Bolt-On Theory- Roose is an immortal creature wearing other people's skin.

[Balerion the kitten]

I'm bored so I figured I'd make this topic, cause I couldn't find any other ones relating to this. So sorry if their is about a zillion threads on Bolt-On.

Anyway Bolt-On is a fan theory that (as the title says) claims Roose Bolton is some sort of immortal creature, possibly an other, who steals and wears other people's skin.

I love this theory, although I don't think it will actually happen because all it's evidence is circumstantial.

Have to say first of that a lot of this is from Alt Shift X's video. Recommend looking some of them up, they're really good.

But anyway here's all the quotes/proof I could find.

So first of we know that disguising yourself in other people's skins is possible, as the faceless men have shown us. It involves magic and other people's skin and flesh. The process involves removing your own face and replacing it with another. If anyone else knows this it seems likely it's the Boltons, after all they've been flaying people for years. And they are close to Braavos, who knows maybe they found this out there. Maybe this creature wearing roose's skin has been doing this for centuries. Wearing one Boltons face to the next Bolton in order to avoid suspicion. After all the same man can't rule dreadfort forever.

It's not impossible, after all their are other characters who have lived far beyond what's considered normal. Bloodraven, Children of the forest, others and likely melissandre.

This theory does kind of stem from him being an other.

He's been described as a cold man, with strange pale eyes and pasty skin. And Theon notes that he's ageless, not a wrinkle on him.

This is a cold man

His eyes are ice

Though past forty, Roose was as yet unwrinkled, with scarce a line to tell the passage of time...there was an agelessness about him, a stillness

This fits pretty well with an others description.

I'm saying that because in one of old nan's tales a man (who could have been a Bolton) gave his seed and soul to a women who fits the description of an other perfectly. "Skin as white as the moon, with eyes like blue stars", it's possible that the child was this immortal creature. And if he was it could explain why this creature has been alive for centuries. Could he be the son of the Nights king with his ice queen? After all practically every time he is seen in the books, his cold nature and eyes are mentioned.

Roose Boltons own face was a pale grey mask with two chips of dirty ice where his eyes should be

Pale grey mask, a mask made of flesh by skinchanging :dunno:

And so this goes onto the next point- Ramsay Snow, the future host of this creature.

Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison. In the Vale, Domeric had enjoyed the company of Redforts sons. He wanted a brother by his side, so he rode up the Weeping Water to seek my bastard out. I forbade it, but Domeric was a man grown and thought that he knew better than his father. Now his bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord ... if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?

Hmm, interesting. If there is one thing we have picked up on about Ramsay is he has unique quirky methods of killing people, poisoning doesn't seem to be one of them. How would Ramsay even get his hands on poison? When did he even learn about different poisons and their uses?

And why would Roose Bolton, the man who conceived his bastard by rapeing a Miller's wife underneath her husband's hanging body, the man who broke guest right and his oaths to his king by killing him, be worried about upsetting his gods by killing his bastard? Maybe it's because he had a son, but his son didn't have his eyes. He couldn't switch into another body without it having the same eyes, other wise it would cause suspicion for when Roose dies and his heir suddenly has the rare pale colouring. So when he saw his bastard, and his eyes, he thought "yes my next container".

The babe did have my eyes... when her dead husbands brother saw those eyes he beat her bloody and drove her from the mill

So he poisoned domeric to make it seem like it was only natural to bring Ramsay and name him his heir. And also his younger sons who died in their cradles, because they didn't have his eyes.

Yes, yes, it sounds ridiculous but is it less ridiculous than his version?

And wont my bastard love that? Lady Walda is a Frey, and she has a fertile feel to her. I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. The two before her never made a sound in bed, but this one squeals and shudders. I find that quite endearing. If she pops out sons the way she pops in tarts, the Dreadfort will soon be overrun with Boltons. Ramsay will kill them all, of course. Thats for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House. Walda will grieve to see them die, though

By his logic house Bolton will be in better hands with a psychotic, violent, flay loving bastard who hasn't been trained to rule and has made numerous enemies. Than in the hands of a child who could grow to be a great Lord.

Also the fact he says he'll be dead before they grow into manhood. Seems like he's saying "I won't be able to keep this disguise on long enough for them to grow up". So he's happy to let Ramsay kill them because it's already been settled that he'll wear his skin next.

Why else would he deal with Ramsay and all the crap that comes with him?

Also the leaching. Could it be his way of stopping unnatural side affects that comes with being some sort of creature that resembles an other?

Once the heart has ceased to beat, a man's blood runs down into his extremities, where it thickens and congeals ... His hands and feet swell up and turn as black as pudding. The rest of him becomes as white as milk.

Coldhands.

Frequent leachings are the secret to a long life. A man must purge himself of bad blood

Roose Bolton.

Also weird how he says "secret to a long life".

