Alastor

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Alastor was created by Medrano during her time at School of Visual Arts in New York City, appearing unnamed on her DeviantArt page around 2007. He was planned to be incorporated into her 2012 webcomic series ZooPhobia as a supporting character in a planned Angels and Demons story arc following his formal creation in 2011; on the arc's cancellation in 2016 and subsequent redevelopment as Hazbin Hotel, Alastor's full ZooPhobia design would not see publication. In the unpublished ZooPhobia story arc, Alastor was depicted as a black-and-red demonic deer able to transform into a humanoid form. He was described as "enjoy[ing] making deals and tricking mortals into service". He was a member of the "Demon Misfit Gang", who would later become the main cast of Hazbin Hotel. In the Hazbin Hotel pilot, Alastor was entirely human, save for a few deer-like characteristics, including hooves and antlers. He wore a red suitcoat and had an eternal smile of sharp teeth. He was confirmed to be asexual by Medrano on her Twitter account, which was alluded to in the series itself in "Hello Rosie!". Alastor's voice actor Amir Talai has also described the character as embodying the characteristics of the "Tumblr sexyman". Alastor was a radio show host in his life, and he died at some point in the 1930s. Upon his arrival in Hell, he gained immense amounts of power very quickly, overthrowing overlords that had dominated for centuries. His voice reflects who he was in life, having a radio static effect over it most of the time, and sound effects common in radio shows of the time occasionally play while he is speaking. Prior to Hazbin Hotel's full series debut, Medrano described Alastor as a mixed-race Creole from New Orleans and an only child.

In Their Own Story

Alastor made his first full appearance in "That's Entertainment", the Hazbin Hotel pilot episode. Presented as an overlord of Hell, Alastor visits the "Happy Hotel" after witnessing Charlie Morningstar's televised interview about the establishment. He offers his services to help run the hotel, and states that he believes redeeming sinners is an impossible task, and he is only there to watch people try and fail to redeem themselves for his own entertainment, due to boredom with his own life. He summons two sinners, Niffty and Husk, to serve as the hotel's maid and bartender, respectively. After renovating the hotel in a musical number ("Alastor's Reprise"), Alastor uses his power to fend off an attacking Sir Pentious, before renaming the hotel the "Hazbin Hotel". Alastor returned in a starring role in "A Day in the Afterlife" (alternatively titled "The Radio Demon"), an official webcomic published on October 19, 2020. The comic explored a typical day for Alastor at an unspecified point in his afterlife. While attempting to purchase venison from a butcher, Alastor witnesses the butcher attempting to kill a sinner. He saves her life and consumes the butcher. In "Overture", one week after the events of the pilot, Alastor notes it to have been "some time" since he was active in Hell. In "Radio Killed the Video Star", after Alastor fends off another attack by Sir Pentious, Alastor's rival Vox learns that Alastor has returned, noting that Alastor has been absent for seven years. After losing a broadcast debate with him ("Stayed Gone"), Vox and the other "Vees" (Velvette and Valentino) seek to prevent Alastor from making a deal with Charlie, and send Sir Pentious into the hotel to spy on him. In "Scrambled Eggs", Vaggie asks Alastor to look after Sir Pentious' egg minions, which he allows to accompany him to a meeting with the other overlords of Hell. After Velvette insinuates at the meeting that Carmilla Carmine killed an angel during the last Extermination, Alastor orders one of the egg minions to spy on Carmilla and confirm this claim to be true. The egg returned soon after with confirmation. In "Masquerade", Husk is revealed to have once been an overlord of Hell, who made a deal with Alastor to keep his power in exchange for his soul. In "Dad Beat Dad", after Charlie's father Lucifer arrives at the hotel and isn't impressed, he clashes with Alastor over who is the better father figure to Charlie ("Hell's Greatest Dad"), before being interrupted by Alastor's friend Mimzy. Distrustful of Mimzy, Husk takes Alastor aside to remind him not to trust her motives. On being brushed off as a "pet", Husk mentions how Alastor is "on a leash" to someone else, which Alastor threatens him never to mention again. After several loan shark demons attack the hotel in search of Mimzy, Alastor uses his powers to kill them and remind Hell of his power, before ordering Mimzy to leave. In "Hello Rosie!", following Charlie failing to pitch the hotel to Heaven again, with one month to go until the annual Extermination, Alastor convinces her to make a deal with him, telling her about Carmilla killing an angel, in exchange for a binding future favor. After Charlie sends Vaggie to acquire information from Carmilla, Alastor brings Charlie to see his friend Rosie, the overlord of Hell in charge of Cannibal Town, and they convince the cannibals to serve as an army to defend the hotel against the angels ("Ready for This"). In "The Show Must Go On", the night before the Extermination, Alastor reminisces on the previous six months with Niffty, noting that one "could get used to" the residents of the hotel. On the Extermination's arrival the next day, a war between the angels and sinners ensues, and Alastor faces Adam himself. Overconfident, Alastor is badly wounded by Adam and forced to flee; in the aftermath of the battle, as the Vees celebrate Alastor's assumed loss and plot to take over Hell, a desperate Alastor hopes for freedom from his previous deal and control over Hell, before cleaning himself up "with a smile" and reuniting with Charlie and her friends ("Finale"). Alastor's backstory is revealed in "It's A Deal". Prior to his death, he was a radio show host and serial killer in New Orleans in the early 20th century. He made a deal with Rosie before he died, asking her to grant him the power to be the most powerful sinner in Hell. She allows this, under the condition that his soul will belong to her until he does something for her in return. He dies shortly after this deal is struck, being shot by a hunter who mistook him for a deer while Alastor was hiding a body in a forest. In the present day, Alastor continues to assist the hotel. In "It's A Deal", he gets into a battle with the Vees that goes poorly, ending in Alastor striking a deal with Vox, wherein Vox will own Alastor so long as the former leaves the hotel alone and doesn't touch Charlie again. In the season finale "Curtain Call," Alastor asks Charlie to do him the favor of saying that Vox is the strongest sinner in Hell, using his favor gained in season one. This frees Alastor's soul from his deal with Rosie, which is now void, as he is not the strongest sinner in Hell. Vox then briefly touches Charlie's shoulders, freeing Alastor from his deal with Vox as well due to wordplay. The two battle, and Vox is eventually defeated. Alastor returns to the hotel once more, though his intentions have changed, as he is no longer bound by any deals. He is seen eyeballing Lucifer; knowing now Lucifer can't harm sinners despite being the king of Hell.

