History WesternAnimation / Castlevania2017

* GreaterScopeVillain: Vlad Dracula Tepeș, who barely shows up in Season 1, leaving the Belmont-fighting and countryside-terrorizing to lesser antagonists. [[spoiler:By Season 3, he is dead after being killed in the previous season, but his creatures continue to terrorize the land, with one of them establishing a cult with the purpose of resurrecting him]].

** Vampires need to drink human blood to survive and stay in peak health, though they can also optionally consume (and enjoy the taste of) normal human foods and drinks. Vampires might drink animal blood if desperate, but this doesn't seem to properly nourish them like human blood does (Godbrand even complains that drinking pig blood gives him diarrhea).

** Although they are primarily nocturnal (hence why they're called "night creatures"), they seem to be capable of functioning in daytime, lacking the vampires' [[WeakenedByTheLight fatal weakness to sunlight]]. Though due to their demonic nature, the night creatures (and vampires too) all have a [[HolyBurnsEvil lethal vulnerability to holy magic or sacred objects/weapons]] (including {{holy water}}, which burns their flesh like a corrosive acid). Under normal circumstances, they are also apparently unable to trespass onto HolyGround (like the interior of a church), though this weakness is negated if that church has lost its consecration.

** They can be killed by [[OffWithHisHead decapitation]], dismemberment, [[AttackOnTheHeart stabbing their hearts]] (blade weapons seem to work just as well as a WoodenStake), [[KillItWithFire burning them with fire]], [[WeakenedByTheLight direct exposure to sunlight]] (which immediately incinerates them, though this weakness can be countered by heavy skin protection), or attacking them with [[HolyBurnsEvil holy magic or sacred objects/weapons]] (including {{holy water}}, which burns their flesh like a corrosive acid).

*** Season 2 discusses and downplays the "CannotCrossRunningWater" weakness. Godbrand (one of many Viking vampires) suggests that this weakness was mostly countered by moving further inland, and also points out that he has been on or captained boats before. His and other vampire generals' presence in Wallachia implies they had to cross running water to get there. Several vampires are shown using bridges, and show no sign of impediment until they are submerged in {{holy water}} or frozen. This suggests the vampires' water weakness is a combination of SuperDrowningSkills and a weakness to sacred weapons.
*** Season 4 addresses the "sign of the cross," when Trevor states that vampire senses work very differently to humans, being a kind of apex predator species, and waving certain geometric shapes right in their face scrambles their perceptions. So, while holy weapons will hurt vampires, a cross shape on its own is isn't a weakness as much as an inconvenience. This could be a nod to Creator/PeterWatts' SciFiHorror novel ''Literature/{{Blindsight}}'' where vampires, although not undead but a formerly extinct subvariant of human, suffer epileptic seizures when exposed to right angles, which do not really exist in nature.
** It's also possible for vampires to interbreed with regular humans, and [[{{Dhampyr}} their hybrid children]] will be significantly more powerful since they have all their abilities, but none of their weaknesses. They also look significantly more human-like than their vampire parents, lacking the pointy ears or clawed fingernails (but retaining the sharp teeth), and shedding normal tears instead of TearsOfBlood. It is unclear if the children have access to human-exclusive magic or are treated any differently by God.
** Vampires need to drink human blood to survive and stay in peak health, though they can also optionally consume (and enjoy the taste of) normal human foods and drinks. But Alucard, likely due to being a {{dhampyr}}, is [[VegetarianVampire never shown consuming blood]], and survives in his castle on fresh fish and vegetables with no apparent malnourishment; his HalfHumanHybrid nature may make him capable of surviving on either diet. Dracula has been starving himself of blood, and this is confirmed to be making him weaker, suggesting vampires need it to keep their full strength. Additionally, [[spoiler:Dracula's UnspokenPlanGuarantee that only Isaac was aware of would eventually result in the extinction by starvation of the vampires, once [[KillAllHumans all humans are dead]].]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They are very standard vampires, as [[DemonicVampires undead demonic creatures]] of [[WasOnceAMan formerly human origins]], who all have a thirst for human blood and a variety of superhuman powers. They tend to have [[UndeathlyPallor grey, white, blue, or purple skin]], sharp features like PointyEars and FemmeFatalons, and of course very sharp fangs in place of incisor teeth. They also cry TearsOfBlood for some reason.

* ShownTheirWork: We get a few glimpses of the Ottoman Empire in season 3. Not only are the architecture, attire, and ethnic diversity of the area fairly accurate, but Isaac makes accurate references to the Islamic interpretation of Hell, wherein nobody goes to Hell forever. However, Isaac views the scripture as a sign that he should raise an army of monsters powered by the souls of the damned, even though, in scripture, Hell is a punishment people only have to endure until they've paid for the wrongs they didn't atone for in life.

