The Dimitrescu Daughters or The Three Witches are chimæric mutant human born from the Cadou research project, and an adopted daughter of Countess Alcina Dimitrescu.
The daughters were born likely in the 1930s or 1940s, and it is possible she worked as a maid at Castle Dimitrescu. At some point in or prior to 1958, she became subject to an experiment with the Cadou parasite.
All human cells in her body were consumed by imitation blowflies born out of the parasite, which then assimilated her DNA and turned into imitation human cells. None of the three successful test-subjects remembered their life pre-experiment, and were adopted into the Dimitrescu family as Countess Dimitrescu's daughters.
"Three Daughters Bela, Cassandra and Daniela"
They consumed human flesh for sustenance, and maids were sent into the basement for infractions and violently mutilated and drained of blood. This practice continued well into 2021, when orders were given by Mother Miranda to prepare for an important ceremony. Any remaining servants were then killed.
Due to their ability to change their form between human and an imitation blowfly swarm, the Witches were for the most part immune to offensive attacks. Their only real weakness was the cold, particularly temperatures below 10 °C. Due to the mountain climate, this restricted their hunting grounds most of the year to within the castle itself for protection. When exposed to these low temperatures, the Mold entered a hibernative state which rendered them vulnerable. Severe injury while in this form could do enough damage to kill the individual.
Bela Dimitrescu[]
Bela appears only in the basement of the castle after Ethan falls down there trying to escape from Cassandra. She pursues him through the different chambers, inflicting persistent damage from swarm she is a part of when she gets too close. If she gets within range, she can lunge towards Ethan and bite at his neck. She cannot be harmed and must simply be fled from; however, dealing sufficient damage to her will make her dissipate, giving the player a few seconds of breathing room.
When Ethan fights against Bela just outside the Kitchen, her exposure to the cold severely weakens her strength. Unable to transform into her swarm form, she resorts to instead using her sickle weapon in a mad frenzy to kill Ethan, but is able to be hurt by Ethan's arsenal. On the Village of Shadows difficulty, a few Moroaică will spawn and assist Bela in her boss fight.
Cassandra Dimitrescu[]
Cassandra appears in multiple areas of the castle, occasionally spawning during exploration to catch Ethan off guard. She pursues him through the different chambers, inflicting persistent damage from swarm she is a part of when she gets too close. If she gets within range, she can lunge towards Ethan and bite at his neck. She cannot be harmed and must be escaped from, though she can phase through doors using the swarm and will only be slowed down by them. Moving far enough away from her will eventually cause Cassandra to drop the chase.
When Ethan fights against Cassandra in the Armory, her exposure to the cold severely weakens her strength. Unable to transform into the swarm, she resorts to instead using her sickle weapon in a mad frenzy to kill Ethan, but is able to be hurt by Ethan's arsenal like any other enemy.
In some sections of the game, Ethan can overhear Alcina calling for Cassandra where she instructs her daughter to bring her Ethan's head in retribution for killing her sisters. When Cassandra has been defeated, Alcina can be overheard calling for her but receive no answer, prompting her to fly into a rage at incurring an "impossible debt".
Daniela Dimitrescu[]
Daniela is primarily encountered in the Library of the castle, where she shares the same abilities as her sisters. She can inflict persistent damage from the swarm she is a part of when she gets too close and can lunge towards Ethan and bite at his neck. She cannot be harmed normally unless Ethan opens the skylight, where her exposure to the cold severely weakens her strength. Unable to transform into the swarm, she resorts to instead using her sickle weapon in a mad frenzy to kill Ethan, but is able to be hurt by Ethan's arsenal like any other enemy.
Trivia[]
- The three Witches are inspired by the so-called "Brides of Dracula" in Bram Stoker's Dracula. These women are vampires who live with Count Dracula at his castle as part of his pseudo-family.
- In the novel, they are eager to both seduce and consume Jonathan Harker and have to be silenced by the Count himself, who instead presents them with an infant for sustenance.