Summary:

Petyr Baelish is currently the Lord of the cursed castle of Harrenhall. His end is hence near. I am only an earthling and can only provide circumstantial evidence to prove my hypothesis.

Location of Harrenhal Castle:

Harrenhal Castle is located on the northern shore of Gods Eye lake in Riverland.  It was on the Isles of Faces within Gods Eye lake, the First Men signed a pact with the Children of the Forest, thousands of years ago, to end the war between men and Children of the Forest.   Harenhall Castle is also strategically located south of River Trident where Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar Targaryen with King’s Landing in South East of the Castle.

History of Harrenhal Castle:

After House Hoare from the Iron Islands had conquered the Riverlands, Harren’s  ( the castle’s namesake) grandfather ordered a castle to be built on the north shore of Gods Eye. He wanted the castle to be one of the largest in Westeros to legitimize his rule among his new subjects. Using brutality, as was expected from the Ironborns, Castle Harrenhall was built on the backs of the people of Riverlands. The castle took almost three generations to make,  by which time, King Harren, had taken reign of the dynasty from his grandfather. King Harren, called the castle “Harrenhal,” an unusual name for a castle since it was named after the King instead of the King’s house as was the norm in Westeros. 

On the day the castle was finally completed,  Aegon Targaryen and his sisters launched an attack on Westeros, with their Valayrian army and dragons, thus starting the Targaryen’s War of Conquest.  The massive walls of Harrenhall Castle led King Harren to believe the castle was impenetrable and thus immune to the onslaught of the Targareyns. However, Harren’s inability to consider the idea that dragons can fly over high walls was the reason King Harren and his sons were killed by dragon Balereon’s fire.

After the end of the War of Conquest, House Qoherys received the castle as a gift by  Aegon Targaryen for their loyalty to his House. They did not last too long in the castle and like House Harren their line became extinct. Towers, Harroway & Strong, occupied the castle in succession but died out.

House Lothston, which held Harrenhall after House Strong met an unfortunate end, with the Lord and all his sons burned to death. The death itself is a mystery, but there are even more gruesome stories about Lady Lothston. They include tales of how she bathed in the blood of children and cooked them for dinner. It is these stories and the mysterious end of Houses that occupied the castle that Castle of Harrenhall came to be known as cursed by the people of Riverland.

Tourney of Harrenhall and the End of An Era:

While not much information about the occupation of  Harrenhal Castle after the Lothston’s is available, it was speculative, House Whent which had the dubious distinction of becoming the Lords of Harrenhal.

It was Lord Whent who arranged for the Tourney of Harrenhall in which Rhaegar laid a crown of blue winter roses on Lyanna Stark’s lap which then proved to be a catalyst for the abduction, murder of Starks and Robert’s Rebellion.

After the end of the Targaryen reign and House Whent, Janos Slynt was made the Lord of  Harrenhal as a reward for betraying Eddard Stark, which led to the Stark’s beheading. In the show, Janos Slynt also led the purging of Robert Baratheon’s “illegitimate” children. Tyrion Lannister later outed Janos Slynt as a spy and the mastermind behind the heinous killing of a baby who is also of Robert’s  child.  As a punishment, Tyrion sent him to Castle Black, where  Jon Snow beheaded Janos Slynt for disobeying his orders.  Thus another Lord of Castle Harrenhal met a dastardly end.

Interestingly, Tywin Lannister had taken command of Harrenhal Castle and then Rob Stark, who then gave the reign to Roose Bolton. All three of them died in a gruesome manner.

Foreshadowing of Death?

Whoever owns Castle Harrenhall or takes command of it seems to meet their end. So what does this mean for Petyr Baelish?

Petyr Baelish is the current Lord of Harrenhal. The castle was promised to him by Tyrion Lannister ( who was not the owner) in exchange for this brother Jamie Lannister, who was in the captivity of Rob and Catelyn Stark during the War of the Five Kings. After Rob’s death, Roose Bolton’s occupation of Winterfell and the return of Jamie Lannister to King’s Landing, Petyr Baelish was given the reign to the Castle of Harrenhal and continues to be its master.

Petyr Baelish might have finally met a worthy opponent in the form of Castle Harrenhall or knowing Lord Baelish; the castle might bend to his will. We will have to see, but considering historical precedent of Lords who take charge of Harrenhal Castle, the odds are not in Little Fingers favor.

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