Klaus is one of the Original vampires featured in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals television series. As a werewolf-vampire hybrid, Klaus’s bloodline and lineage plays an important role in the show’s mythology and plot.
Klaus’s Origin as a Werewolf
Klaus was originally born a werewolf, part of a bloodline that descended from an ancient werewolf clan. The identity and history of this original werewolf clan remains a mystery in the shows. As a descendent of this clan, Klaus inherited the werewolf gene and would have activated his werewolf nature after triggering the curse by taking a human life.
Klaus lived during the late 10th and early 11th century. He was born in a village that would eventually become known as Mystic Falls. His mother Esther was a powerful witch and his father was a wealthy landowner named Ansel. Klaus had six siblings: Elijah, Finn, Kol, Rebekah, Freya and Henrik.
When Klaus and his younger brother Henrik snuck out to watch the werewolves transform on a full moon, Henrik was killed by the turned wolves. Wanting to protect her family from the werewolves, Esther cast a spell to turn Klaus and his siblings into the first vampires – drawing on the eternal life properties of the ancient White Oak tree. This subsequently activated Klaus’s werewolf gene since he was now immortal, beginning his werewolf transition.
The Werewolf Curse
Klaus’s werewolf nature remained dormant however, as Esther placed a curse on him to keep his werewolf side suppressed. She did not want her children to also be werewolves, seeing them only as vampires. Klaus was the only one affected since he was the only sibling who had inherited the werewolf gene.
This curse caused Klaus’s werewolf side to remain dormant for over a thousand years, until the curse could be broken. The curse could only be broken if Klaus killed a human, activated his werewolf side, and then used another magical element – the moonstone. Klaus triggered the werewolf curse when he killed his first human after turning.
Requirements to Break the Curse
To break his mother’s curse, Klaus needed to complete the werewolf transformation by using the moonstone and sacrificing:
- A vampire
- A werewolf
- A doppelganger
The Petrova doppelganger bloodline resulted in two known doppelgangers that lived during Klaus’s lifetime – Tatia and Elena Gilbert. He needed their blood for the sacrifice ritual.
Breaking the Curse
In season 2 of The Vampire Diaries, Klaus finally gets the opportunity to break his mother’s werewolf curse. He successfully tracks down the Petrova doppelganger, Elena, along with the moonstone and sacrifices them alongside a vampire (Jenna) and a werewolf (Jules) to complete his transition into a full hybrid.
Once the curse was broken, Klaus could tap into his werewolf abilities at will, no longer having to wait for a full moon. Now a werewolf-vampire hybrid, he became the Original hybrid.
Klaus’s Hybrid Bloodline
Once Klaus finally broke the curse, he discovered that his hybrid blood could be used to turn other werewolves into hybrids like himself. His blood acted as the final key to complete their transition from werewolf to hybrid.
Any werewolf that drinks Klaus’s blood can complete their transition by dying with the blood still in their system. Klaus started building his own hybrid army by turning werewolves into hybrids using his special blood.
This included turning Tyler Lockwood into a hybrid in season 2, which resulted in the other Lockwood werewolves descended from Tyler’s bloodline being turned into hybrids as well. Klaus then traveled to New Orleans and turned many werewolves of the Crescent Wolf Clan into hybrids in season 4 of The Originals.
All hybrids turned directly by Klaus or descended from one of the bloodlines of Klaus’s hybrids can therefore trace their hybrid origins back to Klaus as their original sire. Klaus started the very first hybrid bloodline, which all other hybrids branch from.
Hybrids Broken from Klaus’s Sire Bond
Werewolves turned into hybrids by drinking Klaus’s blood experience a sire bond to him, feeling loyal and obligated to serve him as their creator. In season 4 of The Vampire Diaries, Elena helps Tyler break this sire bond, meaning he and his descendants are no longer controlled by Klaus.
However other hybrid bloodlines, like many of the Crescent Wolf hybrids, remain sired to Klaus. The origin of all hybrid species starts with Klaus, but not all branches of the hybrid bloodline remain loyal to him.
Vampire Bloodline from Klaus
In addition to starting the hybrid bloodline, Klaus also has his own vampire bloodline that originates from him. As one of the Original vampires, every vampire turned from his direct or indirect bloodline remains connected to and dependent on Klaus’s survival.
Here’s a summary of Klaus’s vampire bloodline connections:
| Person Turned | Turned By |
|---|---|
| Katherine Pierce | Rose |
| Rose | Mary Porter |
| Mary Porter | Klaus |
| Damon Salvatore | Katherine Pierce |
| Stefan Salvatore | Damon Salvatore |
| Caroline Forbes | Damon Salvatore |
| Abby Bennett Wilson | Rose |
| Lexi Branson | Rose |
Klaus directly turned Mary Porter, establishing the connection between his Original vampire bloodline to the Salvatore brothers, Caroline Forbes and others. If Klaus dies, then his entire vampire bloodline stemming from Mary Porter will die as well.
Conclusion
As the Original hybrid and an Original vampire, Klaus’s werewolf and vampire legacy is extensive. His werewolf bloodline remains mostly shrouded in mystery, though it is descended from an ancient werewolf clan and passed on to him from birth. After breaking his hybrid curse, Klaus went on to turn generations of werewolves into hybrids with his blood, establishing the hybrid species.
Klaus also directly turned some of the earliest vampires, like Mary Porter, whose vampire descendants live on today. The survival of these vampire and hybrid bloodlines rests on Klaus, linking them all back to the Original hybrid himself.