The Monster Cereals are a line of breakfast cereals by General Mills featuring cartoon riffs on classic movie monster characters, including Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and Franken Berry. They've existed as a breakfast staple since 1971 and, in recent years, have become a seasonal treat. At the same time, the characters used to sell the cereals have gained their own fan following.
Now one of those fans has come up with a new theory that points to the royal line the vampiric Count Chocula hails from. The weirdest part? It actually makes a lot of sense.
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The Royal Line Of Chocula
The theory, as posited on Reddit, begins by looking at potential real world connections for Chocula. Since he bears the honorific title of "count", he's obviously connected to some form of royalty. Also, his thick accent seems to hail from the eastern block of Europe. There were multiple royal lines from this area in the middle ages, so Chocula could be connected to any number of them. However, the theory states that there's a specific family trait Count Chocula exhibits that suggests he hails from the Hapsburg family.
The Hapsburg Empire, spelled Habsburg in the original German, was one of the two most powerful royal families in all of Europe for nearly five hundred years. The family impacted politics and culture throughout the continent, and multiple members sat on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.
Like many European dynasties, the family inbred to "preserve" the purity of the bloodline. This led to deformities and other noteworthy physical characteristics in the family's later generations. In particular, the Hapsburg line became known for an almost comical elongation of the lower jaw and chin. It became such a distinctive family feature that it became known informally as the "Hapsburg Jaw." It can be seen above in the portrait of one member of the family, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Most importantly, for this fan theory: The Hapsburg Jaw bears a striking resemblance to the distinct long jaw of Count Chocula, indicating there could be a connection between the character and this particular royal family.
The theory goes on to tie Count Chocula to an even more infamous vampire. During the time of the Hapsburgs, another Eastern European royal family that existed was the House of Drăculești. This was the family that produced the Romanian Conte Dracula, who would go on to inspire the most famous vampire character in all of fiction. According to the theory, Chocula and Dracula could have even been related by marriage, as royalty would only marry those in other royal houses at the time.
It's a fun theory that puts Count Chocula into a historical context and ties the character to vampire mythology. Count Chocula originating from a rival royal line around the same time as Dracula, the character that inspired his creation in the first place, is a silly (but perfect) touch.