10 Infamous Occultists With Terrifyingly Creepy Obsessions

7. Landulf II Of Capua, AKA The Klingsor - Pure Evil?

Landulf II of Capua is considered by many historians to be the thoroughbred of villainy. The Count's reputedly sick nature, documented by monks in the ninth century, has made him source material for many villains in fiction from Esenbach's Klingsor to Lucas' Darth Vader. Historically there is not much to say about Landulf II of Capua except that he was small time traitor to his people without scruples. Unlike his many relatives, Landulf II never vied for the Capuan throne, but instead became Count through a means of several suspicious deaths in the family. When his reign was disputed he invited Muslim mercenaries to invade all the lands around him, a move that showed he meant business and seriously alarmed the pope. Throughout the rest of his life the count would make several alliances in Christendom only to break them by turning back to the Saracen mercenaries in times of need making him a rather dubious character. However, there is another story told by a monk named Erchempert. This chronicler made claims that inside his castle Landulf practiced black magick rituals involving torture, and the rumours have stuck for over a thousand years since. Was the count really obsessed with pure evil? Well probably not, but he was rather quick to commit murder, heresy, and torture to get what he wanted whenever necessary.