuki was arrested and brought to trial, where her defence was that it wasn’t her fault—she blamed the parents for abandoning their children.

And, unbelievably, her argument held some weight due to the lack of rights for infants in Japan at the time. This evil woman ended up with a mere 8-year sentence, while her husband and the doctor got just 4 years. To make it even more frustrating, the couple managed to have their sentences cut in half on appeal!

7. Juana Barraza – Little Old Lady Killer (1957-Present) 

Troubled childhoods can often pave the way for the most notorious criminals, and Juana Barraza’s story is one example. Born to a police officer father and an alcoholic prostitute mother, Juana’s upbringing was anything but ordinary.

Neglected by her mom and stepdad, she was even pimped out by her own mother for a few beers at a disturbingly young age. Unsurprisingly, her adult life was just as rocky, filled with failed relationships and four children to raise. 

To make ends meet, she became a professional wrestler, going by the name “Lady of Silence.” But it wasn’t long before financial struggles pushed her into burglary. What started as theft soon escalated into murder.

Disguising herself as a nurse or social worker, she entered the homes of her victims dressed in white, earning their trust before brutally strangling them. Some say her hatred toward elderly women stemmed from unresolved anger toward her mother.

Juana’s episodes of violence lasted until she made a major mistake—she killed the mother of a criminologist, which finally led to her arrest. Convicted of at least 16 murders (though some believe it could be as many as 30), she was sentenced to 759 years in prison!

8. Genene Jones – Killer Nurse of Texas (1950-Present) 

Genene Jones -|| Killer Nurse of Texas

America’s also got its own dark version of a “baby killer” nurse. Meet Genene Jones, a PICU nurse who earned the nickname “The Angel of Death.” She’s believed to be behind the deaths of up to 50 children across two hospitals in San Antonio. Her goal was to inject kids with deadly drugs to push them to the edge of death, only to swoop in as the hero and “save” them.

The problem with such an evil plan is that Many of those poor children didn’t make it back. Her reason for doing it at her second hospital job was even more bizarre. She wanted to prove that the area needed a pediatric ICU. Talk about a deranged sales pitch. 

This evil woman finally met her waterloo when Chelsea McClellan, a baby girl, tragically died after a routine checkup. Right after Jones gave her a shot, Chelsea stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital, but she never made it. 

Jones faced two trials: the first in 1984 for Chelsea’s murder, where she was sentenced to 99 years, and another for her crimes at the second hospital, earning her another 60 years.

But here’s the kicker—she was almost released in 2018 due to prison overcrowding! Luckily, in 2017, she confessed to yet another murder, this time of 11-month-old Joshua Weeks. With these new charges, it looks like she’ll be spending the rest of her days behind bars where she belongs.

9. Amelia Dyer The Baby Strangler

Amelia Dyer - The Baby Strangler

In Victorian Britain, being an unmarried mother was tough. Society wasn’t exactly forgiving, and raising a child solo meant struggling to survive in a world that judged you harshly. Enter the “baby farmers” — people who offered to foster or adopt babies for a fee. While some were decent, many unfortunately weren’t. 

Amelia Dyer, one of the most infamous baby farmers, promised desperate mothers a safe, loving home for their babies through newspaper ads convincing them that she is married with a nice country home. Spoiler alert: this was far from the truth. Amelia was as evil as they come. She took the money from her clients and killed the babies, usually within days. Her preferred method was strangling them with white tape or dumping the bodies wrapped in bags into rivers. 

For nearly 20 years, Dyer escaped justice, hiding behind fake names and moving from town to town. Eventually, the authorities caught up with her after a baby’s body was found in the Thames. In 1896, Dyer was finally arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for the murder of possibly up to 400 babies! Now, that’s a number that puts you on our infamous list of the most evil women in history.

10. Irma GreseHyena of Auschwitz

Irma Grese - Hyena of Auschwitz

Irma Grese isn’t just the youngest villainess on this list – she might be one of the youngest war criminals in history. Born on a farm, she started out as a simple farm helper and dairy shop saleswoman before her transformation into the notorious “Beast of Belsen.” As an SS guard at some of the most infamous concentration camps—Ravensbruck, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen—Irma’s name became synonymous with terror.

Despite her reputation as a striking beauty, her actions were anything but. Survivors described her as a sadist with a taste for torture, often donning her signature boots, whip, and pistol. She was known for lashing out with her whip, particularly targeting women’s breasts until the wounds became so infected that they needed medical attention. Irma also insisted on being present for these moments, relishing the pain she caused.

She later obtained two police dogs that she set on prisoners for even the slightest offences, finding sick pleasure in watching the animals tear into terrified young women. Irma’s savagery finally ended when the British liberated the camps in 1945, and at just 22, she was sentenced to hang for her crimes.

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