Elizabeth Bartley
Although there are a number of monsters in popular fiction that have also shown up in the Castlevania series, fewer "monsters" based on actual history have also been included. For a long while, DraculaThe lead antagonist of the Castlevania series and most famous vampire character in all media, all thanks to Bram Stoker. Based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler, a vicious ruler of Wallachia in the mid-1500s. (based on the real historical person Vlad "Tepes" Dracula) was the only historically-based monster included in the series (and he essentially got prime billing, the "and" of the credits, if you will). Considering that he's attributed as one of the true historical vampires (for his penchant for grisly murders), it was only a matter of time before another historical vampire was included as well.
Thus, with the release of Castlevania: BloodlinesThe first Castlevania game for a Sega console, this title marked the introduction of elements from Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, into the game series., Konami brought in the other truly famous "vampire" from history: Erzsébet Báthory. Redubbed "Elizabeth Bartley" (which may just be a simple mistranslation from English to Japanese and back again), the woman became Dracula's niece (on his dead wife's side), was turned to a vampire, and became the main antagonist of Bloodlines.
Although she was only used in this one game, her inclusion did create a nice parallel for the main story of the series: she's a relation of the villain while one of the two heroes, John MorrisOne of two vampire hunters in Castlevania: Bloodlines. John was the son of Quincey Morris, from Bram Stoker's Dracula novel and, though not a Belmont, he wields the powerful Vampire Killer to aid him in his fight against Dracula. is the son of Quincey MorrisOne of three suitors of Lucy Westenra in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. In the Castlevania continuity he's also the father of John Morris and, for a time, was the keeper of the sacred Vampire Killer., one of the heroes of Bram Stoker's DraculaBram Stoker's famous novel, which launched a character that has been famous ever since. The lead character, Dracula, was based on the real historical figure Vlad Tepes.. Thus there are "bloodlines" on each side of the fight.
Character History:
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Once a powerful, if crazed, countess, Elizabeth Bartley took after her uncle, the mad vampire lord Dracula. Whether embraced by Dracula himself or turned later, the countess was tried for her crimes after being found feeding upon a young villager. Centuries later, Elizabeth was brought back from the dead by the Drolta TzuentesA minor character in Castlevania: Nocturne. The captain and his men stop Drolta Tzuentes and her entourage from entering the city. For this "mistake", he and his men are quickly dispatched., a witch who pledged her life to the countess.
Reborn, Elizabeth was intent on bringing back her uncle, Dracula. Her plan, instead of just casting a Black Mass Ritual (like so many of his other followers) was to essentially kick off a war. Initializing a plot to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Austria, Bartley essentially started the Great War (later called World War I after World War II was started). With so many dead and dying, Bartley was able to use necromancy powered by these souls to bring about the resurrection of Dracula.
What she also did, though, was garner the attention of two heroes, John Morris and Eric LecardeOne of two vampire hunters in Castlevania: Bloodlines. Eric is there to track down Elizabeth Bartley, the vampire that killed his wife. He wields the powerful Alucard Spear (as per later retcons) to aid him in his fight. (although, she did also attract Eric's attention after she attacked, and embraced, Eric's betrothed -- that tends to turn anyone against you). The two heroes (who were also childhood friends) teamed up and ventured to Dracula's castle high up in the Borgo Pass. There, they fought through the lengthy opening section of the castle but, instead of finding Elizabeth or Dracula in the ruins of the keep, they instead faced off against an armored knight.
From there, the chase was on as the heroes followed Elizabeth, Dracula, and their path of destruction, which lead them from Romania through Germany (and a munitions factory), Italy, and Atlantis, all before finally ending up at Castle Properina for the final showdown. Venturing through the castle's halls and the many traps designed by Elizabeth, the heroes eventually came face to face with the countess herself. She first sent out a decoy, Medusa, to fight for her, before taking on the heroes herself. Although she wielded powerful crystals that she could use to unleash powerful magic, in the end her abilities were no match for the power of the heroes.
Defeated, Elizabeth hoped that Dracula would defeat the heroes and find a way to revive her once more. Sadly, he too was bested by the heroes, ending Elizabeth's plan. Soon enough the Great War ended, but wherever she was, Elizabeth could have the last laugh as the repercussions of her evil were felt for decades to come (leading into World War II and the events of Castlevania: Portrait of RuinThe penultimate Igarashi Metroidvania, Portrait was inspired by the "Julius Mode" adventure in Dawn of Sorrow, leading to a two-character adventure through Dracula's castle.).
The English and Japanese manuals had differing stories for Elizabeth's exact machinations and plots. We've taken the liberty of streamlining the two here for a more cohesive story.
Castlevania Netflix History:
Castlevania: Nocturne
After the fall of Dracula, the vampire lords divided up the world, taking their various fiefdoms and ruling over them as their new masters. Vampires did not organize, they did not work together to rule the world. They wanted their lands, their way. Among the lands divided up, a large portion of Russia fell under the control of a mad vampiress, Erzsébet Báthory. She was a tyrannical, evil creature who loved nothing more than capturing and torturing the girls in her land as she slowly bled them dry. She let her people suffer, her lands falling to ruin, as she enjoyed her evil ways.
