History NightmareFuel / Castlevania

** Pazuzu and his demons killing the Bishop in his church. Not just for the act, but for making him realize the depth of his errors by stating God is ashamed of him. Even for a guy like him, that's just ''cold''.
--> '''Pazuzu''': Let me kiss you...

* The GameOver screens of VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia, especially this one.

* Don't forget the Man-Eater from VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow which looks like A giant skull with 3 eyeballs which sports blood when they appear.

* In VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow, There's a boss in The Inner Quarters called Headhunter which kinda looks like Mombi from Film/ReturnToOz, she can swap 3

** Pazuzu and his demons killing The Priest in his church. Not just for the act, but for making him realize the depth of his errors by stating God is ashamed of him. Even for a guy like him, that's just ''cold''.

--> Pazuzu: Let me kiss you...

-> Pazuzu: Let me kiss you...

** And let's not forget how he transformed into... that. After you damage him enough, he rises into the air and screams as his body ''explodes'' into a shower of blood that reforms as that giant monster thing. It is ''disgusting.''
*** Don't forget that Statue of The Virgin Mary crying TearsOfBlood in that area during the Boss fight can give you Shivers.

** Don't forget Dracula's final form in that game, which looks like an amalgamation of body parts.

* The Animated series gives us something the games never have before; the full fury of Dracula on the warpath. Blood and stillborn demon fetuses rain from the sky and a cathedral bursts into flames. Then Castlevania rises from the ruins. All the windows open, and a horde of demons spill out, tearing the populace to pieces, sparing nobody. Heads impaled on stakes stuck on the roofs and battlements, with entrails strung between them, and people waking up to find their family members torn to pieces right next to them.

* The Animated series gives us something the games never have before; the full fury of Dracula on the warpath. Blood and stillborn demon fetuses rain from the sky and a cathedral bursts into flames. Then Castlevania rises from the ruins. All the windows open, and a horde of demons spill out, tearing the populace to pieces, sparing nobody. Heads impaled on the roofs and battlements, and people waking up to find their family members torn to pieces right next to them.

