Cruelty and the Beast is the third studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 5 May 1998, through Music for Nations. It is a concept album based on the legend of the Hungarian "blood countess" Elizabeth Báthory. The album features guest narration on certain passages by Ingrid Pitt in-character as Báthory, a role she first played in the Hammer film Countess Dracula in 1971. This was the last Cradle of Filth full-length album to feature guitarist and songwriter Stuart Anstis, keyboardist Lecter and drummer Nicholas Barker. The two-disc Special Edition was reissued in 2012 by The End Records.