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This is about the castle. You might be looking for the city of Kandar or Kandar The Destroyer.

Castle Kandar (also known as Ca'n Dar Castle or simply Arthur's Castle) was an ancient castle located in England during the 14th Century. In 1300 AD, while the castle was under the rule of Lord Arthur, the prophesied "Hero From The Sky" arrived from the future to battle an army of the dead and the evil forces which had been unleashed upon the land.

While first mentioned in The Evil Dead, Castle Kandar first appeared in the 1987 film Evil Dead II.

History[]

Construction[]

There is little information on the history of Castle Kandar prior to the arrival of Ash Williams in the 14th Century, though once source claimed that it was already at least 200 years old by 1300 AD.[1]

"The Age of Darkness" (1300 AD)[]

The most notable event in Castle Kandar's history was during the reign of Lord Arthur in the early 14th Century. In this time, the Kandarian Demon roamed unchecked through the Dark Forest just beyond Arthur's territory, and had terrorized and transformed several locals into Deadites. As foretold by a prophecy found within the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, the demon's reign marked the coming of "The Promised One", a hero from the future who would save them from the terrors of these evil spirits. When the savior, Ash Williams, finally did arrive, he was mistaken for a vassal of Henry The Red by Lord Arthur and his men, and was to be sentenced to death in "The Pit" upon arriving to Castle Kandar.

Becoming the first man to escape the horrors of The Pit, the residents of Kandar finally recognized Williams as their foretold "Hero From The Sky". Ash expressed he had no interest in battling evil on behalf of these "primitives", and was forced to go on a quest to retrieve the Ex-Mortis from a cursed graveyard hidden within the Dark Forest beyond in order to return to his proper time. Though successful in retrieving the Book of The Dead, Ash had inadvertently awakened an army of Deadites following his failure to recite the proper incantation before removing the Ex-Mortis from the altar. Realizing he must face the consequences of his actions, Williams led his own army of knights and peasants against the legion of the undead, which were coming to Castle Kandar to retrieve the book for themselves. With the aid of his modern weaponry and the army of Henry The Red, the battle of Castle Kandar went in favor of humanity, and the malicious supernatural forces were destroyed.[2]

Aftermath[]

As Castle Kandar is a location which exists in a myriad of alternate realities, it is the during the time immediately following the epic battle between Ash and his evil counterpart that it's history begins to change. In the universe known as Earth-818793, Castle Kandar became the primary battleground for the year-long "War of The Dead", an event which begun mere weeks following Ash's departure. All manner of demons and Deadites led a siege on the castle in the hopes to regain the Necronomicon (much like Evil Ash and his army had previously done), and managed to kill this universe's versions of Lord Arthur and Henry The Red.[3]

In another timeline, the castle's structure took severe damage following the rise of a new "army of darkness" led by the possessed Wise Man, which forced Arthur's peoples to take residence in the kingdom of Henry The Red for several months.[4] Eventually, the castle was restored to it's former glory in the days leading up to the wedding of Ash Williams and Sheila.[5]

One alternate reality depicted Castle Kandar under the rule of the Deadites following an alteration to the time-stream which delayed Ash's arrival to 1300 AD by several weeks.[6]

Rediscovery[]

At some point between the 14th and 20th Century, Castle Kandar had long been abandoned by it's occupants, leaving the structure to rot within the wilds of England. By the 1980s, the castle grounds had become an archeological site, which was eventually explored by Professor Raymond Knowby, his wife Henrietta, daughter Annie, and associate Ed Getley.[7] Whilst exploring one of the castle's rear chambers, the group discovered the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and the Kandarian Dagger, two objects of immense supernatural power that had been left behind by the castle's inhabitants for reasons unknown. Though Raymond and Henrietta were quick to leave the site with their treasures and return to the United States,[8] Annie Knowby remained at the castle, eventually finding several "lost pages" from the Book of The Dead hidden within the underground pit in the courtyard.[9]

Layout[]

ArthursCastleMap-AODRoleplayingGame

An overhead map layout of Castle Kandar (Army of Darkness Roleplaying Game)

External Features[]

Main Gate[]

Castle Kandar features a single large gatehouse equipped with double iron portcullises and a large wooden drawbridge.[2] When open, the drawbridge allows passage over a fifteen-foot deep moat which surrounds the castle entirely.[1]

Internal Features[]

Main Courtyard[]

Located just beyond the main gate was a sprawling courtyard. Located directly to the right of the gate was a small shop overlooking the courtyard for the castle's inhabitants to purchase or trade goods.[2] On Earth-818793, a graveyard honoring those who had fallen in the great "War of The Dead" was built in the courtyard, alongside two statues marking the graves of Lord Arthur and Henry The Red.[3]

Arthur's Tower[]

