Alastor

"Smile, my dear! You know, you're never fully dressed without one!"

- Alastor, after seeing Vaggie frown

Alastor, also known as The Radio Demon, is one of the many powerful Overlords of Hell and is one of the main protagonists of Hazbin Hotel.

He has offered to assist Charlie Morningstar in her endeavors, albeit, for his own amusement.

Appearance
Alastor is a slim, dapper sinner demon, with beige colored skin, and a broad, permanently afixed smile full of sharp, yellow teeth. He is approximately the same height as his rival, Vox, with the two of them standing at approximately 7 feet. He sports a pinkish-red cropped, angled bob-cut with black tips at the ends and two large, black tipped tufts of hair extending from the top of his head, evoking the ears of a deer. The style has an undercut at the back, and two small black antlers protuding from the crown, which can grow in size in his full demonic form.

His eyes have dark-red sclerae, bright-red irises and thin black pupils (which can change into the shape of radio dials when shifting into his full demon form). He also wears a dark-red oval-shaped monocle, rimmed with black, over his right eye.

Alastor wears a red pinstripe coat with dark-red lapels piped with white, which is ragged along the bottom hem. Underneath this he wears a bright red dress-shirt with a black cross on the chest, and long black dress pants with matching bright red cuffs.

He accessorizes with a black knotted bowtie with a bright red center, black gloves with red at the fingertips, and black pointed-toe boots with red deer hoofprints emblazoned on the soles. Alastor also carries a thin cane with a sentient vintage style microphone attached to it, which he uses to play sound effects and broadcast his voice.

Personality
Alastor stands out from many of the more chaotic residents of hell for his well maintained amiable persona. He gives the first-impression of a good-natured and charming man, wearing a permanently wide grin on his face at all times. Alastor's behavior, mannerisms, and even his voice are similar to an old-fashioned radio announcer and speaks with a transatlantic accent, often using quaint anachronisms such as "the picture show" and refers to Charlie as a "charming demon belle".

This playful dandyish exterior, however, obscures a much darker side to him - one with high levels of self-importance - and he will not hesitate to use physical violence when others don't act in line with his very particular values or expectations.

Alastor is described as a man of duality. He values good manners, affability and intelligence very highly in others, and will actively look down on those who do not meet his standards, however he will often play fast and loose with these arbitrary rules in regards to himself and his own conduct. His smiling is also a show of power and dominance, and miserable people are seen by him as weak.

Alastor has an odd sense of morality, which is described as "not normal", and has been noted to be quite sadistic, even cannibalistic, devouring lesser demons or those that have incurred his anger. Despite this, he keeps close friends with the other cannibals of Hell, including the denizens at the Cannibal Colony.

He is noted to be narcissistic, not seeing many people quite up to his level. However, that does not make him reckless. Despite being extremely powerful, Alastor is aware that there are other demons and entities that rival him in terms of power, such as other Overlords. For this reason, he is wary around such demons, as they could potentially harm him if he is not careful.

Despite everything, Alastor does genuinely seem to want to help Charlie run the Happy Hotel, albeit for his own amusement and hopes for its failure over siding with her idealism. Alastor also dismisses the idea that redemption is possible as laughable, nevertheless, he fulfills his role as patron as promised, providing the hotel with staff, and protecting Charlie and her business from outside threats. He views the whole endeavor as a fun distraction from his decades of boredom.

Natural Abilities

 * Demon Transformation: In flashbacks featured in the pilot, as well as in the official Alastor-centric comic, Alastor has demonstrated the ability to turn into a more powerful Demon form.

