Scream Queens: Rulers Whose Lives Were Full of Murder and Mystery

Isabella was the queen of England in the 1300's, and instead of ignoring her cheating chump of a husband, she invaded England, stole the throne and had the king murdered. Then, like mother like son, her darling boy Edward III stole the kingdom back from her (but Edward III was a much nicer ruler than his mom and he gave her a nice castle). Contrary to popular opinion, she never even met William Wallace because he died when she was like 9 years old and living in France. 

Elizabeth Bathory was a countess who killed because she thought the blood of virgins would keep her youthful and beautiful. She killed nearly 650 people, and although the local government was shown over 300 witnesses and survivors, she wasn't punished because she was an aristocrat. Her three servants were burned in her place though, so justice wasn't served at all.

Isabella did, like, one good thing in her life: unify Spain. Besides that she pretty much screwed up history for everyone. She bankrolled the age of Imperialism by investing in Columbus' voyage and further conquistadors. Additionally, she oversaw one of the largest religious persecutions in history that resulted in 125,000 people being tortured and unknown amounts being killed. And she's the grandmother of Mary Tudor who gained the family trait of...religious persecutions.

Mary Tudor was the daughter of Henry VIII, and like her father had a particular set of skills for killing people. After snatching the throne from her teenage cousin Jane, she went on a murder spree. But instead of executing criminals and traitors, Mary went after anyone who sympathized with the Reformation. In her 5 year reign, she had burned over 300 people and had attempted to execute her own sister. 

To play Devil's Advocate, Ranavalona was SUPER violent because she wanted to fight off European Imperialists from taking over her nation of Madagascar. Unfortunately, like Anakin Skywalker, fear led to anger, and then hate, and then suffering as her cruelty became misdirected towards her own people. She killed so many people that the population was almost cut in half! Hank Green even wrote a song about her.

Wu was a concubine of an emperor but she killed him, married his son, and then killed the son too, giving herself complete power over China. She was easily provoked and killed dozens of citizens and family members in torturous, gruesome ways. However, besides being a raging serial killer, she made great strides in religious and military developments. So, good for her, I guess?

Olga's husband was killed by two members of a rival faction in Ukraine. Her response? BURN THEM TO THE GROUND. Which she did rather creatively by tying matches to hundreds of birds and having them drop the flaming matches over the city. She ruled as a strong queen-regent in Kiev until her son was old enough and is considered a Saint in the Russian Orthodox Church because she made Christianity legal.