Lord Arthur resided within a private octagon-shaped tower located in the center of the castle.[2] This four-story structure was presumably used by Castle Kandar's previous (and subsequent) rulers. The Lord's personal staff live in the tower's lower levels.[1]

Knights Quarters[]

Directly connected to Arthur's tower is a large rectangular structure which serves as the living quarters for the knights and their families.[1]

Barracks[]

Two towers located to the left of the castle's main gate serve as the barracks for Arthur's soldiers. Older soldiers have single beds, while the younger recruits stay in bunks, and all have a single footlocker for their personal effects and clothing.[1]

Horse Stables[]

Nestled between the two barrack towers are horse stables for the castle's occupants.[1] It's possible that the stable also held the castle's other livestock as well.[10]

The Blacksmith's Workshop[]

Located to the lower right of the corner of the Knights Quarters is the workshop of The Blacksmith. The workshop houses equipment for repairing parts of the castle's structure, forging weaponry, shoeing horses, and creating armor. It was inside here in which The Blacksmith and Ash Williams built the prosthetic Metal Gauntlet, and later converted Ash's Oldsmobile into "The Deathcoaster".[2]

The Private Courtyard[]

Hidden behind Arthur's Tower, the Knight's Quarters, The Blacksmith's Workshop, and a large stone wall was a private courtyard. Not much is known about what structures are located within this area, though it is possible that the dining hall,[11] Ash's private bedchamber,[11][3] Sheila's private bedchamber,[12] and the women's recreational room are located here.[10]

The Wise Man's Tower[]

Behind The Blacksmith's Workshop, the private study of The Wise Man is adorned with various equipment for potion brewing and jars of strange chemicals.[2] There is conflicting information as to if the chamber is located on the ground floor,[3] or the second story of the tower.[12] According to one source, the second story of the tower was where the Necronomicon was held during Evil Ash's siege, directly above The Wise Man's room.[1]

The Necronomicon's Chamber[]

The exact placement of this room is unknown, though it is said to have been one of the castle's "rear chambers". In was within this room that Professor Raymond Knowby found the Necronomicon and Kandarian Dagger in the 1980s, both of which sat atop a large stone pedestal featuring an engraved image of "The Hero From The Sky".[7]

Underground Features[]

The Pit[]

One of Castle Kandar's most notable features was "The Pit", a 30-foot deep hole in the ground which was believed to have been part of a natural cavern system from which the castle sourced it's water.[1] Upon the release of the Kandarian Demon, two Deadites were captured and held within The Pit to torture any prisoners of Arthur's kingdom.[2]

Refugee Tunnels[]

On Earth-818793, a series of underground tunnels were dug beneath Castle Kandar during the year-long "War of The Dead". Here, The Wise Man and many of the castles occupants who had not elected to stay above and fight alongside Lord Arthur and Henry The Red laid in wait for the battle to be over.[3]

In Other Media[]

Live Events[]

  • A sequence based on "The Pit" scene of Army of Darkness appeared at Universal Studios Orlando's Silver Screams walk-through haunted house during the 2009 Halloween Horror Nights event.

Comic Books[]

Video Games[]

  • Castle Kandar is featured in the opening cutscene of Evil Dead: Hail To The King as a drawing on a page of the Necronomicon.**While never seen, the castle is mentioned in Hail To The King's sequel game, A Fistful of Boomstick.
  • The castle is the main setting of the Army of Darkness Defense mobile game from 2011.
  • A map based on Castle Kandar and various other locations from the Army of Darkness film was added to Evil Dead: The Game as part of a free DLC pack released on July 13th, 2022.

Galley[]

Exterior[]

Courtyard[]

Rooms[]

Behind The Scenes[]

Trivia[]

NickBassettCastleArt-AvEDS4ConceptArt

Concept art of Castle Kandar for Ash vs Evil Dead Season Four, by Nick Bassett.

  • The castle's official name of "Castle Kandar" was first spoken in the Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick video game. Previously, it was only referred to as "the ruins of Ca'n Dar" in The Evil Dead, "Kandar Castle" in the script of Evil Dead II, and simply "The Castle/Lord Arthur's Castle" in Army of Darkness script.
  • Castle Kandar appears in Nick Bassett's concept art for the scrapped fourth season of Ash vs Evil Dead. What role the castle would have played in the series remains unknown.
  • The castle model seen in the opening and climax of Evil Dead II was set up on the ridge of a quarry in Wadesboro, North Carolina.
  • For Army of Darkness, several full-sized castle walls were assembled and moved around for certain shots to give the illusion that it was a complete building. It was located on a private ranch in Acton, California.
  • After the filming of Army of Darkness, the castle set was recycled for several television commercials and music videos before it was destroyed.
  • The Army of Darkness Versus Reanimator #1 incorrectly states that Castle Kandar was located in southern Scotland.

References[]

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