Skillset

 * Deal Making: Alstor is shown to be a deal-maker demon in the pilot, offering Charlie a deal in return for his help with the hotel, something she wisely turns down. Deal-maker demons like Alastor can increase their power by dealing in souls, which is a very powerful commodity in hell. So they’re seen as very manipulative and not to be toyed with. Deal-making is not something every demon can do, as such it is not to be taken lightly as it doesn’t generally work out well for the other party.
 * Broadcasting: While living, Alastor's profession was as a radio show host, and he continues his broadcasts in Hell, ensuring that Hell's denizens are aware of his activities over the airwaves, earning him the title of "The Radio Demon".
 * Flexibility: Alastor can contort his body into numerous unnatural poses.
 * Bilingualism: Alastor can speak English fluently as well as some broken Creole French.
 * Cooking: Alastor is noted to be "a big foodie" and mentions having admired his mother's cooking in the pilot, specifically her Jambalaya.
 * Musical, Dancing, and Theatrical Talent: Alastor is shown to display moderate vocal abilities and excels at dancing, with VivziePop noting tap to be a style he excels in specifically. He also shows a flair for theatrical showmanship.
 * Wide Intellect: Alastor is shown to be quite a cunning individual, resulting in him accruing a large amount of power through his tricks and deal-making.

Unique Abilities

 * Demonic Magic: Alastor can cast magic thanks to the high power-level he has accrued in the demon ranking system. In the pilot, this takes the visual form of glowing red symbols that resemble Voodoo veve, which float around him. Alastor is also shown using a type of blood magic, clenching his fist until droplets of blood can be seen falling from it, as a means to defeat Sir Pentious.
 * Shadow Manipulation: Alastor is able to summon shadows and manipulate them into doing his bidding.
 * Spatial Warping: Alastor is able to get around with the help of his shadow. This was first shown when he teleports behind Charlie and Vaggie after entering the hotel for the first time.
 * Portal Creation: Alastor can also transport others to his location easily via the portals he makes. This is shown when he pulls Niffty out of a fireplace he summons, as well as pulling Husk (along with a portion of the bar he was in) into the hotel foyer.
 * Pyrokinesis: Alastor summons a ball of fire to distract Charlie as he shoves Vaggie away before starting his reprise.
 * Phytokinesis: As shown in the comics, Alastor is able to make plants wilt with a single stare.
 * Manifestation: Alastor manifests a bottle of cheap alcohol to bribe Husk back into his service.
 * Photokinesis: During his introduction, he is shown to be able to project red glowing light from his eyes as well as his microphone.
 * Outfit Alteration: Alastor is capable of changing the outfits of his targets as well as his own with a snap of a finger.

Galleries

 * Alastor/Gallery
 * Alastor/Designs

Concept & Creation
Alastor was the first character that would eventually come to feature in Hazbin Hotel to be created by VivziePop, with her having first designed him in high school, and he remains one of her personal favorite characters to date.

Alastor was originally intended to be a character that would feature in an arc of VivziePop's then-running webcomic, Zoophobia, titled "Angels and Demons". He appeared as a frenetic, cannibalistic shape-shifter, with hypnotic eyes, who often took the form of a demonic red deer with sharp yellow teeth.

VivziePop eventually realized that the collection of misfit demons she had designed to appear within the comic had the potential for their own self-contained story, and shifted them, along with Alastor, over to the first draft of what would eventually become Hazbin Hotel.