Into her lands came the Speakers, a clan of magicians who also documented and carried with them the history of the lands. They saw a land where its people could barely feed themselves and they decided to help. Báthory, though, did not want her people to be happy and healthy; she wanted them beaten down and suffering. So she sent her vampire minions out to kill the Speakers and send a message to her people: your lives will never be better.
One speaker, Tera, was able to escape the vampires, fighting them off. She knew her sister was captured and taken back to the castle, while the rest of her clan lay dead. She decided to venture into the vampiress’s castle and save her sister. She snuck in, searching until she found the torture chamber, where she discovered her sister, strung up like and nearly dead. Or, in fact, actually dead because Báthory had already turned the girl into a vampire. The evil vampire queen came in at that moment, ready to capture Tera as well, but the Speaker fought back, killing her sister as she fled.
Leaping out a window, Tera escaped as Báthory chased, fleeing the vampiress’s lands and escaping as far as she could, hoping to never see the evil queen again.
Sometime later, Báthory was visited by Drolta Tzuentes, an ancient vampire who used to be a high priestess of Sekhmet. Seeing the evil that Báthory had committed, Tzuentes knew that she had found the perfect host for Sekhmet’s power. She could resurrect the goddess, creating a new vampire Messiah. All she needed to transform Báthory into the higher form she was meant to be was enough blood magic to enact the ceremony.
With the vampires of Paris ready, Erzsébet made her arrival, resplendent upon a white chariot, her dress flowing behind her. SHe was greeted by Drolta, who promised that things were in position for the ascension. Erzsébet was to become the embodiment Sekhmet and, through her, they could take down the goddess’s father, Amen-Ra, and blot out the sun. As Erzsébet rode through the city, she was greeted by the vampires of the land, who cheered her, ready for her to deliver them into a sunless paradise for eternity.
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Fighting Against Elizabeth:
Elizabeth's fight (at least in the full, proper Hard Mode) takes two forms. She starts off as a version of Medusa (what we can think of as her "demon form" if we line her up with proper Dracula fights). She appear in a corner and lash out at the hero in four ways: a linear flame attack that starts high before moving, in an arc, downwards; a double-helix flame attack that requires the hero to be in a safe position to avoid damage; a lashing tail attack along the ground; and crawling towards the hero and trying to melee them. Frankly, this form is easy to defeat so long as you know where to stand, and it shouldn't prove too complex to survive.
Her next form isn't really any worse. It's more like a glorified auto-scroller, honestly, just one that takes place in a single room. She'll appear, warping to the top of the screen, and summon balls of energy, four at a time, that will then circle the center of the room. Don't worry about these as they won't hurt you. Instead, focus on Elizabeth who will teleport into the room, summoning a fireball that will fly across the screen. Hit Elizabeth and one of the crystals will break. Do this four times and she'll fly back to the center of the room and repeat the process, over and over, until she's dead. It's, frankly, the opposite of thrilling.
Elizabeth Trivia:
As noted, Elizabeth Bartley is directly based on the insane countess Erzsébet Báthory. This insane noble woman had a taste for blood and is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in history. She's attributed with torturing and killing hundreds of young women (maybe upwards of 650, although that number, raised at her trial, is likely inflated) in a 25 year span before being put on trial for her crimes. She was also attributed with bathing in the blood of the young women, although that tale came after her death and, too, was likely false. Still, the vampiric tales stuck with her, making her one of history's most famous "vampires" (second only to Vlad "Tepes" Dracula, of course).
Drolta Tzuntes is Elizabeth's accomplice in the game being the one (in both the Japanese and English manuals) to revive the vampiress. However, she doesn't actually appear in the main part of the game. Further, she's never glimpsed again after this game, leading us to assume she realized the error of her ways. Presumably, after this, she went into a life of honor and good deeds (maybe opening up a frozen yogurt shop). We only mention her here, even, because the game's Drolta was clearly based on Dorottya Szentes, one of Bathory's real servants and one of three people tried and convicted as accomplices to Bathory's many crimes.
While Bloodlines is based on Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, Elizabeth is not referenced in any way in the novel. Her inclusion is solely to add more historical details to the overall story.
Elizabeth in Popular Culture:
Although the Castlevania version of the character has not appeared outside of Bloodlines, her historical progenitor, Bathory, has been the subject of a number of books, comics, and movies, including the Hammer horror classic Countess DraculaThe classic horror film from Hammer's vampire heyday, this film features Ingrid Pitt, one of their most popular actresses, in her second vampire role. and, much later, the direct-to-DVD flick Fright Night 2: New Blood (which no one would describe as a "classic").
And while she's not officially in other Castlevania games, fans have embraced Elizabeth as a worthy antagonist, such as in the fangame Silver Night CrusadersA fangame from developer Crimsondeath with solid gameplay and good looking graphics. It's one of the richer and more varied fangames to come out in honor of the Castlevania series..