* The Animated series gives us something the games never have before; the full fury of Dracula on the warpath. Blood and stillborn demon fetuses rain from the sky and a cathedral bursts into flames. Then Castlevania rises from the ruins. All the windows open, and a horde of demons spill out, tearing the populace to pieces, sparing nobody.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' contains some of the most horrifying stuff in the series, some of which would be re-used in future entries.
** The GameOver screen. Whether it is [[http://imgur.com/qgwX5cC the imagery]] or [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7ATGYquBU the music]], either one of those things are more than likely to catch gamers off-guard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtLe2lDIdkw&feature=relmfu when combined.]]
** After descending far underground to the deepest part of the castle, you encounter Granfalloon/Legion in the catacombs. It is a Cosmic Horror creature covered in a "shell" of naked, faceless corpses, and they're screaming.
** Legion returns in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'', only this time, to add to the nightmare, the bodies ''fall off'' as you damage the boss, disappearing into nothing. Try to not think about how those might have been innocent souls you just murdered.
** And if you defeat it without shivering, you may eventually make it to the Reversed Castle. Once you get there... well, ''Beelzebub''. Beelzebub is a truly giant, green, rotting corpse with various equally sickening organs showing. It's also grimacing and got long, stringy white hair. It's suspended by chains and ''meat hooks''. And covered with giant maggot-fly-things, which it sends to attack you. They have a way of appearing "close to the screen" when they zoom into the room as well. To top it all off, the arms and legs of the corpse fall off after they have been damaged enough.
** The demise of the succubus can be creepy, especially in Japanese. Alucard is terrifyingly calm as he explains [[FateWorseThanDeath what happens when your astral body dies in a dream]], and the succubus starts frantically trying to dissuade him. The screen blacks out, and her scream ''cuts off''. This is the ''only'' death in the series you do not see. [[NothingIsScarier That makes it so much worse]].
*** If you want to not sleep for a week, consider that she had no idea who the hell he was. No one sent her after you. She chose to do that 'hi im ur mom' routine on her own. Now, given Dracula's attitude toward his wife - and his lack of ability to keep his temper in check - how well do you think he might take some half-dressed harlot of a demoness pretending to be her for the lulz? Consider his historical namesake's penchant for people on sticks, combine it with his hellbound powers, and then wish they made Clorox for the mind's eye.
*** Even the Narmy dub can be freaky, as her death cry bounces between pain and orgasm.
*** That may explain why Dracula summons her during the FinalBoss battle, only to immediately crush her between his massive claws and drink the blood to heal his own wounds.
*** On the other hand, consider the situation from Alucard's viewpoint and think about what it means to be [[HornyDevils attacked by a Succubus]]. By a succubus that's ''[[IncestSubtext impersonating your mother]]''. If you think ''[[FateWorseThanDeath winning]]'' that fight is nightmare-inducing, [[NoYay losing it is worse]]. The Japanese version even has an [[NonstandardGameOver alternate game-over voice clip]] of the Succubus saying something to the effect of: "Let us two wander the eternal darkness together," then giving a lascivious chuckle. The dummied-out English version had her say "Now you'll be my ''permanent'' slave!"
** Shaft. He [[BrainwashedAndCrazy gets into Richter's brain]], which can be horrifically [[ParanoiaFuel paranoia-inducing]] - if such a righteous hero as Richter couldn't resist his powers, what chance do your companions - or ''you'' - have?
** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles Dracula X Chronicles]]'' makes it worse. Look at his hands in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLA6UEGNBQ0 the opening cinema]], and just try not to shiver convulsively.
** Some of [=SotN=]'s songs themselves are terrifying to listen to. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlDp9gElLnI Door of Holy Spirits]], the background music to the Reverse Colosseum, sounds like something you'd hear in a horror movie. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOq9bODf_UY Abandoned Pit]] has the potential to drive you insane if you're listening to it in real catacombs, and to worsen matters, it's played not only in the normal Abandoned Pit, but also the Cave (the Reverse Pit). And should you go through that area, beyond the boss battle with Death, into the Floating Catacombs, you're greeted with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8TR_ZsDdBc Curse Zone]], which starts to get more chaotic and freakish at the 0:41 mark. There's also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdV5QarbRg Enchanted Banquet]] (which plays during the fight with the succubus) which has a droning OneWomanWail LastNoteNightmare and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMSL9znTmc Door to the Abyss]] (which plays in the centre of the castle).
** ''Symphony of the Night'' had a planned [[https://tcrf.net/Castlevania:_Symphony_of_the_Night_%28PlayStation%29/Unused_Voice_Clips alternate ending]] where Maria intervened during the Richter fight and saved Richter herself, but would have subsequently become possessed or transformed by Shaft. She'd fight Alucard to the death and make the castle collapse if you won, killing herself and Richter.

*** If you want to see these Screens, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLA6UEGNBQ0 See them here]].

** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles Dracula X Chronicles]]'' makes it worse. Look at his hands in the opening cinema, and just try not to shiver convulsively.

*** If you want to not sleep for a week, consider that she had no idea who the hell he was. No one sent her after you. She chose to do that 'hi im ur mom' routine on her own. Now, given Dracula's attitude toward his wife, and his lack of ability to keep his temper in check how well do you think he might take some pantsless skankadelic demoness pretending to be her for the lulz? Crossbreed that with his penchant for people on sticks, and then wish they made Clorox for the mind's eye.

*** That may explain why Dracula summons her during the FinalBoss battle, only to immediately crush her between his massive claws and drink the blood to heal it off.
*** On the other hand, consider the situation from Alucard's viewpoint and think about what it means to be [[HornyDevils attacked by a Succubus]]. By a succubus that's ''impersonating your mother''. If you think ''winning'' that fight is nightmare-inducing, losing it is worse. The Japanese version even has an [[NonstandardGameOver alternate game-over voice clip]] of the Succubus saying something like "Let us two wander the eternal darkness together" with a lascivious chuckle. The dummied-out English version had her say "Now you'll be my ''permanent'' slave!"
** Shaft. He [[BrainwashedAndCrazy gets into Richter's brain]], which can be horrifically [[ParanoiaFuel paranoia-inducing]]. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaTheDraculaXChronicles Dracula X Chronicles]]'' makes it worse. Look at his hands in the opening cinema, and just try not to shiver convulsively.

