Gilles de Rais was a celebrated Breton knight who fought in the French army alongside none other than Joan of Arc. However, it is not de Rais' prowess as a soldier for which he is best remembered; his life ended after he confessed to murdering at least eighty to two hundred peasant and servant children. The actual number of his victims will never be known, but some scholars speculate that de Rais killed up to six hundred children over a seven year period.

After de Rais retired from the military, he admitted to dabbling in the occult, attempting to summon demons and offering pieces of his victims as sacrifices. Finding children to murder was not difficult, as peasant children would often approach his castle begging for food. Since he selected children from very poor families, no one had the clout to accuse him of wrongdoing when their children went missing.

Once de Rais had abducted the children, he took great pleasure in torturing, sodomizing, and murdering them. His preferred method of death was decapitation, but he would also cut their throats, dismember them, or break their necks. He admitted that it was his habit to pleasure himself sexually in the bloody remains of his victims.

In 1440, de Rais made a fatal error when he kidnapped a prestigious cleric, prompting a formal investigation and trial. De Rais, who was about to be tortured into a confession, finally admitted to murdering hundreds of children. He, along with a few accomplices who had helped him on his gruesome mission, were executed by hanging and burning in 1440.