The Skeleton (スケルトン, Sukeruton^?) is a recurring enemy in the Castlevania series. It is a human skeleton brought to life as a monster by the fearsome dark power of Count Dracula.

General information

Risen from their graves, Skeletons now serve under the rule of the Dark Lord and make up the greater part of his army.

The basic skeleton may behave in one of two ways:

1. Paces back and forth, clogging up platforms.
2. Jumps high (sometimes in erratic patterns) and throws bones.

Despite their abilities, Skeletons are usually easy to kill. The bones they throw are presumably from their own rib cages, although they are also known to remove and throw their own skulls in some games.

Skeletons may come in a variety of colors in some games, whether it is white, blue, green, etc., although this is usually only to denote their power-level.

Some varieties of Blue Skeletons, known as Exploding or Bomb Skeletons, have a fuse on top of their heads which will cause them to self-destruct either when the timer runs out, when they get near the player, or when taking damage. The ensuing explosion will destroy the skeleton as well as damage the player. Blue Skeletons in Castlevania Chronicles appear to be made of ice but are otherwise the same as regular skeletons. In The Adventure ReBirth, skeletons tinted blue throw bones while white skeletons don't.

Golden Skeletons often display different behaviors than their standard counterparts, making them very deadly in certain games.

Red Skeletons are basically just a variant of the standard skeleton, although they are immortal and regenerate a moment after being disabled. They are generally invincible in most games and can only be permanently defeated by special means.

Types

There are many different types of skeletons throughout the Castlevania series. There are skeletons that carry no weapons and just use their own bones to attack, skeletons carrying a wide range of weaponry, skeletons of various animals, skeletons wielding magic powers, skeletons so widely different from the others that they go in their own category, and the most peculiar: skeletons holding different occupations.

Regular skeletons

• Cheeta
• Gold Skeleton (Golden Bones)
• Skeleton
• Skeleton Rib (Slinger)
• Stone Skull
• Throw Master (Bone Thrower, Jack O' Bones)
• Yorick

Armed skeletons

• Dead Crusader
• Dullahan (Dhuron)
• Exploding Skeleton (Bomb Skeleton)
• Gold Skeleton
• Mace Skeleton
• Skelerang (Skeleton Boomerang)
• Skeleton Archer (Bone Archer, Skull Archer)
• Skeleton Blaze (Blade Soldier, Blaze Master, Blaze Phantom)
• Skeleton Bomber
• Skeleton Flail (Flail Guard)
• Skeleton Guardian
• Skeleton Gunman (Bone Musket)
• Skeleton Soldier (Undead Lord)
• Skeleton Spear (Bone Halberd, Spear Skeleton)
• Whip Skeleton (Simon Wraith, Whip-Toting Skeleton)

Animal skeletons

• Fish Head
• Flying Skeleton (Flying Bone, Skeleton Bat, Winged Guard, Winged Skeleton)
• Panther Skeleton
• Skeleton Monkey (Death Swinger)
• Skeleton Ape (Ape Skeleton)
• Skeleton Spider (Arthro Skeleton)
• Spittle Bone
• Were-Panther Skeleton (Wolf Skeleton)

Magic skeletons

• Astral Fighter (Astral Knight, Astral Warrior)
• Clear Bone
• Electric Skeleton
• Ghost
• Hanged Bones
• Mirage Skeleton
• Nova Skeleton (Beam Skeleton)
• Phantom
• Red Skeleton (Blood Skeleton, Bone Liquid)
• Skeleton Glass
• Skeleton Mirror
• Storm Skeleton

Skeletons with occupations

• Gladiator
• Kicker Skeleton
• Skeleton Athlete (Skeleton Medalist)
• Skeleton Breeder
• Skeleton Farmer
• Skeleton Frisky (Ghost Dancer (skeleton))
• Skull Bartender
• Waiter Skeleton

Special skeletons

• Bone Ark
• Bone Pillar (Bone Head, Bone Tower)
• Giant Ghost
• Giant Skeleton (Creaking Skull, Paranthropus)
• Jp Bonepillar
• Larva Skeleton
• Skeleton Flower
• Skeleton Biker
• Skeleton Rider (Skeleton Trooper)
• Skeleton Tree
• White Dragon (Frost Dragon, Quetzalcoatl, Quezlcoatl, Skeledragon, Thunder Dragon)

Appearances

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

The skeletons from Simon's Quest behave very similar to those from the original Castlevania. Those which can throw bones, however, are much more agile and their thrown bones consume into flames for a brief moment once they touch the floor, which is also harmful.

Simon's Quest (LCD watch)

They appear behind the player in level one and two. They are destroyed with just one hit and are worth 5 points. Skeletons with shields also appear in this game.

Simon's Quest (LCD handheld)

They only appear at night and behind the player. They toss bones in an arcing pattern. They are destroyed with four hits and are worth 20 points. In later stages, they are equipped with a shield.

