From TES issue 70 (July 2011)

Series 1/2/3. Level 1/2.
CATACOMBITES

I’m sure that the rattling, roaring, moaning noise made by these giant skeletal creatures (or was it the same one every time?) was scary enough on its own to put the wind up most young Knightmare fans. The catacombite was used sparingly - two appearances in series 1, two in series 2, and one in series 3 - yet the creature seems to have stuck firmly in many people’s memories, despite the fact that I carelessly overlooked it for this feature for ten years!
The origin of the catacombite is explored in detail in the first Knightmare book and as is noted, the creature could never have existed in fleshy form - it was created by the Gruagach, who magically warped the bones of some of his victims to an enormous size, and then fused them together to create four many-jointed limbs and a pelvic saddle, which supported the skull. The monster was then animated by dark magic, and pitted mercilessly against those who came to challenge the Dungeon, and as we know, the Gruagach’s game was not nearly as fair as Treguard’s. Gruesome, macabre and scary, I’m sure you’ll agree.
As for the programme itself, the catacombite was almost always encountered early on level two, except during its first appearance, which took place on level one: ”Some spiteful sorcerer has brought it up here especially to annoy me!” - Lillith. It was dungeoneer Simon’s task to neutralise the monster with a FREEZER spell, and then crawl underneath it to reach the correct door. ”Crouch, Simon, crouch… avoid contact at all costs.” - Treguard. Later in series 1, dungeoneer Richard’s task was much simpler - just grab a pie from under the catacombite’s nose and then exit safely through one of the doors it wasn’t actually standing in front of!
The catacombite next appeared during Mark’s winning quest in series 2, and a FREEZER spell was required once more to neutralise the monster. This time, Merlin was the source of the magic - rather than Lillith - and Mark did not have to bother crawling underneath the catacombite after he had picked up the letter F it was guarding. The very next quest - Tony’s - promised a rather interesting scenario involving the catacombite [pictured], as the team apparently needed a gauntlet to subdue the monster in some way (probably to freeze it again!) so that they could reach the safe exit. ”Catacombites, if handled at all, must be handled with kid gloves.” - Treguard. However, as they had left the required item in the clue room, Tony had to use an unsafe exit, leading him right into one of Mogdred’s little playpens, as everyone knows!

After this appearance (in the sixth episode of series 2) the catacombite took a lengthy break from Knightmare, before making one final appearance during the fourteenth episode of series 3, just after Martin had leapt off the Spindizzy. This time, there was no freezing to be done, and not even anything to pick up - Martin just had to dash across the room in front of the catacombite while it roared at him! Pointless as this scene is in the context of the quest itself, I can’t fault it for atmosphere, especially with the spooky addition of a green skull ghost!

Fear Factor: 10 Terrifying!
Killer Instinct: 5 Hazardous to life force, and part of Tony‘s downfall.
Humanity: 4 The component parts were once human…
Gore Factor: 10 Probably Knightmare’s most gruesome monster.

[See also: Eric]

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