Reader's Guide

Alastor is a constantly-smiling sinner who returns after a seven-year absence as one of the overlords of Hell. He helps run the Hazbin Hotel, a halfway house founded by Charlie Morningstar meant to rehabilitate souls and help them earn a place in Heaven. Alastor seeks to guide and control Charlie. For a time, his soul is under the control of fellow overlord Rosie; he is later freed from her grasp. He is often accompanied by the hotel's bartender Husk (whose soul he owns) and housekeeper Niffty, and he is considered a rival by fellow overlord Vox and Charlie's father, Lucifer. Alastor was a radio show host in his life, and he died at some point in the 1930s. Upon his arrival in Hell, he gained immense amounts of power very quickly, overthrowing overlords that had dominated for centuries. His voice reflects who he was in life, having a radio static effect over it most of the time, and sound effects common in radio shows of the time occasionally play while he is speaking. Prior to Hazbin Hotel's full series debut, Medrano described Alastor as a mixed-race Creole from New Orleans and an only child. He was confirmed to be asexual by Medrano on her Twitter account, which was alluded to in the series itself in "Hello Rosie!". Alastor's voice actor Amir Talai has also described the character as embodying the characteristics of the "Tumblr sexyman".

Did You Know?

• Alastor was originally created for Vivienne Medrano's webcomic ZooPhobia, appearing unnamed on her DeviantArt page around 2007, and was planned as a supporting character in a story arc called Angels and Demons.
• In the unpublished ZooPhobia arc, Alastor was depicted as a black-and-red demonic deer able to transform into a humanoid form, and was described as 'enjoy[ing] making deals and tricking mortals into service'.
• Alastor's backstory reveals he was a radio show host and serial killer in New Orleans in the early 20th century, and he died after being shot by a hunter who mistook him for a deer while he was hiding a body in a forest.
• Alastor made a deal with Rosie before he died, asking her to grant him the power to be the most powerful sinner in Hell, under the condition that his soul would belong to her until he did something for her in return.
• In the season one finale, Alastor was freed from his deal with Rosie by having Charlie say that Vox was the strongest sinner in Hell, and was later freed from his deal with Vox due to wordplay when Vox briefly touched Charlie's shoulders.