(edit)To summarize, Roose Bolton isn't actually a human but some creature that was created when the nights king had a baby with his other queen. This kid went on to rule dreadfort but he couldn't keep the exact same face forever otherwise somebody would notice and kill him. So he's been ruling house Bolton and Dreadfort for thousands of years by wearing other people's (his son's) faces, but they have to have his eyes otherwise people would think "why did his eyes change into a rare pale colour when his dad just died? Who had the exact same eyes!". So years later we have this creature in Roose's skin, and all of his children didn't have his eyes so he killed them all and brought his bastard back so he could name him his heir and steal his skin. So that this creature can continue living.

Is it possible? Or is it completely ridiculous? What do you think of Bolt-On?

And sorry but my quote thing hasn't been working. Never mind got it to work :D

[Lord Lannister]

I can't say I really bought into it. As you said the "evidence" as it is, is purely circumstantial at best. While we've seen people living beyond the time they should like Bloodraven, Stoneheart and Beric, this seems a bit more far fetched and they all had a supernatural backing that Bolton doesn't seem to have.

[Make Shadowbabies Not War]

Whilst I'm not sure I buy this theory, I really get why people do. There is something off with Roose, something that is really hard to explain. It isn't just his youthful look, his creepy eyes or his penchant for burning books. It is almost his presence. The whole voice thing is incredibly creepy, and you can see that it isn't just the reader that feels something about his presence. He's scary in a way that even Tywin isn't. While I'm skeptical of this theory, I don't think I'd be surprised to be proven wrong.

[Maester Barth]

This is a well thought out theory, and probably my favorite reading of a Bolton theory so far. The fact that they flay people is interesting too, as it is what the Boltons have done for millennia. Who else "wears skin." The faceless men. But why do we assume that only living men can do this magic? What about patch face or the fact that Selies have been mentioned? Could a CotF wear the skin of a child in a similar way? Could an animate wight, like cold hands, wear someone's skin? It would be very interesting if the flayed men of the Dread Fort are actually flayed men themselves, using blood magic to exchange their skins with those of their victims.

[mdw4950]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MO2Yb2OJ6Q

heres the link from your post. hes got some good videos so i figured id throw it in there since you mentioned it. anyway, i doubt its true but i kind of hope it is. it does have some evidence supporting it but i feel like its more of a coincidence. imo, it would be a cool way to help finally bring the others into the fold though.

[Balerion the kitten]

Whilst I'm not sure I buy this theory, I really get why people do. There is something off with Roose, something that is really hard to explain. It isn't just his youthful look, his creepy eyes or his penchant for burning books. It is almost his presence. The whole voice thing is incredibly creepy, and you can see that it isn't just the reader that feels something about his presence. He's scary in a way that even Tywin isn't. While I'm skeptical of this theory, I don't think I'd be surprised to be proven wrong.

Yeah, while I'm not sold on the Bolt-On idea, there is definitely more to Roose than meets the eye. Even Domeric's death is an odd one that I think we'll find more about.

[Warrewal Halfaxe]

But... so what if the eyes aren't the same?

[plectrum]

Bolton is definitely a creepy dude. He and Ramsey are both obviously sociopaths (though very different in the way that their disorder manifests itself). It wouldn't surprise me to find that he's related in some way to the Night's King, with his physical description and his proclivities.

All that said, I think the theory overshoots the mark with the conclusion that he's a skin-changing immortal vampire lord who leeches himself in order to prevent his hands from turning black. There are weirder things in the series but generally there's more than a tiny bit of oblique support for those things. This smells of wishful thinking. It's a fun theory, but I don't really buy it.

[Tharvot]

I've never really bought into the vampire bolton idea (or any kind of skin changing theory with him), but I agree with everyone else that there is definitely something off about him. He has the quiet serial killer vibe about him. Quiet, unassuming, and completely ruthless.

[aryagonnakill#2]

How does some immortal creature/ an Other give birth to fully human children? Why would an Other, which has no blood use leeches? Why did Arya never comment on Roose being cold to the touch? Why does Roose, unlike Melissandre or the Others eat normal human food?

Also, the faceless men do not remove their own face, they cut it so blood seeps into the new face as a form of moisturizer, at least that is what they did to Arya.

[Balerion the kitten]

But... so what if the eyes aren't the same?

Be strange if Roose dies and his son's eye colour suddenly switches to his father's rare pale eyes :dunno:

Maybe he knew that magic was coming back soon, and he couldn't risk it :dunno:

Once again, I want to stress that I'm not expecting Roose to suddenly be revealed as an other. I just like the theory and i feel it does tie into Roose and the Boltons being revealed as more sinister and creepy.

[Hank of House Hutton]

But... so what if the eyes aren't the same?

yeah this is where it lost me too.

There def is something strange about Roose, but i dont think he's anything like a skinchanger or vampire. Would be kinda cool though to have Undead Cat fighting vampire Roose lol

[Hank of House Hutton]

But... so what if the eyes aren't the same?

double post

[Balerion the kitten]

How does some immortal creature/ an Other give birth to fully human children? Why would an Other, which has no blood use leeches? Why did Arya never comment on Roose being cold to the touch? Why does Roose, unlike Melissandre or the Others eat normal human food?

