Highlights
- Shaft, Walter Bernhard, Death, and Carmilla are all wicked and evil villains in the Castlevania games, with their own distinctive characteristics and methods of causing chaos and torment.
- These villains possess dark magic, manipulate and deceive others, and have a strong desire for power and domination, making them formidable foes for the heroes.
- However, all of these villains pale in comparison to Dracula, the vampire king, whose deep-seated anger and desire for total annihilation knows no bounds, making him the ultimate and most terrifying villain in the Castlevania series.
A new saga awaits fans of Castlevania in the form of Castlevania: Nocturne. While Richter Belmont fights his way through some truly formidable opponents in the new Netflix spin-off series, it is worthwhile to take a look back at all the menacing foes of the retro classics. After all, veteran players might just be able to catch a glimpse or callback to the big baddie villains of the games in the anime series.
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The Castlevania games themselves are home to some truly threatening and wicked characters, whether they are friend or foe. While each of them tend to differ in terms of their moral objectives and evil plans, it is hard to deny how evil the vast majority of their natures can be.
5 Shaft
Shaft is a recurring villain in the Castlevania series and serves as a dark priest under Dracula’s command. Making his first appearance in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Shaft is wholly loyal to Dracula and submits himself to the vision that the world’s salvation lies in it being consumed by darkness. Shaft is a master of dark magic who can bend people’s will to his own through manipulation and illusion. This often includes deception, exploitation of one’s weaknesses, and altering events to cause chaos and confusion among the masses.
For direct influence, Shaft can also cause hindrance in the path of the heroes by summoning demonic forces who wreak havoc and protect the evil rulers mindlessly. Perhaps Shaft’s most evil characteristic is his ability to corrupt innocent and pure hearts by promising them riches, making false promises, and twisting their desires. Shaft’s corruption, dark magic, and singular vision of furthering Dracula’s goal of enveloping the world in Darkness make him a truly wicked individual.
4 Walter Bernhard
Leon Belmont’s biggest challenge in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is the vampire lord, Walter Bernhard. Possessed by the desire for power and eternal life, Walter aims to defy the laws of life and death by harnessing the power of the Crimson Stone. To achieve this goal, he commits multiple heinous and malicious acts throughout the game.
Like Shaft, Walter Bernhard is able to corrupt pure souls to have them serve under him. However, Walter goes a step forward by reveling in the suffering and torment of his innocent victims, giving a sadistic characteristic to the dark lord. Walter powers his own castle and, by extension, himself, by draining the lives of countless maidens without any regard or remorse for them. Finally, Walter preys on Leon’s vulnerability to his loved one, Sara. He lures Leon into his castle by promising a solution to save Sara, only to betray him and put Leon in a difficult situation.
3 Death
Death is the harbinger of doom, chaos, and destruction and is undoubtedly a symbol of evil itself. Death is inseparable from Dracula in terms of his goal and is always ready to aid the vampire lord across his multiple appearances throughout the games, including Castlevania (1986), Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and in the reboot, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. This scythe-wielding, cloak-donning skeletal personification of death spread plagues and curses throughout the Castlevania game series.
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Death is no less of a threat than Walter or Shaft in terms of summoning an army of undead minions, manipulating innocent mortals by preying on their weaknesses, and enjoying the fear and anguish he inflicts upon his poor victims. In Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Death goes against the playbook and attempts to revive Dracula just so the world can plunge again into darkness and chaos.
2 Carmilla
Carmilla is a cruel and ruthless vampiress serving as lieutenant to Dracula throughout most of the games. She makes her first appearance in Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, and players can immediately point to Carmilla's power-hungry and manipulative nature. Throughout Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Carmilla is obsessed with tormenting the protagonist, Nathan Graves. In this game, she even hints at seeking Dracula’s powers for herself as she strives to remain as the one and only Queen of vampires.
In Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse, Carmilla expands her army of servants by kidnapping and brainwashing young village girls, transforming them into creatures called “Liliths." Perhaps the qualities of corruption, sadism, and deceit are present in all evil villains of the Castlevania series, including Death, Walter, and Shaft, but Carmilla is the only one to even betray her allies. In the last Castlevania game, Lords of Shadow 2, Carmilla betrays Dracula to form an alliance with Satan in her quest to claim total domination and authority.
1 Dracula
No matter how evil the foes of the Castlevania series may be, all of them are still essentially pawns under Dracula, the vampire king who wants total annihilation. Vlad Dracula Tepes has a tragic love story, turning him into a vampire upon the death of his loved one, and taking a stand against humanity for the rest of his life. His deep-seated anger and mistrust of humanity make him a terrifying villain.
Dracula’s stand to remain immortal knows no bounds, whether it's through forbidden rituals, alliance with dark forces, or draining the souls of countless innocent beings. Throughout the Castlevania games, most notably in Aria of Sorrow and Curse of Darkness, Dracula possesses the protagonist, extracting their powers for his own good. In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Dracula exploits the powers of the main protagonist, Soma Cruz, to revive himself as he sees no end to his life and the destruction he can unleash on others. In short, without Dracula and his seemingly limitless and unending quest for power and world domination, it is hard to say if evil would even exist in the world of Castlevania.