* Take a good look at [[spoiler:Graham's]] second form near the end of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. He is resting comfortably within the heart of two giant pale women with completely exposed ribs and guts, conjoined by the intestines, not to mention the large ring holding them together through their ''eyes''.

* In [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]], there's a really creepy underwater Homunculus enemy. It just sits there until you approach it. Then, it starts thrashing wildly and trying to chase and kill you, while attached to this tube thing that gives it oxygen. That's not the worst part, though. If you don't kill the guy, he'll still follow you. Eventually, if you wander far enough from its spawn point, the tube will stretch too far and pop off the creature's back. The creature will be reduced to spending the last parts of its life thrashing and chasing you and turning purple as it slowly drowns to death.

** Also, the ceiling of her room features a helpless, petrified commando of modern-day soldiers. Which she ''shatters'' when the battle begins.

** There's also the Undead Parasite boss and his room (which looks like the belly of some giant monster) and the Executioner enemy, expecially when you see this gargantuan, faceless, cleaver-wielding monster coming out of total darkness in front of you.
** Medusa. Her incarnation in the very first game was not bad, but here...

** The GameOver screen. Whether it is [[http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/Castlevania%20Symphony%20of%20the%20Night%20Game%20Over.jpg the imagery]] or [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7ATGYquBU the music]], either one of those things are more than likely to catch gamers off-guard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtLe2lDIdkw&feature=relmfu when combined.]]

** The demise of the succubus can be creepy, especially in Japanese. Alucard is terrifyingly calm as he explains [[FateWorseThanDeath what happens when your astral body dies in a dream]], and the succubus starts frantically trying to dissuade him. The screen blacks out, and her scream ''cuts off''. This is the ''only'' death in the series you do not see. That makes it so much worse.

** ''Symphony of the Night'' had a planned [[https://tcrf.net/Castlevania:_Symphony_of_the_Night_%28PlayStation%29/Unused_Voice_Clips alternate ending]] where Maria intervened during the Richter fight and saved Richter herself, but would have subsequently become possessed or transformed by Shaft, fighting Alucard to the death and making the castle collapse, killing herself and Richter if you win.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' contains the most horrifying stuff in the series, some of which would be re-used in future entries.
** First things first: the GameOver screen. Whether it is [[http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/Castlevania%20Symphony%20of%20the%20Night%20Game%20Over.jpg the imagery]] or [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7ATGYquBU the music,]] either one of those things are more than likely to catch gamers off-guard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtLe2lDIdkw&feature=relmfu when combined.]]

** This monster may look both fucking scary and funny at the same time...

*** On the other hand, consider the situation from Alucard's viewpoint and think about what it means to be [[HornyDevils attacked by a Succubus]]. By a succubus that's ''impersonating your mother''. If you think ''winning'' that fight is nightmare-inducing... The Japanese version even has an [[NonstandardGameOver alternate game-over voice clip]], always a creepy touch, and in this case it's the Succubus saying something like "Let us two wander the eternal darkness together" with a lascivious chuckle.

** Take a good look at [[spoiler:Graham's]] second form near the end of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. He is resting comfortably within the heart of two giant pale women with completely exposed ribs and guts, conjoined by the intestines, not to mention the large ring holding them together through their ''eyes''.
*** And let's not forget how he transformed into... that. After you damage him enough, he rises into the air and screams as his body ''explodes'' into a shower of blood that reforms as that giant monster thing. It is ''disgusting.''
** In [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]], there's a really creepy underwater Homunculus enemy. It just sits there until you approach it. Then, it starts thrashing wildly and trying to chase and kill you, while attached to this tube thing that gives it oxygen. That's not the worst part, though. If you don't kill the guy, he'll still follow you. Eventually, if you wander far enough from its spawn point, the tube will stretch too far and pop off the creature's back. The creature will be reduced to spending the last parts of its life thrashing and chasing you and turning purple as it slowly drowns to death.
** Some of [=SotN=]'s songs themselves are terrifying to listen to. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlDp9gElLnI Door of Holy Spirits]], the background music to the Reverse Colosseum, sounds like something you'd hear in a horror movie. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOq9bODf_UY Abandoned Pit]] has the potential to drive you insane if you're listening to it in real catacombs, and to worsen matters, it's played not only in the normal Abandoned Pit, but also the Cave (the reverse Pit). And should you go through that area, beyond the boss battle with Death, into the Floating Catacombs, you're greeted with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8TR_ZsDdBc Curse Zone]], which starts to get more chaotic and freakish at the 0:41 mark. The ''Symphony'' soundtrack does a much better job of setting eerie atmospheres than the more cheerful tracks of the later titles in the series. It's like Michiru Yamane became a completely different composer sometime between [=SotN=] and ''Aria of Sorrow''.
*** There's also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdV5QarbRg Enchanted Banquet]] (which plays during the fight with the succubus) which has a droning OneWomanWail LastNoteNightmare and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMMSL9znTmc Door to the Abyss]] (which plays in the centre of the castle).

