Baron Blood (Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga)

Thank you.

Please could Mr Peter Kleist come to the information desk?

Please could Mr Peter Kleist come to the information desk?

I'm Peter Kleist. You called me?

Yes. Sir, this is Mr Kleist.

Peter.

- I'm Karl Hummel. - Uncle Karl.

I didn't expect you to come and pick me up.

It's the least I can do for a nephew I've never met.

- Any other luggage? - No. This is it.

- What are you doing? - I'll take it. It's not heavy.

- How's your mother? - Very well. She sends her love.

I heard you graduated with honours.

Congratulations. You're continuing the family tradition.

I try my best. But that's enough studying for now.

Don't you want to specialise?

I will one day.

But now I want to find out a few things about a certain baron.

That's why you've come to Austria.

I'm interested in our family history.

Especially that bloodthirsty baron on my father's side.

The baron's name is still very unpopular round here.

He played a big part in the local people's lives.

And his victims were real men and women.

Nobody's brave enough to go near the castle at night.

Is it true they want to turn it into a hotel?

Absolutely.

But a hotel for tourists, not for local people.

If you want to take a look, we'll drive right past it.

Great. Maybe we can even conjure up a ghost or two.

Look, that's the castle.

The devil's castle. Can we have a look inside?

Sure. We've got plenty of time.

No, Mr Dortmundt, you can't make these changes in the basement.

My dear young lady, I don't see how you can stop me.

It's not me stopping you. The Bureau has given me strict instructions...

- Hello, Eva. - Hello.

This is Peter Kleist, my nephew from America.

- Mr Dortmundt. - Nice to meet you.

- Pleased to meet you. - Likewise.

Eva's architecture degree involves protecting the castle stone by stone.

Kleist? Peter Kleist?

My nephew's the last living relative of Baron Von Kleist.

- Really? - Several generations removed, of course.

They called him Baron Blood.

I hope you haven't inherited his tendencies.

Who knows!

One of his favourite pastimes...

...was impaling the people who made him angry on stakes...

...and hanging them from the tower...

...as a warning to the people in the valley.

If he could see what Mr Dortmundt was doing to his castle,

...he'd have an extra stake made for him too.

Corpses on stakes would attract lots of American tourists.

That's not a bad idea. Mr Dortmundt would make a mint.

I'm going to see what else he's destroying behind my back.

Off you go. Check up on me.

She's obsessed. Every day it's the same old thing.

Why has that door been opened? I said it should stay shut.

- Sorry, I didn't know. - No one knows anything round here.

Hey!

Open up!

Open the door!

Can you hear me? Open up!

Open up!

Open the door!

Fritz, you're out of your mind!

Fritz!

Fritz! Don't you dare do that again.

- Eva! What happened? - It was that idiot Fritz.

He frightened the life out of me.

Fritz! Come here. Stop these stupid pranks.

That idiot caretaker loves scaring people.

Fritz, come here right now.

I'm sick of this. Do you understand?

I wonder how many victims the baron tortured with these implements.

- How are you feeling? - Better now.

Peter, if you can drag yourself away from this charming place,

...my wife will have made some typical Viennese dishes for us.

Eva, you come too.

More cake, Peter?

No, thank you. I'll get even fatter than the old baron.

The baron was a very tall man but he wasn't fat.

And how do you know?

She's right.

Von Kleist was tall and thin.

She must have seen a portrait of him.

No, I haven't.

Then how do you know what he looked like?

I've seen him at the castle.

Gretchen, I don't like you making things up.

But I swear I've seen him, Mummy.

I've seen him on my way home from school.

He was looking out of the window in the tower.

He was all burnt, like the witch said.

That explains everything.

She's heard too many stories about Elisabeth Hölle.

I've heard some too.

When the baron had her burnt at the stake...

Karl, this isn't an appropriate subject.

Marta's right, I'm sorry.

Come on, Gretchen, it's time for bed.

- Peter, Eva, excuse us. - Good night, Marta.

- Good night. - Good night, Gretchen.

- Good night. - Good night.

- Good night. - Bye, darling.

Seeing as you mentioned it, I've got something to show you.

But first I'd like to ask you what you know about Elisabeth Hölle.

Legend has it that she was a witch...

...who was burnt at the stake by the baron because he was afraid of her.

Is that all?

No. Before she died she put a curse on him.

He was to suffer a hundred times more torture than his victims.

And he did die a horrible death.

They tortured him, then set fire to his rooms.

Luckily for the castle, rain put out the flames before it was too late.

But the baron's body was never found.

Elisabeth Hölle left a spell to bring him back to life...

...to suffer the same torture again.

Here's the spell. Do you think it's authentic?

"Sator Kunik Holmat..."

- Where did you find it? - In my grandfather's attic.

I was very young at the time.

I kept it and later I started researching my family's history...

...to find out the secret of the parchment.

Very interesting. It does seem authentic.

Worth investigating, or is it too dangerous?

We live in the 20th century, Peter.

Science not only proves that ancient mysteries are superstitions,

...but little by little it solves even the most obscure mysteries of the universe.

But if I was in your shoes I wouldn't mess around with the occult.

It could become a dangerous obsession.

It's late. I need to prepare my lessons for tomorrow.

No, don't get up.

I'll make sure Eva gets home safely.

Thank you, but there's no need. I live very nearby.

Stay as long as you like. I'll see you tomorrow.

Thank you.

Good night.

- Good night. - Good night, Professor.

May I?

- "1624..." - No, no, no...

Don't read it. Not now.

Don't tell me you believe in this.

You've got the keys to the castle, right?

Why? What do you want to do with them?

It says here that Elisabeth Hölle's curse will only work...

...in the room where the baron was killed.

So in what we call the burnt room.

That's what I want to find out.

Let's go to the castle.

I'm not going out at this time of night to be your tour guide.

Don't be afraid, Eva.

If we bring the baron back to life by reading the spell, I'll protect you.

What does that mean? Come on, Eva. Yes or no?

I was just wondering who I'd be safer with, you or the baron.

Great. So you said yes.

Let's go.

Here we are.

It's so scary!

On the parchment there's also the spell to send him back...

...if we don't like the look of him.

Come on, let's go.

Damn!

- Did you hurt yourself? - No, it's nothing.

There should be a lamp in here.

Oh, yes, here it is.

- Where should we stand? - By that table over there.

- And now for the spell. - It's so scary!

Where's the parchment? Ah, here it is.

- What's the other one? - The original plan of the castle.

I see.

Nice. It looks like a hippy drawing.

"Kunik Sator..."

- No, don't mess around. - What's wrong?

In Elisabeth Hölle's notes it says...

...that if the magic works, a bell will ring.

- Ready? - Go on.

"Kunik Sator Holmat."

"I summon the body and soul of Baron Otto Von Kleist."

"May he come forth from his shadowy dwelling..."

"...and return to us on earth."

- Why isn't he appearing? - Maybe he doesn't like us.

That must be the clock of St Stefan's church.

It's midnight but I only heard it strike twice.

Strange. It struck twice.

The baron was killed at two o'clock.

Peter...

Peter, if the curse worked and the baron really did come back,

...he'd have to be a monster after he was killed like that.

Disfigured, tortured, burnt.

- Peter, he'd be a monster. Let's go. - Don't be like that.

I'm frightened. Send him away. Please!

Make him go back.

"Holmat Sator Kunik."

"Go back to the shadows! Go back!"

"Back! Back!"

"Holmat Sator Kunik."

"Go back to the shadows where you have lived until now."

Maybe it was Fritz trying to scare us again.