'My Strange Addiction': Woman drinks blood, just like Elizabeth Bathory

On the March 20 episode of "My Strange Addiction," viewers met Michelle, a tattoo artist who is addicted to drinking animal blood.

Her addiction began as a teenager when she was depressed and started self-mutilating. As she saw the blood dripping down her arm, she decided to taste it. Since then, she has ingested 1000 gallons of blood, which is enough to fill a bathtub 23 times.

On "My Strange Addiction," Michelle says that she drinks human and animal blood. While she prefers human blood, it is not feasible to do it as often as she needs it. This is where the animal blood comes in. She likes pig's blood over beef because she likes the gaminess and saltiness.

She currently drinks 8 gallons of blood each month and in addition to drinking it, she makes Bloody Mary's, puts it in stir fry and uses it as a dipping sauce.

Michelle's story seems similar to what Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed did to young virgin girls, minus the killing. She is known as the most prolific female serial killer in history and the accusations even went as far as to her slowly draining the blood out of their bodies and biting the flesh of their faces, genitals and other parts of the body. There is some debate over whether she bathed in the blood or not.

A doctor did confirm that Michelle was anemic, just like she was told long ago. Blood has a high amount of iron in it, which is one of the theories of why Countess Elizabeth Bathory could not seem to stop drinking blood. Many women are anemic, especially during menstruation and back in the 1600's anemia was widespread because of poor nutrition. It is said that Bathory noticed that her cheeks would get rosy and she would look younger after she ingested blood. As those in the science and medical professions know, it is not the blood that made Elizabeth look younger and feel better, it was the iron. It is a possibility that Michelle isn't really addicted to drinking blood as she is subconsciously trying to get the iron that her body desperately needs.

However, Michelle's addiction has nothing to do with looking younger and she certainly does not harm or kill anyone to satisfy her craving. Even so, a doctor has informed her of the health risks, including parasites, bacteria and the possibility of contracting viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis and more.

Did you catch this episode of "My Strange Addiction?" While watching the show, were you reminded of Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed?