A couple of months ago, my theatrical company, EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (shameless plug time!), finished up our run of my original work, BLUEBEARD: THE TRIAL OF GILLES DE RAIS. (More shameless plugging!) Thanks to the wondrous Interwebs, the play was noticed by a young lady named Margot Juby, a resident of jolly old England, a longtime advocate for the innocence of Gilles de Rais. She reached out to me and—viola!—an online friendship was formed. This week Ms. Juby has provided me with not one but two subjects for coverage here at werewolves.com. The first involves her and my favorite accused serial killer of children, Baron de Rais.
There is disagreement between historians as to whether or not de Rais, a French war hero and compatriot of Joan of Arc, actually committed the crimes for which he was executed, or whether he was “framed,” as it was politically and financially expedient for some prominent people to get him out of the way. (If guilty, de Rais may be perhaps the most prolific serial murderer in history.) My play (shameless plug number three!) did not provide a clear verdict, rather encouraging the viewers to make up their own minds on the subject, and in the interest of complete honesty I remain undecided on it. Ms. Juby makes a fine argument, though, for posthumous clemency for the man. Read her thoughts at the link below. Do YOU think de Rais was innocent, or guilty?