Trivia

 * Alastor's name can be translated from ancient Greek to "spirit of revenge" or "tormentor".
 * Alastor was stated to be from New Orleans, Louisiana when he was alive.
 * He was an only child.
 * His ethnicity was mixed-race Creole.
 * He was a radio show host and prolific serial killer. VivziePop describes him as "living that good life/his best life" while a radio star.
 * VivziePop declined to give out details of Alastor's killings, but described him as "not going after just anyone", highlighting his "weird moral code". She emphasized his not being a direct parallel to any real world serial killer, instead describing him as sharing some similarities with the fictional serial killer, Dexter.
 * Faustisse does not think that Alastor was a cannibal while he was alive.
 * Alastor speaks with a Transatlantic (sometimes called a Mid-Atlantic) accent. A fashionable affect for American newscasters in the 1920s' to adopt, it was a combination of an idealized American accent and the clipped upper-class Queen's English used by the British Broadcasting Corporation in their "World Service" radio news.
 * Alastor can speak some French, although not fluently.
 * The pilot makes several references to Alastor's love for his mother. This was confirmed by Faustisse, who described him as "a momma's boy".
 * Alastor was a big theater person while living and would see everything. His general media preferences would be the "elevated horror" genre, as well as smart, dry comedies, such as the work of Buster Keaton.
 * When asked whether Alastor is afraid of dogs, Vivziepop stated that she doesn't think he's afraid of dogs (as was the case for previous iterations of his character), but that he actively dislikes them due to "backstory reasons" which involve his death, an event he apparently did not appreciate.
 * Faustisse elaborated on this on their own separate stream, by stating that Alastor had been shot in the head by a hunter while attempting to bury a body on a hunting ground. The red 'X' on Alastor's forehead, seen glowing in the pilot when he uses his demon powers, may be a visual reference to this.
 * Although Alastor is not a hard drinker, he does favor the hard liquors when he chooses to drink, such as whiskey. VivziePop cited his New Orleans background for his "party side", emphasizing that he is a "classy drunk, not a messy drunk".
 * Alastor likes black coffee, but does not like tea.
 * Alastor is a big foodie and enjoys cooking. He is also something of a food snob, and hates "lazy" processed foods. VivziePop thinks Alastor probably isn't much of a fan of sweet things either, preferring bitter tastes, like meat and whiskey.
 * Alastor enjoys meat raw.
 * According to Faustisse, Alastor, alongside Charlie and her mom, are fans of pineapple on pizza.
 * Ironically, Ed dislikes pineapple on pizza.
 * Alastor enjoys visiting Cannibal Colony and frequents the cafes there, relating a lot to the residents and enjoying the food.
 * When asked exactly what Alastor's powers are, VivziePop stated that they are "lots of things", and that even she doesn't know all of them, yet. Alastor is a character that keeps many abilities hidden as he enjoys being unpredictable. He will sometimes feign an inability to do things that he can actually do, partly to subvert expectations, partly to be intentionally antagonistic and force the people around him to struggle with something he could easily have done.
 * Alastor can take on many forms.
 * Whenever Alastor uses his powers in the pilot, he is shown emitting a faint red aura.
 * He can be seen using a form of Voodoo inspired blood magic as a means to defeat Sir Pentious in the pilot.
 * Alastor's microphone is a living extension of himself that he can manifest and hide whenever he chooses. VivziePop thinks that he hypothetically would not be able to talk without it, but that it's not something that can ever be separated from him, as it's not a tangible object to anyone but Alastor.
 * VivziePop described Alastor's planned room at the hotel as a mixture between both traditional decor and the fantastical, with one half being a classic "fancy study", complete with tasteful wallpaper and furnishings, the other half being a literal swamp conjured as a dining area. VivziePop highlighted Alastor's duality as a character and described him as being the type of person to own two homes, one a fancy townhouse, the other a rickety hunting lodge in a bayou on stilts.
 * Alastor simultaneously does and does not care about neatness. He doesn't mind being covered in blood and viscera, and will calmly clean up after himself, but he is bothered by other things, such as people being messy eaters around him. Dave Capdevielle made the comparison to a Hannibal Lecter-like figure, who is very sophisticated about things.
 * Alastor's favorite song has been stated to be the one that partially inspired him: "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" from the musical, Annie. As for songs specific to Alastor's time period, it would be "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. Cab Calloway was also mentioned as a favorite singer, with an emphasis on Alastor's love of jazz in both life and death.
 * Alastor can play several instruments, including the piano, violin, trumpet, and saxophone. VivziePop has also partially joked that it is part of Alastor's canon that he both owns, and can play, a 'Furby organ'.
 * Alastor enjoys occasionally impromptu joining in with bands that are playing. He loves to cook and prepare dishes, although in his own way as he prefers his meat raw. He also enjoys playing pranks on others.
 * Faustisse thinks that Alastor loves the fact that he scares people.
 * Alastor is not a fan of modern technology and doesn't like using any technology that was invented after he died. This plays a part in his not getting along with Vox, who has fully embraced it.
 * Alastor is said to not be a big fan of children and although he wouldn't kill a child, he would strike one if they annoyed him too much, believing in "that kind of discipline". He also won't take responsibility if the child accidentally injures itself when he lets them play.
 * VivziePop thinks Alastor would be a bad father, although a better mentor figure.
 * Alastor's jovial remark on there being "so many orphans" during the stock market crash of 1929 in the pilot, implies he is apathetic to children's suffering.
 * Alastor is canonically asexual. On earlier development streams for the pilot, VivziePop was more explicit about his also not being romantically inclined, but recently prefers to take the approach of allowing fans to "have fun" with his character, while simply reminding them he does have a specific direction within the canon of the show itself. VivziePop doesn't think the question of his romantic orientation is story-relevant and cites part of the reason being Alastor's love for himself and that no one else can measure up to it. VivziePop also doesn't think that Alastor is aware of the specific modern label applied to his sexuality, but she is writing him with that orientation clearly in mind.
 * Faustisse confirmed on their own separate streams that Alastor is, in fact, still aromantic within the show, but also echoed VivziePop's sentiments about allowing the fandom to have respectful fun.
 * When pressed on whether she thought Alastor had ever been intimate, VivziePop said she didn't think so, but added that she did not spend much time thinking about Alastor's personal life at all.
 * Alastor is capable of forming friendships and can become fond of people, although in his own particular way. He becomes fond of people he sees as especially funny or entertaining.
 * Alastor interacts on better terms with women in general, and is much lighter in his view of them. He doesn't view many of the other powerful male characters within his circle as providing any substantially intelligent conversation, seeing them as "stupid idiot brutes" and not thinking very highly of them for the most part. Others, such as Angel and Husk, he finds pitiable.
 * Alastor greatly values manners in others and is personally offended by disrespect and rudeness. He also values humor, enjoying when people can give him a good view of their misery.
 * Alastor is one of the few Sinners who has not taken on a new name in Hell. Instead, he keeps with his true name from his living life, as he is not a fan of making nicknames for himself. He is, however, happy to be referred to as "Al".
 * Alastor dislikes being touched and will go out of his way to avoid it, usually in the most off-putting way possible. VivziePop described him stretching and cracking his neck in unnatural contortions to mess with whoever has tried to touch him.
 * He can also dematerialize to avoid things.
 * Conversely, Alastor does not respect the personal space of others at all, grabbing and pulling around Charlie, Vaggie, and Husk numerous times in the pilot.
 * Alastor wears gloves. They are charcoal grey with red tips at the nails.
 * Alastor apparently is not particularly big on oral hygiene, with VivziePop describing his breath as "not good", and Faustisse making reference to his having black gums.
 * The red treads on the soles of Alastor's shoes resemble deer hoof tracks, he has antlers, and two tufts of his hair that evoke the ears of a deer.
 * When describing Alastor's key visual themes, Faustisse listed: Voodoo, pindolls, eldritch, inspiration from Princess and the Frog's Dr. Facilier, blood and static.

