December 1, 2017
Gilles de Rais
Serial Killers
Alison Morales-Aguilar
I actually have heard of Gilles de Rais before and knew a little bit about his story. Specifically, I knew he was a serial killer, a friend and confidant to Jeanne d’Arc, and that he went crazy after she was murdered. However, I never knew how horrific and destructive he actually was. The fact that people believe his kill count could have been as high as 800 children in unfathomable to me, how do so many children go missing and no one did anything?
09/10/2020
1:50 pm
Jobro
It’s cuz this story was fabricated. There was no proof that he murdered all these children, but he was forced to confess, or else he would’ve faced torture.
11/10/2020
1:50 pm
Elizabeth Santos
What a fascinating article on a horrific person! I, like many, hadn’t heard of this serial killer either nor even that he worked alongside Joan of Arc. It goes to show how much people leave an impact on others, like Joan’s death driving Gilles absolutely mad. This case is just bizarre, and it’s so sad that so many innocent children were killed by him.
16/10/2020
1:50 pm
Mohammed Hani Shaik
I’m utterly surprised that I haven’t heard this of Rais before. However, it was a beautifully written article that highlighted the story of one known by few. I still question humanity and wonder how far low can one stoop in their life. The story does bore an uncanny resemblance to a lot of other serial killers in the sense that he had gone through a tragic event in his life that could possibly be considered as a “turning point”. However, I still cannot fathom the idea of sexually abusing and murdering kids and furthermore taking pride in it. The story takes an interesting turn when we find out that he possibly regretted his actions and was willing to change. Do you think he could’ve changed if he had a loved one to help him out?
31/01/2021
1:50 pm
Trenton Boudreaux
A disturbing trend I have found is that the most monstrous people are the ones we would not expect. Such can be said about this Gilles De Ras individual. It is terrifying what wealth can allow you to get away with in this world. A fascinating read about a serial killer I never heard of. Very well written article.
17/04/2021
1:50 pm
JoAnna Mendez
I have never been disgusted when reading something, but this article has changed that. The fact that he did this to so many children and had people helping him is… I honestly don’t even know the proper word for it. I think the part that got me was when you added that he would have beauty contests with the dead children. If you think about it, he only got caught because of how many children were disappearing and it was all around the same area. Imagine how many people got away with these things. If today a handful of missing children cases go cold, and just cases in general, can you believe how many horrible things happened back then and no one ever found out about them.
10/10/2021
1:50 pm
Phylisha Liscano
This was by far one of the most craziest article I’ve read. You gave great details about the life of Rais and his gruesome acts. It’s very disturbing how he found joy from killing children, visualizing the torture and pain those children went through is very saddening.
13/10/2021
1:50 pm
Maria Luevano
This was such a crazy and entertaining article! I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of information that you were able to provide considering the time period! You did an amazing job writing this article. It makes you wonder how easy it was to trick people into doing horrible things to others for personal gain. Rais confidently trusted this man to help him in his adventure to create gold, but what if the man was just crazy? Leaves you wondering how many acts can be blamed on pure ignorance and gullibility.
20/10/2021
1:50 pm
Emily Rodriguez
What an interesting story. The author was right; I had never heard of this serial killer before. This was a very intriguing story to tell. It surprised me that he could get away with over a hundred killings of children without people catching on for as long as it went on. His reaction to losing a loved one makes me wonder how there aren’t more of these types of stories. Overall, I believe the author did a good job at telling this story and kept the pictures in the article relative to what was being read.
20/09/2022
1:50 pm
Banditqueen
It has to be remembered that the so called evidence against Gillas de Rais was based on third hand accounts, not eye witnesses. Those distressed parents who testified at his trial could only witness the disappearance of their children. None of them witnessed any of the alleged criminal harm. His two alleged accomplishes were tortured so their testimony is suspect. Gillas confessed, yes, but only after he was threatened with excommunication and torture. There is some evidence that he was actually tortured. No bodies where found and even if they were burned their ashes would stink. These murders didn’t take place in one or two castles, many are said to have been committed where ever he went. He led an itinerant life, staying in private homes. He also held open house at his castles to 100s of people. None of them witnessed anything. None of them testified against him. The number of child murders is said to be between 100 to 200 but may have been 600 to 800. So, nobody noticed and nobody reported them. The number of families who gave evidence during his trial is 40 to 50. The rest came forward after he was condemned. The circumstances around the trial are odd as well. They only came about after he kidnapped the Bishop who later prosecuted him. A number of authors now believe he was the victim of hatred, family jealousy, political revenge and propaganda. We must also bear in mind that he was accused of sodomy, devil worship and heresy. His brother tried to stop him spending the family fortune and said he was mad. A new trial was held in 1993 and he was exonerated. Why do so many people simply believe this story when they wouldn’t dream of believing the wild accusations levelled at witches, which included serial homicide and even sacrifices of children to demons, the same as charge which was levelled against Gillas de Rais? I am not saying he was innocent. I am merely questioning the accepted narrative. Unless you have really looked at the trial transcripts etc, it is impossible to know the full extent or the truth of these foul crimes. They are truly horrible and if guilty Rais was indeed a monster. The case against him wasn’t air tight or without bias. How could it be in the 15th century before the concept of innocent until proven guilty? After 600 years we must always be open to the possibility that guilt wasn’t established. We can only be open to the possibility that this case wasn’t all that we are told in the traditional narrative.
29/10/2022
1:50 pm
Madeline Emke
This article was very interesting and informative, especially because I have never heard of Gilles De Rais and his serial killings. I never knew him as a friend of Joan of Arc’s, and the resulting affects her death had on him. While her death is not an excuse for his acts, part of me can see how the loss of such a trusted friend could lead someone to lose part of their humanity to a degree. In other words, I understand his partying as a method of grief but I, in no way, understand or accept his torture and killing of children.
31/08/2020
1:50 pm