Hellhound

The Hellhound is an enemy in the Castlevania series. It is a dog that breathes red hot flames. They are a type of undead carnivores that roam Dracula's Castle and can appear either as zombies, ghosts, demons, or even statues.
==Origins==
A hellhound is a supernatural dog in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world.
Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include mangled black fur, glowing red eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, and a foul odor.
Certain European legends state that if someone stares into a hellhound's eyes twice or more, that person will surely die. In cultures that associate the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance.
They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be an omen or even a cause of death.
==Appearances==
===Super Castlevania IV===
Hellhounds first appeared in a variety of forms in Super Castlevania IV:
;Zombie Dog
The first one encountered is the Zombie Dog, which appears in the the Halls and replaces the Black Panther from the original game. It charges straightforward and can be struck down easily, although it will always come back to life after a moment to continue its attack.
;Dead Mate
The second one is the Dead Mate, which can be found guarding a hidden treasure chamber in the same stage, along with its ghost master. It charges through the air in a diagonal direction, passing through walls and floors. Its master, who cannot deal damage on his own or be killed himself, first sobs and then disappears after the dog is killed. No points are awarded for defeating this enemy.
;Candle Hunter
The third one is the Candle Hunter, a red version of the zombie dog. This creature boasts two pairs of forelegs and charges straightforward. Whenever it runs past a set of candles, it knocks them down and they fall off the screen, denying the hero of their contents.
===Castlevania: Bloodlines===
A Hellhound (unofficial name) appears as a miniboss midway through the first level, Ruins of the Castle Dracula, in the same room where the Phantom Bat was fought in the original Castlevania. It can breathe flames, and when it howls, the glass in the background will shatter and fall, causing damage to the player.
Early prototype versions of this game show a completely different sprite for this enemy which resembles the Behemoth instead (having similar horns, with its hind quarters rotted away, and losing skin and flesh as it receives damage). Most of its attacks are the same as the final version of the Hellhound, only slightly differing in frequency, and it also tries tackling the player.
Attacks/Abilities:
BL Cerberus Hellhound breathe flames.gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound breathe flames (1).gif	Breathe flames
BL Cerberus Hellhound breathe flames.gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound breathe flames (1).gif	Hellhound spews flames in front of him, a skill that can be easily dodged.
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls.gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (1).gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (2).gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (3).gif	Howls attack
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls.gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (1).gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (2).gif
BL Cerberus Hellhound howls (3).gif	Hellhound lets out a great roar to shatter the surrounding glass to create shards of glass to inflict damage on the player.
*Eric can dodge glass shards with a short invincibility from pole vaulting
	Move
	Hellhound attempts to move in the direction of the player. Deals damage to the player by hitting or breathing fire. However, if Hellhound is attacked by the player, he will move backwards.
	Defeated
	The front half of Hellhound's body begins to break apart, while the remaining back half continues to squirm. The player must attack again to destroy it completely.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
Twin immobile hound statues are found at the gates of the hedge maze in the Villa. These will come to life upon unlocking and entering the hedge maze during Reinhardt and Carrie's quests. They will unceasingly give chase, and should they manage to catch up with the hero, they'll start biting their leg, paralyzing them for a moment and allowing the Gardener to take an easy swipe with his chainsaw arm. Both the stone dogs and the Gardener can only be disabled temporarily, but will always come back to life after a moment and continue their chase.
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===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
Fire-breathing hellhounds can be found in this game. They somehow have the ability of Black Panthers in other games, as they can dissolve into liquid and move to another location before reforming into normal shape.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
The Dead Mate returns in Dawn of Sorrow. It can be found in a couple of rooms in the Silenced Ruins. In order to make the "Dead Mate" entry be recorded in the Enemy list, the player has to kill the old man instead of the dog, which is more difficult due to the constant appearance of Ghouls and other enemies in the area, all this while the dog keeps charging forward, making it more susceptible of being killed first.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
37zombiedog.jpg|Zombie Dog from the All About Akumajō Dracula guide for Super Castlevania IV.
38oldmandog.jpg|Dead Mate from the All About Akumajō Dracula guide for Super Castlevania IV.
Super Castlevania IV - Candle Hunter - 01.png|Candle Hunter from the All About Akumajō Dracula guide for Super Castlevania IV.
Devourer of Light - Nocturne - 66.png|This figure of Papa Legba, portrayed as a flaming man with a dog in the Nocturne animated series, is possibly also a reference to the Dead Mate.
==Trivia==
*The Dead Mate (called Old Man and Dog in the original Japanese version), who first appeared in Super Castlevania IV, appears to be inspired by the Caretaker and his dog, two of Disney's Haunted Mansion's iconic inhabitants.
*There never was any official documentation by Konami, nor by any other official/valid sources, stating the name of the miniboss in Stage 1 of Castlevania: Bloodlines, so according to its physical traits, it's unofficially referred to as "Hellhound" on this site.
**The only publication where the name of this monster appeared was in the MegaDriveFAN strategy guide for Vampire Killer (the European version of Castlevania: Bloodlines), where it is instead referred to as . However, the miniboss from Bloodlines lacks Cerberus's characteristic three heads, a trait that is essential on that creature, and the picking of that name was likely a liberty taken by the author of that article.
*The Stone Dogs from Castlevania (N64) and Legacy of Darkness are a possible reference to the Terror Dogs from the 1984 film, Ghostbusters. Similarities in both instances include: canines being of a demonic nature, initially made of stone before coming to life, guarding a gate.
*In the Castlevania: Nocturne animated series, Annette can cast a spell that summons Papa Legba, portrayed as man wearing a hat with candles accompanied by a dog made of flames. Besides its Vodou magic connotation, he is possibly also a reference to the Dead Mate.
==See also==
*Black Dog
*Carnivores
*Cerberus
*Glasya Labolas
*Hellhound (ability)
==References==
Category:Animal-Type Enemies
Category:Demons
Category:European Mythology
Category:Fire Enemies
Category:Flying Enemies
Category:Ghosts
Category:Greek Monsters
Category:Indestructible Enemies
Category:Real Life Based Monsters
Category:Zombies
Category:Bloodlines Bosses
Category:Castlevania 64 Enemies
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Enemies
Category:Lament of Innocence Enemies
Category:Legacy of Darkness Enemies
Category:Moonlight Rhapsody Enemies
Category:Super Castlevania IV Enemies