** The demise of the succubus can be especially creepy. Seeing it in the Saturn version with its original voice-work (which lacks the glorious Narm of the dub) is -- well -- Alucard is terrifyingly calm as he explains [[FateWorseThanDeath what happens when your astral body dies in a dream]], and the succubus starts frantically trying to dissuade him. The screen blacks out, and her scream ''cuts off''. This is the ''only'' death in the series you do not see. That makes it so much worse.
*** If you want to not sleep for a week, consider that she had no idea who the hell he was. No one sent her after you. She chose to do that 'hi im ur mom' routine on her own. Now, given Dracula's attitude toward his wife, and his lack of ability to keep his temper in check (to say the least...) how well do you think he might take some pantsless skankadelic demoness pretending to be her for the lulz? Crossbreed that with his penchant for people on sticks, and then wish they made Clorox for the mind's eye.
*** Even the Narmy dub can be freaky, as her death cry bounces between pain and orgasm. Damn, don't mock Alucard's momma!

* Dracula's castle itself can be seen as one. Due to its always different inner structure in every game, it has been referred by Alucard as a "[[ChaosArchitecture Creature of Chaos]]".
** This is taken to truly, ridiculously, disturbing levels in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2''.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2''
** Soon after he wakes up in the present, a starved of blood and half-berserk Dracula is given a meal by his old friend Zobek, it consists of a family of three including a daughter who couldn't be older than thirteen. After the husband tries in vain to beat Dracula to death with a metal pipe, Dracula slits his throat in a single strike, killing him. He then drinks the mother's blood until she's little more than a desiccated husk, then he turns on the daughter and the screen cuts to black as he lunges for her (did we mention ''you'' have to be the one press the O button to make him feed?) When he regains consciousness and looks into the room, the quick expression to cross his face makes it seem as if even Dracula was disturbed by what he did while he was insane from bloodlust.
** The Three Gorgon sisters seem to have taken a lesson from ''Film/TheRing'', they look like human girls, but they have snakes poking in and out of their bodies and the way they move [[UncannyValley is very unnatural, their bodies twisting and contorting in spastic, twitchy movements, they can't move in any way that isn't some kind of freaky spider-walk.]] Even more, their very presence seems to screw with one's vision (they are gorgons, after all), as the [[CameraScrew camera freaks out, skipping and going into static every time they stop moving or contort to stand up, further accenting their nightmarish and alien movements]].
** The Blood of the Castle is a very disturbing form of corruption that proves that not only is the Castle now a GeniusLoci, it's ''very'' angry and wants to kill you. Standard fare for possessing something is to wait until they prove their intentions are to help Dracula, then a giant clawed hand shoots out of a pool of blood and drags them downward, they re-emerge a moment later possessed by the Blood. This is a force with so much hatred in it that even Dracula's servants who have held UndyingLoyalty for nigh-on a millennia are turned into his enemies in a matter of seconds.

** In the first part of the Menace battle, [[spoiler:he's trying to stab you with his ribs.]]

* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaI
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest
* NightmareFuel/HauntedCastle
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaTheAdventure
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse
* NightmareFuel/KidDracula
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge
* NightmareFuel/SuperCastlevaniaIV
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaChronicles
* NightmareFuel/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood
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