* HistoricalInJoke: A possible one in season 4. Lenore very briefly mentions she lived in a castle growing up and her parents were killed when English soldiers climbed in through a toilet with knives in their teeth. This might be a reference on the fall of Château Gaillard during the Hundred Years War, which was reportedly breached by soldiers climbing into the castle chapel via a latrine chute. While it broadly matches up with Lenore claiming to be 200 years old, Château Gaillard was an English held castle breached by French soldiers, though this might have been the other way around in the Castlevania Universe.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The series prominently features two categories of unholy monsters: [[DemonicVampires vampires]] (see OurVampiresAreDifferent below) and the "night creatures". The Night Creatures themselves are undead demonic monsters created and controlled by [[EvilSorcerer Devil Forgemasters]] through {{necromancy}}, and they are the primary component of Dracula's evil army.

** All vampires are {{immortal}}, capable of superhuman [[SuperSpeed agility]] and [[SuperStrength strength]], and are much more [[SuperToughness resilient to physical injuries]] than any regular human. Many vampires also have magical powers, which tend to vary widely between individual vamps; such powers may include (but are not limited to): shapeshifting (changing into mist, or turning into animals such as bats or wolves), levitation and telekinesis, teleportation, etc, just to name a few examples.
** However, they do not seem to have any telepathic or mind control abilities, or overt power or control over Night Creatures, and cannot revive the dead, as those powers are exclusively human magic; thus they must employ human sorcerers (particularly Devil Forgemasters) if they wish to have Night Creatures in their armies.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The series prominently features two categories of unholy monsters: [[DemonicVampires vampires]] (see OurVampiresAreDifferent below) and the "night creatures".
** The Night Creatures themselves are undead demonic monsters created and controlled by [[EvilSorcerer Devil Forgemasters]] through {{necromancy}}. There are many different types of night creatures which come in a wide variety of different appearances and abilities, and some even come with their own weaponry. They generally have a mixture of animalistic and humanoid features, looking like savage demonic beasts that just crawled out of Hell.
** Due to their demonic nature, the night creatures (and vampires too) all have a [[HolyBurnsEvil lethal vulnerability to holy magic or sacred objects]] (including {{holy water}}, which burns their flesh like a corrosive acid). Under normal circumstances, they are also apparently unable to trespass onto HolyGround (like the interior of a church), though this weakness is negated if the object has lost its consecration.
** Although they are primarily nocturnal (hence why they're called "night creatures"), they seem to be capable of functioning under daylight, though they seem to be much weaker. Some are capable of human speech, but regardless, Night Creatures can communicate or coordinate with each other, whether or not they are capable of speech.
** Most of the ones we see were created by the [[{{Necromancer}} Devil Forgemasters]] using magical tools that can transform human bodies (both dead and living) into inhuman creatures, reanimated by demonic spirits from {{Hell}} (especially the [[DemonOfHumanOrigin damned souls of formerly-human sinners]]). For a Night Creature to be created this way, it is implied the body must either be alive or only recently deceased, and must be mostly intact. The Night Creatures created by Hector or Isaac may retain an eye color that matches who they were created by (blue for Hector and red for Isaac).

