Therefore, countless deeply depressed women—suffering from what we now recognize as postpartum depression, seasonal affective disorder, or clinical melancholia—committed brutal murders. They killed children, usually those in their care, because they believed it was the only way to save their own eternal souls .

It is a eulogy for all the women who were labeled hysterics, witches, or criminals—when they were simply drowning in a world that refused to throw them a rope.

In this era, suicide was considered a mortal sin. If you killed yourself, your soul was damned to hell forever, your body was desecrated, and your family’s property was often confiscated by the state. However, if you committed murder and then confessed your sin with true contrition before execution, you could be forgiven and go to heaven.

If you go into The Devil’s Bath (German: Des Teufels Bad ) expecting jump scares or a demonic possession, you will be disappointed. But if you want a film that will lodge itself under your skin and fester—a slow, suffocating descent into historical truth—then directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala ( Goodnight Mommy , The Lodge ) have delivered a masterpiece of quiet dread.

The Witch , Hagazussa , Saint Maud , or The Piano (but if The Piano ended in a nightmare).

Fast pacing, gore for gore’s sake, or a clear hero/villain dynamic. Have you seen The Devil’s Bath ? Did you know about this historical practice? Let me know in the comments—I’m still processing.