Creepy Castle

Creepy Castle is the seventh level of Donkey Kong 64. It is a haunted Kremling castle high atop K. Rool's warship, acting as a successor to both Gloomy Gulch and K. Rool's Keep from the original Crocodile Isle. The Kongs must have at least 80 Golden Bananas for B. Locker to allow them to enter the level.

Summary
The Kongs can only enter this level from its lobby from using a large Barrel Cannon near K. Lumsy's Prison. Although Creepy Castle is said to be located on K. Rool's Crocodile Isle, it also appears to be floating above ground. If the active Kong falls off the location, they respawn back from the beginning portal. The level takes place both inside and outside of the old, abandoned castle.

The outside involves a high climb around the tall castle. Like typical haunted areas, a continuous thunderstorm takes place in the area. Many of the enemies featured are undead, such as Bones and Ghosts, and is inhabited by Bats. The castle interior features haunted corridors, mostly-empty rooms, and haunted catacombs on the lowest floor.

Additionally, this level is the first to have the red Kong Switches, which can only be activated from using the Super Duper Simian Slam move learned from Cranky Kong. In this level, the red switches are usually used for opening entrances to various parts of the castle.

The boss of Creepy Castle is King Kut Out, a hastily-made cardboard cutout of King K. Rool. Lanky Kong is required to take part in the boss fight, but all Kongs may potentially be used, as whenever one misses King Kut Out, they go out of bounds and another Kong takes their place.

Locations
Creepy Castle is divided into different areas both within and outside of the castle. The outside mostly involves the Kongs climbing up the location. There are a few outside locations with a hidden Golden Banana, including a large tree and a greenhouse.

The castle interior and crypt are covered in fog (similar to Angry Aztec's sandstorm mist). A loud moaning and a variety of haunted noises can be heard inside the area. The toxic waste pools featured in the level's lobby also appear in the dungeon and mausoleum. A number of rooms appear in the castle including: a museum with unknown statues, a barn and alter behind glass walls, a ball room with tile-decorated flooring, a library with a haunted passageway between bookshelves, and an empty room at the very top featuring a fan blowing upward.

The lower levels inside the castle are home to a series of labyrinth catacombs filled with Bones and Bats. The skull-shaped crypt also has a Mine Cart challenge against its resident demon.

Enemies

 * Bat
 * Bones
 * Book
 * Fly
 * Ghost
 * Kasplat
 * Kosha
 * Kroc
 * Puftup (only during the boss fight)

Trivia

 * The background music for Creepy Castle (and the music that plays in some of the dungeons) is an arrangement of the theme song from Donkey Kong, where Pauline was getting taken to the top of the construction site.
 * The main theme of this level was also composed for a Banjo-Kazooie level called "Prickly Pear Island," a level that was ultimately cut while the game was still known as "Project Dream".
 * The museum's background music has a sample of Bach's Toccata and Fugue. A similar sample can be heard in Banjo-Kazooie when entering the haunted church in Mad Monster Mansion.
 * This snippet was also used in the arcade versions of Donkey Kong Jr.
 * The piano part of this level's theme was composed by Grant Kirkhope before he started at Rare. It was then included in the music for the level, because Kirkhope found it fit the theme of the stage.