*** The reanimation method of creating wholly new Night Creatures seems to afford the Forgemaster no choice over what soul is used, but the Forgemaster can choose the morphology of the Night Creature during the creation process, including their size or features.
*** The reanimation method also seems to be capable of resurrecting souls into their original bodies as zombies, though only Hector is shown doing this. It's implied that Isaac resurrected the soul of the lead bandit who accosted him into his own body, but only as a self-aware "AndIMustScream" regular Night Creature.
** It is implied that some Night Creatures aren't reanimated corpses, or were never even remotely human to begin with. Some seem to have been called directly from Hell or the Infinite Corridor.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They are very standard vampires, as [[DemonicVampires undead demonic creatures]] with sharp features like PointyEars and FemmeFatalons. They also tend to have [[UndeathlyPallor grey, white, blue, or purple skin]]. All of them are immortal, superhumanly fast, strong, and resilient to injury; some of them might display other powers like shapeshifting, telekinesis, or teleportation, to name a few. The other details are less specific, though. As Carmilla says, "it's not like we're given a manual for being a vampire."
** Drinking human blood does not seem to be an absolute requirement, but it is necessary to stay in peak health. Alucard implies that he can drink blood, [[VegetarianVampire but is never shown consuming it]], and survives in his castle on fresh fish and vegetables with no apparent malnourishment. His mixed blood may make him capable of surviving on either diet. [[spoiler: Dracula]] has been starving himself of blood, and this is confirmed to be making him weaker, suggesting vampires need it to keep their full strength. Additionally, [[spoiler: Dracula's UnspokenPlanGuarantee that only Isaac was aware of would eventually result in the extinction by starvation of the vampires, once all humans are dead.]]
** They do not have telepathic or mind control abilities, or overt power or control over night creatures, and cannot revive the dead, as those powers are exclusively human magic; thus they must employ night creatures or humans (particularly Devil Forgemasters) if they wish to have those creatures in their armies.
** The requirement of an invitation to enter a household is discussed, when Dracula requests Isaac invite him across Isaac's "threshhold," but this is treated more as a courtesy between friends than an absolute rule. Vampires are also shown entering or destroying homes when hunting people. Some homes seem to have defensive or hiding magic, but that can be circumvented by tracking magic, a saboteur on the inside, or a distance mirror to avoid entryways.
** They can be killed by decapitation, stabbing (staking) through the heart, burning them with fire, direct exposure to sunlight (which can be countered by heavy skin protection), or attacking them with sacred weapons (including holy water). Dracula scoffs at "human superstitions" about silver, crosses, and garlic, but also has shown to be resistant to some other weaknesses.

** It's also possible for them to interbreed with regular humans, and [[{{Dhampyr}} their hybrid children]] will be significantly more powerful since they have all their abilities, but none of their weaknesses. They also look significantly more human-like than their vampire parents, lacking the sharp nails and ears (but retaining the teeth), and shedding normal tears instead of TearsOfBlood. It is unclear if the children have access to human-exclusive magic or are treated any differently by God.
** Oddly enough so far, it's never been shown how exactly a human can be transformed into a vampire; when vampires bite people to feed on their blood, they simply die instead of turning. Vampires are generally treated as a separate race from humanity, although turning ''is'' possible, and referenced multiple times.
** Some stock vampire traits are zig-zagged: Vampires are usually said to be unable to stomach human food or drink, or at the very least find it bitter, but Dracula keeps wine in his castle and Godbrand loves beer. In the third season, Lenore explains that, while vampires can only receive nutritional sustenance from blood, they can and do enjoy fruit and meat. Dracula indicates he has to be invited in to Isaac's residence, but the invitation rule isn't hard and fast. Reflections in surfaces aren't always used in animation for any life form, but vampires do show up in Distance Mirrors.

* DemonicVampires: Vampires, along with the other type of monsters featured in this series (the Night Creatures) are both apparently demonic in nature, as they share the same [[HolyBurnsEvil fatal weakness to holy weapons]] (including HolyWater).

** The Night Creatures themselves are all monsters that come in a wide variety of many different appearances and abilities, and some even come with their own weaponry. Despite being called "night creatures", they seem to be capable of functioning under daylight, though they seem to be much weaker. Some are capable of human speech, but regardless, Night Creatures can communicate or coordinate with each other, whether or not they are capable of speech.
** The Night Creatures, along with the vampires (see below), are both classified as types of demonic beings, and thus they all have a [[HolyBurnsEvil lethal vulnerability to sacred objects]] (including {{holy water}}). This weakness is negated if the object has lost its consecration.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They are very standard vampires, as undead demonic beings with sharp features like PointyEars and FemmeFatalons. They also tend to have grey skin. All of them are superhumanly fast, strong, and resilient to injury; some of them might display other powers like shapeshifting, telekinesis, or teleportation, to name a few. The other details are less specific, though. As Carmilla says, "it's not like we're given a manual for being a vampire."

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The series prominently features two categories of unholy monsters: [[VampiresAreDemonic vampires]] (see OurVampiresAreDifferent below) and the "night creatures".

** Carmilla's map of Styria and the surrounding kingdoms is loosely accurate to the geography of the time, but may location names either should not exist yet or are in different parts of the map. Whether this was an error or deliberate is hard to say.

** Vampires, night creatures, and other assorted demons and monsters are almost always extremely sinister and dangerous. Alucard is thus far the ''only'' known supernatural being who is benevolent towards humans.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The Night Creatures are all monsters that come in a wide variety of many different appearances and abilities, and some even come with their own weaponry. Despite being called "night creatures", they seem to be capable of functioning under daylight, though they seem to be much weaker. Some are capable of human speech, but regardless, Night Creatures can communicate or coordinate with each other, whether or not they are capable of speech.