Haunted Castle

Skeletons can be dangerous that some of them will release an invincible Ghost when defeated. Luckily, such skeletons (or possibly the ghosts within) will let out a shriek before the surprise attack.

Haunted Castle Revisited

Instead of a shriek, the ghost will now slowly emerge out of the skeleton, stop in the air briefly and then accelerate to ram into the player. However, these ghosts can now aim at the player instead of just flying forward.

Kid Dracula

As enemies, these comical skeletons only appear inside the pyramid area of Egypt. They will roll their head like a bowling ball when getting close, and the body will march forward afterwards. They will also try to jump after taking hit.

One of the bonus games between stages has a skeleton tuck in a barrel, where the player is required to stab as many swords as possible into the barrel without hitting the "trap" hole where the skeleton head will pop out.

Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

Skeleton foot soldiers that either rise out from the ground or come from a designated spot (usually a pile of green bones) in unlimited numbers. They fall apart as they take damage and can continue to pull themselves along the ground and attack without their legs. They are slightly harder to kill at night than they are during the day and are often more plentiful during that time.

There are several variations:

• White Skeletons run up to the player and attack with bones used as clubs. Some will remain stationary and throw bones at the player from a distance.
• Exploding Skeletons have a fuse on top of their heads which will cause them to explode either after a short period of time, when they get near the player, or when being damaged. This destroys themselves and damages the player as well.
• Red Skeletons in Castlevania will reassemble a short time after being destroyed. In Legacy of Darkness, they are simply common skeletons with two lives.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Curiously, the first skeleton-type enemy (and the very first enemy) found in the game is the Skeleton Bomber, while the standard Skeleton can only be found from the Abyss Stairway onward.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

A wide variety of Skeletons appears throughout both castles. The weakest variant first appears at the Entrance, either as a singular obstructing enemy or in groups. They pace back and forth tossing a bone in an upward arc and may sometimes dislodge their skull and carry it around until they toss it. The skull can be thrown farther than a bone but deals the same amount of damage as one. Once thrown, the skull will bounce a little while until it explodes into flames. The lack of a skull does not hinder the skeleton from its movement and bone tossing attack.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

The basic Skeletons are armed with a bone that they use for clubbing.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Skeletons are armed with a light club.

Castlevania: The Arcade

Regular skeletons armed with only their own bones are first encountered in the dungeons of the Underground stage.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

There are two types of regular skeletons: White Skeletons, who pace back and forth, and Blue Skeletons, which also toss bones.

Pachislot Akumajō Dracula

Trevor battles hordes of Skeletons in several scenes in the first Pachislot Akumajō Dracula. They come from the ground in buildings and in open fields. Trevor is able to dispatch them by energizing his whip and releasing a wave of energy from it. Some skeletons drop items upon destruction.

A particularly small Comical Skeleton that can't be taken seriously is also fought occasionally in the first two Pachislot Akumajō Dracula games.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

Skeletons are minor enemies and act normally.

The Skeleton is also a playable character in multiplayer only. It has a halo over its head. Unlike the five playable characters, it cannot be selected (and there are no alternate palettes for it). It can only be played by someone when they die, and it is weak.

The Skeleton has infinite lives, but every time it is killed 3 minutes are lost from the timer. The Skeleton also does get the bonuses from the gold boss chest when the boss is defeated. The player can be restored by another player who has a Water of Life.

Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody

Due to localization for the Chinese market, where it is taboo to show bones, all skeletal monsters in Moonlight Rhapsody are depicted so as not to appear as bones. Many are shown as emaciated skin-and-bones human-like monsters. The standard bone-throwing skeleton throws axes instead of bones and is simply called a Thrower.

Other appearances

Captain N: The Game Master

A skeleton appears in the episode "The Most Dangerous Game Master", where in one scene Simon opens a door and a skeleton pops out and tries to attack him, although Simon is faster and manages to close the door in time.

Another skeleton appears in the episode "Mr. & Mrs. Mother Brain", where it was called "Mr. Bone". In one scene, the skeleton is shooting fireballs at Kevin, but Kevin tells Duke, his dog companion, to "get the bone", and Duke bites its leg which makes it disappear.

