Witches are common enemies found in several Castlevania games. They are female humans learned in the black arts and the casting of spells. They are the counterparts of wizards. However, not all witches in the series are evil, and even a few protagonists and supportive characters, such as Sypha Belnades, Maria Renard and Charlotte Aulin, to name a few, fall into this category.
Witches are frequently specialized in flight (either by riding a broom or by levitation) and the ability to cast magical attacks. Some witches are simple enemies roaming around the castle, while others may play a bigger role in the game's story, especially in those cases where they assist in Dracula's resurrection.
Of worth is the mention of Lisa, Dracula's second wife, a 15th Century healer who was arrested and executed during the witch trials going on in Europe at the time, and whose death served as Dracula's motivation to wage war on humanity, finalizing his transformation into the main antagonist of the games and setting off the events that would become the main foundation of the entire Castlevania mythos.
Overview
There are two general types of witches in the Castlevania series. The first kind tends to be clothed in robes with or without hoods, and armed with a magic staff of some kind. Some of these witches may be related to the gypsies or the Belnades Clan. Their power comes from the forces of nature and their most common attack are electrical orbs, although they may also master other elements such as fire and ice. They can often hover through the air or teleport. Some of these witches are also spirits, zombies, vampires, or doppelgangers of playable witches. Regular enemies of this type include the Salem Witch (a ghost witch, also referred to as Aliorumnas or Siren) and a witch that appears in Akumajō Dracula: The Arcade. Boss versions of these witches include Drolta Tzuentes, the Belnades cousin turned vampire Camilla Fernandez, Actrise, the zombie impostor Fake Sypha, and Sypha's and Charlotte's Doppelganger. Playable versions include Sypha Belnades and her relatives, Carrie Fernandez, Yoko Belnades, and Charlotte Aulin. The non-playable character Julia Laforeze is also a witch who escaped the witch hunts.
The second kind of witches are of the stereotypical "Halloween" variety. They tend to dress in black, wear the "traditional" wide-brimmed pointy witches' hats, ride broomsticks (usually with lanterns in front), and turn into black cats when they are defeated. Unlike the stereotype, they are not green, hook-nosed old hags, but rather cute young ladies. They usually wear dresses which show off their legs rather than the robes of their counterparts. The first witch of this type appeared in the Famicom game Boku Dracula-kun, and given the nickname of "Marchan". She was a cheerful witch riding along on her broomstick, giving an occasional wink, but would still harm Kid Dracula if she rammed into him. After joining Kid Dracula's side, she later helped him in the Game Boy version, Kid Dracula, with her crystal ball. This witch reappeared in a slightly more serious form in Symphony of the Night, where she was called Salome in North America and Sausine in Japan, although her descriptions indicate her nickname is still "Marchan". Witches of this variety were later usually just referred to as "Witch". A sub-type of this witch are Student Witches, which were a younger variety just learning to fly. These usually crash on the ground after failed attempts to start flight and may then resort to attack with their broomsticks instead.
Galamoth's reaper is called Witchi Wench in the Game Boy version European Kid Dracula instruction booklet, due to his wide-brimmed hat and long eyelashes.
The Lords of Shadow series features specific witches such as Baba Yaga and the Crow Witch Malphas.
Appearances
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Salome is encountered in the Floating Catacombs. She appears as a young woman bearing the archetypal look of telltale witches, such as wearing a pointy black hat and flying on a broom. As expected, her main means of attack is by employing magical arts, such as releasing white orbs that deal damage on contact, and also by creating a temporary shield that makes her completely impervious to attack. She can also summon cats, which will run across the ground, or skulls, which will bounce around until destroyed. When defeated, she will transform into a cat and attempt to scurry away; being hit by the cat deals small damage. It can be killed, although no further items will drop nor will it yield any experience points. Being touched by the cat while wearing the Cat-Eye Circlet will heal Alucard significantly. One of the easiest ways to defeat her is with the Gas Cloud relic equipped and flying into her to cause damage.
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Witches in Circle of the Moon, unlike those found in most Castlevania games, appear as traditional green-skinned old hags riding broomsticks. They fly back and forth and stop in midair to release energy balls below them; these spread out in a spiraling manner, making them somewhat difficult to evade if there are other enemies around.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
The Student Witch is a common enemy in this game. She has two kinds of attacks. The first is hitting with her broom, and the second is summoning a cat. Damage by her cat is half as strong as the damage by physical contact or broom. Acquiring the soul of the student witch will allow Soma to summon and throw cats (up to five on screen, with the probability of ⅛ being spawned as a kitten). When killed, she will transform into a harmless cat.
