Carmilla is a major recurring villainess of the Castlevania franchise, with an increasingly prominent role in each game in which she appears. She is an immensely powerful and influential Vampire Lady and one of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula's highest ranking followers, along with Death, Shaft and possibly Olrox. She is based on the eponymous villainess of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's short story Carmilla.