Pachislot Akumajō Dracula

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CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula

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Enemy Data

Main article: Skeleton/Enemy Data

Item Data

Item Data: Skeleton
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Shield Potion (jpn) - Symphony of the Night   Medicine (Stat Potion) - Alucard				[edit]
	Temporarily raises DEF [use]		DEF +20	Find: Death Wing's Lair, Floating Catacombs, Reverse Outer Wall Drop: Skeleton	Effect: DEF +20 for 68 seconds
	Monster Vial 3 (Capsule Monster 3) - Symphony of the Night   Projectile - Alucard				[edit]
	Summons skeleton ally [use]	Attrib: Hit	ATT +30 (listed), ATT +0 (actual)	Find: Catacombs Drop: Bone Ark, Nova Skeleton, Skeleton, Yorick	Effect: Summon Skeleton (Bone Throw) (despite its listed ATT value, often its actual damage output is equal to Alucard's unarmed ATT, possibly due to a bug, although it occasionally unbugs for a while)
	Leather Armor (Leather Plate) - Circle of the Moon   Body (Body Armor) - Nathan				[edit]
	Armor made from leather		DEF +30	Drop: Axe Armor, Skeleton, Electric Skeleton, Skeleton Spear, Skeleton Soldier, Skeleton Knight, Brain Float
	Potion (jpn) - Circle of the Moon   Recovery Item (Medicine/Health Potion) - Nathan				[edit]
	Recover 20 HP.		HP +20	Drop: Abiondarg, Wind Armor, Skeleton, Skeleton Bomber, Zombie, Demon Lord, Devil Tower, Hyena, Fox Hunter, Flame Demon, Myconid
	$5 - Harmony of Dissonance   Pick-Up (Money) - Juste Belmont				[edit]
	'		Gold + 5	Common Drop: Skeleton, Large Ghost, White Dragon, Flying Bone, Scarecrow, Bomber Armor, Balloon Rare Drop: Fleaman, Bone Pillar
	$25 - Harmony of Dissonance   Pick-Up (Money) - Juste Belmont				[edit]
	'		Gold + 25	Common Drop: Skeleton Blaze, Big Skeleton, Skeleton Flail, Skeleton Spear, Skeleton Ape, Big Balloon, Arabaki, Fleaman Armor Rare Drop: Skeleton, White Dragon, Bomber Armor, Balloon, Large Ghost
	Skeleton - Bone Throw - Aria of Sorrow   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Throws bones.	Consume: 8 MP	75 ATK	Rarity: 8 Drop: Skeleton
	Potion - Lament of Innocence   Recovery Item - Leon Belmont				[edit]
	Medicine that recovers 50 HP.		HP +50 Sell: $100	Buy: $200 Find: Throughout castle (all) Drop: Skeleton, Skeleton Archer, Skeleton Hunter, Skeleton Knight, Astral Knight, Astral Warrior, Astral Fighter, Skeleton Soldier, Skeleton Swordsman, Skeleton Warrior
	Skeleton - Bone Throw - Dawn of Sorrow   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Throw bones.	Attrib: Bashing Consume: 8 MP		Rarity: ** Drop: Skeleton
	Bronze - Curse of Darkness   Material - Hector				[edit]
	Deep bluish bronze. Pretty common as a material and not that strong, but has many uses.		Sell: $25	Common Drop: Skeleton Lv.1/9/38	Evolve: Short Sword, Punch Rings, Spike Shield, Leather Helm, Lorica
	$10 - Curse of Darkness   Pick-Up - Hector				[edit]
	'		Gold + 10	Find: Candelabras Steal: Skeleton Lv.1/9/38, Spirit Lv.4/19/32, Fenrir Lv.5/10, Zombie Lv.5/26/42, Orc Lv.7/14, Flea Man Lv.7/40/75
	Summon Skeleton (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin   Magic Spell - Charlotte				[edit]
	Summon a Skeleton to use in battle.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 20 MP	ATK +10 (partially charged), ATK +20 (fully charged)	Drop: Skeleton	Effect: Two skeletons briefly appear to toss bones. Special: Fully charged: Four skeletons briefly appear to toss bones.
	Three of Crosses - Encore of the Night   Card - Alucard				[edit]
	'			Drop: Skeleton
	Summon Skeleton (jpn) - Harmony of Despair   Bound Spell - Charlotte				[edit]
	Summon a Skeleton to use in Battle.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 12 MP	ATK +8	Rarity: * Bind: Skeleton First Obtained: Chapter 1	Effect: Summons a Skeleton that throws bones Evolve: Higher levels summon more skeletons.
	Skeleton - Harmony of Despair   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Throw bones.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 12 MP	ATK +6	Rarity: * Find: Start with Steal: Skeleton (2.8%)	Effect: Bone Throw
	R. Summon Skeleton (L. Summon Skeleton) - Harmony of Despair (DLC)   Bound Spell - Charlotte				[edit]
	Throw bones of an ancient skeleton.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 10 MP	ATK +10	Rarity: * Bind: R. Skeleton First Obtained: Chapter 10	Effect: Summons an 8-bit Skeleton that throws bones.
	R. Skeleton - Harmony of Despair   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Throw bones.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 10 MP	ATK +9	Rarity: *** Steal: R. Skeleton (5.5%) First Obtained: Chapter 10	Effect: Bone Throw

Gallery

Main article: Skeleton/Gallery

Trivia

• The Skeleton has appeared in almost every game of the series, with the only exception being Castlevania: The Adventure.

External links

• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs
• Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• Skeleton (undead) at Wikipedia