Carmilla

Carmilla
Japanese name(s)	カーミラ Kāmira (Carmilla) カミーラ Kamīra (Camilla) 女吸血鬼 Onna Kyūketsuki (Female Vampire)
Alternate name(s)	Camilla
Abilities	• Ability to possess living beings • Rides a giant skull with magical powers • Levitation • Sheds fiery tears of blood
Type(s)	Vampire
Origins	Literature
Appearances	Simon's Quest Rondo of Blood Dracula X The Dracula X Chronicles

"A female vampire who loves to bathe in blood."

— Official description from the trailer of Castlevania Judgment

For other uses, see Carmilla (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Camilla.

Carmilla (カーミラ, Kāmira^?), sometimes spelled Camilla in both English and Japanese versions, is a recurring boss and antagonist in the Castlevania series. Several incarnations of this vampiress have appeared throughout the series, sometimes accompanied by her loyal servant, Laura. She is often referred to as possessing great beauty and allure.

Origins

Carmilla preying on the General's niece (The Dark Blue, 1872).

Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, first published in 1871 as a serial narrative in The Dark Blue literary magazine. It tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. Carmilla predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by 26 years and has been adapted many times for cinema.

Carmilla and Laura in Funeral by Michael Fitzgerald (1872).

Carmilla, the title character, appears as a member of Austrian nobility, while in reality she is the long-dead Countess Mircalla von Karnstein, returned to life as a vampiress. She is portrayed as possessing lesbian traits and her victims are exclusively female. However, she becomes emotionally involved with the main protagonist, Laura. Carmilla has nocturnal habits but is not confined to the darkness. She has unearthly beauty, can change her form at will, and is able to pass through solid walls. Her animal alter ego is a monstrous black cat and she sleeps in a coffin.

In the story, Carmilla takes advantage of the anonymity of a masquerade ball to look for victims. In the games, her mask represents the ballroom masks that Carmilla wore to the many parties she went to in the novella, and was also used to hide the fact that she was a vampire.

Even though Carmilla is a lesser known and far shorter Gothic vampire story than Dracula, the latter has been cited as being heavily influenced by Le Fanu's novella.

Description

Carmilla often appears as a loyal servant to her master, Count Dracula, either by plotting to revive him, or by awakening from her own long slumber in order to come to his aid. Her role is notably averted and expanded upon in the Lords of Shadow saga.

In addition to appearing in several installments, she is also the namesake of Camilla Cemetery in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, as well as Carmilla's Lair from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.

Appearances

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Camilla (a misspelling of Carmilla) made her first appearance in Simon's Quest, where she appears as one of the three bosses in the game. She goes by the moniker Onna Kyūketsuki (女吸血鬼), name with which she is referred to in the instruction booklet and which translates to "Female Vampire" or "Vampira". A clue book found in Debious Woods refers to her properly as "Camilla". She is encountered in Laruba Mansion.

Upon defeat, Camilla leaves behind the Magic Cross, the only item capable of granting access to Dracula's Castle.

Name JPN HP Drop Vampira 女吸血鬼 Onna Kyūketsuki (Female Vampire) 256 Magic Cross Location Laruba Mansion

Gallery
Vampira from the Japanese Simon's Quest instruction booklet Weeping Mask from the Nintendo Power Simon's Quest Guide

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Carmilla appears as the boss of Stage 4 in Rondo of Blood, along with her consort, Laura. Once Richter or Maria enters the boss room, they are first greeted by Carmilla's mask, in a homage to her portrayal in Simon's Quest. From behind the mask, Carmilla appears as a giant nude maiden. The mask then breaks into pieces and a giant skull emerges from behind. Carmilla then starts hovering in the air behind the skull, while this sheds fiery tears of blood which scatter throughout the room as they make contact with the ground. All of this while Laura paces back and forth attempting to get a hold on the heroes. If this manages to do so, she will grab and restrain them in place while draining away their supply of Hearts.

(PCE/PSP) Name Alt. Name HP EXP Carmilla 86 Location Stage 4:Atop Countless Terrors Stage 4': Fortress of the Water Demon

Gallery
File:Carmilla RoB.JPG Carmilla from the Rondo of Blood instruction booklet

Castlevania: Dracula X

In Dracula X, if Richter fails to save Annet during his journey, once he reaches the top of the Clock Tower, a giant skull will appear from the sky and possess the hapless Annet before he can do anything to save her, transforming her into the vampire witch, Carmilla, and replacing Death as the boss of that level. While her appearance is similar to some extent to that from Rondo of Blood, her attacks are identical to those of Shaft in that same game.

Name JPN Carmilla Locatiom Clock Tower Requirement Fail to save Annet.

Gallery
Carmilla's artwork from the Holy Bible guide for Dracula XX

Castlevania (N64)

A model of Carmilla atop her skull can be seen in early footage of the Nintendo 64 game, Castlevania. However, she was removed from the final version of the game.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Main article: Camilla

Contrary to her relative minor roles in previous games, Camilla appears as a much more prominent character in Circle of the Moon. Possessing her own castle located in Austria, she plots to revive her master, Count Dracula, in order to unite the forces of darkness. However, the events in Circle of the Moon take place in an alternate continuity, and as such they don't form part of the accepted canon.

Name JPN HP EXP Camilla カーミラ Kāmira (Carmilla) 1,500 8,0000 ATK DEF Location 650 700 Underground Waterway Common Drop Rare Drop - - Resistance Darkness

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

File:Harmony of Dissonance - Carmilla - 01.jpg

Carmilla's mask sculpted in relief in the Skeleton Cave.

In Harmony of Dissonance, an effigy sculpted in relief can be found in the Skeleton Cave which resembles Carmilla's mask from Simon's Quest and Rondo of Blood.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

In The Dracula X Chronicles, Carmilla fights much like she did in the original version of Rondo of Blood; however, due to updated gameplay mechanics and somewhat lower difficulty, the fight is easier this time around.

Other appearances

Castlevania Judgment

Main article: Carmilla/Judgment

Galamoth plots to send the Time Reaper from 10,000 years in the future, into the past to destroy his rival, Dracula, and change history. A man named Aeon discovers this and pulls together champions from different eras of history into a dimensional rift, in order to find a chosen one capable of destroying Galamoth's servant. Carmilla is one of these warriors.

Carmilla is a female vampire. She worships Dracula like a god and her greatest joy is shredding humans and let their blood splatter on her. Carmilla views humans as nothing more than prey and always looks down upon them. She is aggressive and provocative. Her interactions with Sypha Belnades also reveal that Carmilla was responsible for the witch hunts that resulted in her clan being persecuted, earning a grudge from the latter.

Castlevania (animated series)

Main article: Carmilla/Animated series

Carmilla was revealed to appear as one of the main antagonists in the Season 2 trailer of the Castlevania animated series, apparently playing the role of one of Dracula's most prominent generals or a powerful ally. In this new portrayal of the character, she appears as a tall, pale and thin woman with long straight white hair. Of note is that her face is round, white and has a pointy chin, probably alluding to the character's iconic mask first seen in Simon's Quest.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Carmilla's mask can be seen near the end of the August 8, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct stream, peeking through a window and shedding a tear of blood as Luigi's soul attempts to reenter his body. She will probably appear as a boss or as a stage hazard. Her overall design was derived from her appearance in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

Trivia

• Carmilla is referenced by Edmund McMillen in the game The Binding of Isaac via a boss known as The Mask of Infamy.

See also

• Laura

External links

• Carmilla at the Castlevania Fan Wiki