Netflix Castlevania. The spinoff announcement inspired fans to revisit Castlevania's studied portrayal of classic monsters and legendary kingdoms.
With Dracula's castle serving as a primary location, the series delivers a rich and complex world full of religious conflict and vampire lore as it follows Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard, the son of Dracula, as they take on vampires, night creatures, and other supernatural threats. From heroes to villains, the characters draw inspiration from Gothic literature, ancient mythology, medieval history, and more.
Dracula
The historical figure, Vlad III Dracula, was a bloodthirsty 15th-century leader of Wallachia. His unusually violent method of punishing his enemies earned him the nickname "Vlad the Impaler," and opponents played up unfounded claims that he drank human blood. The surname "Dracula" translates roughly to "Son of the Dragon," but when novelist Stoker came across it while searching for a name for his vampire count, he read, according to TIME, that it translated to "Devil." The rest, it seems, is history, with Stoker's villain finding immortality on the page, stage, and screen.
Carmilla
Before Bram Stoker conceived his legendary vampire, another Irish writer, Sheridan Le Fanu, wrote Carmilla. The 1872 novella follows the young Laura, who is visited nightly by the beautiful Carmilla. A romance develops between the young women, but Carmilla is eventually revealed to be Countess Mircalla Karnstein, a centuries-old vampire.
Le Fanu popularized many conventions that would become standard tropes of vampire fiction, including shapeshifting into animal form, aristocracy, and as a metaphor for sexual desire. As Carmilla is one of Castlevania's most powerful villains, retaining much of the original character's manipulative quality and veneer of aristocracy while proving a shrewd political force. As a vampire Queen of Styria and general of Dracula's army, Carmilla brings a sharp critique of the leadership of men, whether alive or undead.
Lenore
Castlevania's Lenore is the resident diplomat of the Styrian Council of Sisters. Her name immediately invokes Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem The Raven, in which the narrator, tormented by his avian visitor, pines for the deceased Lenore. Yet there's another literary Lenore who offers a more compelling connection.
The 18th-century German ballad Lenore by Gottfried August Burger follows the title character, who waits in vain for her fiance, William, to return from war. Castlevania's Lenore wears a dark veil, which suggests mourning. In the poem, Lenore is spirited away by a mysterious stranger who resembles William. The stranger, transforming into a skeletal figure, is exposed as Death (a reveal Castlevania fans will appreciate), here to deliver Lenore to William's grave. Though the poem does not feature a literal vampire, Lenore is considered a landmark text in the development of Gothic and vampire literature, and according to Book Riot, it's even quoted in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Varney
In Castlevania's fourth season, a new villain arrives in the form of Varney, voiced by Malcolm McDowell. The vindictive London vampire takes his name from the subject of the Victorian-era penny dreadful Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood by James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. Running as a serial from 1845-1847, it concerned the exploits of the vampire Sir Francis Varney, who terrorizes human families throughout Europe.
Though his legacy was later eclipsed by Dracula, Varney's influence on vampire fiction, he Vampire Diaries, and more.
Striga
One of the Council of Sisters and leader of the Styrian army, Castlevania's Striga is the ultimate vampire warrior. Her imposing stature and the crow-like armor she dons in battle make her appear like something out of a nightmare. Looking closely, her name and appearance reveal a wealth of mythological inspiration.
The name Striga is reminiscent of the Romanian word for vampire (strigoi), which derives from the Latin strix. Ancient Greek and Roman poetry described the strix as a malevolent bird that feasted on human blood. Bustle explains how the strix came to be associated with witchcraft, imagining powerful enchantresses who metamorphosed into birds to drink the blood of humans, and particularly, infants. Castlevania distills these ancient associations into the terrifying Striga.
Morana
The last of Castlevania's Council of Sisters, Morana skillfully manages logistics, supply lines, commerce, and resources for the kingdom of Styria. Likely the oldest of the four vampire queens, and the most directly involved in day-to-day affairs, Morana draws inspiration from an ancient pagan deity of the same name.
The goddess Morana is an important figure in Slavic pagan religion. Her name features the Latin root mors (death), and in some traditions, Morana is a personification of death. Associated with agriculture and the changing seasons, rites surrounding Morana are still practiced. ThoughtCo describes these seasonal rites, which often feature a ritual drowning of the goddess in effigy to celebrate winter's end.
Saint Germain
Introduced in Castlevania's third season, the Comte de Saint Germain is a morally ambiguous scholar and alchemist voiced brilliantly by Bill Nighy. Saint Germain was a real-life 18th-century European aristocrat with mysterious origins. According to Ancient Origins, Saint Germain's real name and background are unknown, and this probably contributes to the wealth of legends that surround the historical figure.
Noted for his interest in alchemy and conflicting s of his lifespan, some have supposed that Saint Germain obtained the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life. Castlevania is far from the only adaptation to explore Saint Germain's alchemical leanings. Fictionalized versions of Saint Germain appear in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels, Michael Scott's YA series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and numerous television series, games, and films.
Flyseyes
A minor but impactful character in Netflix's Castlevania, Flyseyes is a night creature forged by Isaac. Unlike most night creatures, Flyseyes still possesses human speech and memory, which he shares in a moving scene with Isaac in the third season. He shares that in his past life, he was an Athenian philosopher who was persecuted by followers of Christianity.
Two Ancient philosophers may serve as inspiration for Flyseyes' background. The best-known, Socrates, was famously forced to drink hemlock after standing trial for corrupting the youth, but Socrates predates Christianity by several centuries. A more fitting comparison is Hypatia, a Neoplatonist philosopher who, as Smithsonian Magazine explains, was killed by a mob of Christians in 415 CE. While no historical philosopher is an exact match for the circumstances Flyseyes describes, he stands in for Castlevania's larger critique of religious inquisition.
Alucard
Born Adrian Tepes to parents Dracula and Lisa, Alucard is a tragic hero in Castlevania. Mourning his mother and ashamed of his father, Alucard sleeps beneath the city of Gresit, causing legends to suggest that Gresit's sleeping soldier will have the strength to defeat Dracula. This legend recalls tales of cultural heroes who slumber beneath mountains, awaiting their people's moment of need.
Notably, the pseudonym Alucard is the reverse spelling of Dracula, signifying that the son is the antithesis of the father. Castlevania borrows this convention from the 1943 film Son of Dracula, a follow-up to Universal Pictures' Dracula (1931). Meanwhile, Castlevania incorporates elements of Balkan folklore, which, per Emerging Europe, is rich with vampire legends. The offspring of a vampire and human union was called a dhampir, would have the qualities of both species, and sometimes become vampire hunters themselves.
Death
Perhaps the only character more recognizable than Dracula is Death himself. Though he wears another guise for much of his screen time, Death is revealed as the final "boss" in Castlevania's fourth season. Monumental in size and bearing his trademark scythe, he is a spectacular rendering of the Grim Reaper from artistic and religious iconography.
Castlevania evolves the classic Grim Reaper from a psychopomp, as described by How Stuff Works, into a vicious and cruel trickster. Manipulating humans like Saint Germain, he feeds on the life energy of beings on the brink of death. In this way, Death is as much a vampire as Dracula or Carmilla.