We’ve all heard of the great King Arthur of Camelot, his legendary sword Excalibur and his equally legendary Knights of the Round Table. Their heroic tales have been jotted down since the Medieval era by various writers, many of whom have put their own spin on things. And as you will see in this article below, many of these iterations are nothing like the original plot. Crazy and weird might be the best way to describe them.

1. Merlin’s Birth

For Merlin, his story goes back to the time when Jesus sacrificed his life for Christian souls, which greatly angered the devils or fiends. In retaliation, they hatched a plan to create an Antichrist by mentally torturing and seducing a rich family until their youngest daughter gave in to their advances. Merlin was the result of this unholy union, and his mother’s subsequently arrested for her deeds. Luckily for the young woman, Merlin was not your average baby as he was able to convince the judge of his mother’s innocence, thus saving her life.

2. Merlin Falls in Love

Even though he was known for his wisdom and magic skills, Merlin did have a romantic side. Her name was Nimue or Vivian, one of the Ladies in the Lake and sadly, the relationship was very much one-sided as Nimue was only using Merlin for his vast knowledge. It is said that she lured Merlin to an enchanted cave that was blocked by a large stone. She convinced him to remove the stone, had him enter it, then seal the entrance with no way out. Unfortunately, Merlin spent the rest of his life in that cave, while Nimue took up the role as Arthur’s wise ally.

3. Arthur and Morgause

If you don’t know who Morgause is, she’s the wife of King Lot, one of Arthur’s biggest rivals. She was initially sent by Lot to spy on Arthur but things took an unexpected turn when the two had a brief affair that resulted in a pregnancy. To make matters worse, Morgause and Arthur were revealed to be half-siblings. The child, Mordred, Arthur’s son/nephew, was prophesied by Merlin to end his father’s life leading to Arthur rounding up all the babies born on May 1st including Mordred, then sending them adrift on a boat.

4. Arthur’s Death

Mordred, who survived the attempt on his life, became a successful man and a Knight of the Round Table. Angered by his childhood, Mordred plotted his father’s downfall, first by exposing Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s affair, sparking a war between the former friends. He then proceeded to announce Arthur’s death and tried to claim both Guinevere and the throne for himself. Furious, the very-much-alive Arthur faced off with his treacherous son in battle, ultimately impaling him, only for Mordred to push the spear deeper so he could deliver a deadly blow to Arthur.

5. Lancelot and Elaine

Even though Lancelot was a bit of a busy man who slept with his best friend’s wife, there was someone else who was deeply in love with him. That would be Elaine of Astolat, who lived in a high tower and watched over his shield. The duo had a brief tryst on two different occasions, but only because Elaine tricked Lancelot into thinking that she was Guinevere. Unfortunately for her, Lancelot only thought of Elaine as a friend or sister, and this shocking revelation sent her into deep despair, to the point of starving herself to death.