The normal Witch can cast a barrier which neutralizes all frontal attacks; attacking her from behind is the only way to damage her. She has two kinds of attack, summoning a fireball, and charging forward. The fireball uses 125% of her strength. When killed, she transforms into a cat with a hat, which damages you on contact. It is half as strong as her.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
The Student Witch is fairly similar in appearance to the last game. Her soul allows you to summon a cat which runs across the ground, damaging anything in its path. She is also weak to Persephone's vacuum, which sucks up her skirt.
Akumajō Dracula: The Arcade
The Witch follows the player around teasingly, disappearing and reappearing and sending blasts of magic with her staff while they are attempting to make it through the Rampart section of Stage 4.
Known witches
Enemy Data
- See: Witch/Enemy Data
Item Data
| Item Data: Witch | ||||||||
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| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
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| Wide-brimmed for protection | DEF +5, INT +7, STR +1, CON +1 |
Drop: Salome |
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| Restores all MP [use] | MP +100% |
Buy: $4,000 (later) Find: Throughout castle (all) Drop: Ectoplasm, Salome, Specter (Saturn-only), Will O' Wisp (Saturn-only) |
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| Recover 30% MP. | MP +30% |
Drop: Witch, Will O' Wisp, Ectoplasm, Gremlin, Spirit, Specter, Nightmare, Brain Float, Mudman |
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| A robe that has magic within | DEF +200, INT +300 |
Drop: Alraune, Witch |
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| Counteracts the effects of poison. | Buy: 20G Find: Marble Corridor, Sky Walkway, Chapel of Dissonance (Castle A) Common Drop: Slime, Bone Thrower, Bone Liquid, Witch |
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| Designed to allow for the easy dodging of attacks. | DEF +20, INT +7 |
Rare Drop: Witch |
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| Restores a large amount of MP. | MP +100 |
Buy: 1,000G Find: Throughout castle (all) Common Drop: Pixie, Sylph |
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| An extremely valuable jewel. | Sell: 1,000G |
Rare Drop: Pixie |
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| A melon of the finest quality. | HP +600 Sell: $750 |
Find: Study (hidden) Rare Drop: Alura Une Common Drop: Witch |
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| Spear forged by witches. | Attrib: Sword |
ATK +58 Sell: $3,400 |
Rare Drop: Witch |
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| Repels bullets with shield. (Erects a shield that repels bullets.) | Attrib: Holy Consume: 3 MP/sec |
30 ATK |
Drop: Witch |
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| A robe worn by mages. | DEF +10, INT +5 Sell: $1,150 |
Common Drop: Witch |
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| Topped with a cherry. | HP +100 Sell: $200 |
Rare Drop: Witch |
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| Launch magic shots that track targets. | Attrib: Piercing Consume: 20 MP |
Rarity: ** Drop: Witch |
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| A wide-brimmed hat perfect for the well-traveled man. | DEF +6, INT +3, MND +3 Sell: $1,875 |
Buy: $7,500 Find: Entrance (Vincent's shop) Drop: Witch |
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| Taking damage will restore MP. | Sell: $7,500 |
Drop: Witch |
Effect: Damage restores MP. | |||||
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| Soft, fluffy, and sweet. | HP +15, MP +15, LCK +1 Sell: $45 |
Rarity: * Find: Chapter 2, 4, 6 Drop: Witch (5.30%) |
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| Traditional pointed hat of the dark sisterhood. | MP +5, DEF +3, CON +2, INT +2 Sell: $1,050 |
Rarity: *** |
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| Recovery magic that restores HP | Attrib: None Consume: 50 MP |
ATK +30 |
Rarity: * Bind: Witch First Obtained: Chapter 4 |
Effect: Capable of healing allies | ||||
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| Manipulate magical energy and launch it at enemies. | Attrib: Holy Consume: 12 MP |
ATK +12 |
Rarity: *** Bind: Witch First Obtained: Chapter 4 |
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| Manipulate magical energy and launch it at enemies. | Attrib: Holy Consume: 12 MP |
ATK +12 |
Rarity: *** Steal: Witch (2.8%) |
Effect: Energy Flow | ||||
Gallery
Artwork
Screenshots
Trivia
- Lisa, Dracula's second wife and mother of Alucard, created medicine for those who suffered from the epidemic. Due to the witch trials going during that time, she was apprehended and executed. Upon learning about his wife's death, Dracula vowed revenge and in 1476 he began his war upon humanity.