Development

 * Previous incarnations of Alastor's character (intended for a separate story) rendered him as a cannibalistic shapeshifter with a deer form. This is no longer relevant for his character as it appears in Hazbin Hotel, where he is simply a demon who is themed after a deer, sharing many visual traits, although VivziePop considers it possible he still has a deer form of some kind, which he doesn't use very often.
 * When asked if Alastor has a deer tail, Vivziepop said that she is undecided on that element of his design and decided to leave it ambiguous, as she didn't think he would be wearing any outfits that would show it during the course of the show. Faustisse is of the opinion that he does not have a tail and thinks it sounds unnecessary.
 * When asked if Alastor is a Wendigo, Vivzipop stated Alastor, while not explicitly one, "definitely has Wendigo themes" and that she's very aware of the folklore.
 * VivziePop talked about Alastor being one of the hardest characters for her to draw and animate, as she has a very specific image of him in her head that she admits can be challenging for her to reach.
 * When planning for the pilot, Alastor wasn't originally meant to appear as much as he did. Vivziepop's plan in the first few drafts of the story had been for him to stay in the background as something of a mysterious entity that would eventually appear later, but that was changed so that he could have a big role from the start. During 2017 development streams, VivziePop described Alastor as becoming "a very vital part of the pilot".
 * At MomoCon 2019, when asked if Alastor is planned to appear in most episodes, Vivziepop stated that he would definitely be part of the main cast. She felt like there were going to be times when he's not around, but that he would show up a satisfying amount and provide a big source of conflict within the story.