Also, the faceless men do not remove their own face, they cut it so blood seeps into the new face as a form of moisturizer, at least that is what they did to Arya.

Because he's not fully human, cause he's not full on other so he might have blood. And mellisandre does eat food, but she can go without it for a certain amount of time. The others might eat food :dunno:.

And, woops my bad.

Didn't actually think of these many holes when I made this thread, but it's fun to speculate

[DarkSister1001]

I have heard about the Bolton immortal theory but haven't read it and since most of my forum activity is when I'm "working" I don't get to see or listen to the video clips. Thank you for laying it all out. I agree that it's circumstantial and that there is definitely something off about him. I think the theory is certainly plausible and something we should keep an eye on. His comment about child lords always bothered me. On the surface it seemed like a stab at Joff but if the theory is correct it could mean more. It could mean that he's approaching his time to change faces and couldn't take on a child's face. He'd need a man grown. And I think "bolt on" is quite clever. I hope this is true.

[Arya and Needle]

I think the simpler explanation is that he's not literally an immortal vampire as suggested, but he was intentionally written to invoke a vampire trope - sort of like the Starks with werewolves, or Catelyn with a zombie or ghost, the children with elves, etc.

[Rippounet]

Everyone agrees there's something sinister in Roose Bolton, and perhaps in House Bolton generally.

But you can see it two ways:

- Martin used the vampire "looks" and mythos to make Roose and the Boltons look sinister. That's why people think of vampires or skinchangers.

- Roose and the Boltons are sinister because there is something supernatural about them.

Right now, I don't think anything in the books can help us go one way or the other.

We can point out a few elements I guess:

- If Roose is a supernatural creature of some sorts, we haven't read about his type.

- Roose eats and drinks like anybody.

- The Boltons are ancient enemies of the Starks, and since the Starks have a magical element to them (warging), it's not a stretch to think the Boltons have too.

I think this quote is interesting:

"And wont my bastard love that? Lady Walda is a Frey, and she has a fertile feel to her. I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. The two before her never made a sound in bed, but this one squeals and shudders. I find that quite endearing. If she pops out sons the way she pops in tarts, the Dreadfort will soon be overrun with Boltons. Ramsay will kill them all, of course. Thats for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House. Walda will grieve to see them die, though".

This quote makes little sense to me, because Roose is basically saying he doesn't expect to live more than 15 additional years, although he's only in his fourties. I know life expectancy isn't much in Westeros, but can a lord really not expect to live up to 55 or 60? Especially one obsessed with living a long life? That's a bit odd. And if Roose is a supernatural creature of sorts it's even odder.
Roose's pessimism in this quote makes me think that he is sincere. He's genuinely afraid to die. So much so that he's ready to entrust his House and his legacy to a psychopathic bastard.

I think there's one likely explanation here: Roose isn't immortal. He's seeking immortality. The reason he burns a book in Harrenhal is because he found it useless.

[Edit: I'm almost certain the book was something from Lady Danelle's Lothston's library, who delved in black arts. House Lothston's sigil is a bat, another vampire-like element which makes an interesting link with the Boltons]

This is important because we readers know that immortality of some sorts can be achieved in his world, especially since magic is returning. Having the Stark's main enemy in the North ready to give up so much for it means he likely will.

How? One can only speculate:

- He can betray the North to the Others. Especially if the Boltons are descendants of a human-Others mix.

- He can go over to R'hllor and try to use their magic to his personal ends.

- He can use blood magic to prolong his life.

I don't know which he'll choose, but I don't know if it's important. What's important is what he wants, because it has political implications for the future.

I think it's likely Stannis will win the Battle of Ice and defeat the Boltons (and Freys). At least one Stark will come back as warden of the North (Rickon or Sansa, but even Arya or Bran are still alive). House Bolton will be almost wiped out in the ensuing battle(s). The Dreadfort may be captured and/or burned.

The question is how will House Bolton survive then? For a long time I thought Ramsay would survive Roose and become the main antagonist in the North. But Ramsay's characterization isn't as developed as Roose's. So I'm starting to think it's the other way around: Ramsay is going to die. Either Walda will be killed as well, or Roose will be in no position to have other children. Desperate to survive and to see House Bolton live on, Roose will do something abominable. Either he'll submit to the Others, or he'll perform a ritual to turn himself into something inhuman. It's even possible he kills Ramsay to achieve immortality, though I think Ramsay is Theon's or Arya's to kill (or Jeyne's).

To sum up: Roose has the profile of a classic immortal villain. But he isn't yet. He can only become one now that magic is back. And then... Well, he'll become the Stark's worse enemy. Maybe he'll kill one (Rickon, most likely), and/or be killed by one (Jon or Arya). But he'll be important for the endgame.

Damn, this is actually a theory. :) Crackpot, but well...

[Hank of House Hutton]

Everyone agrees there's something sinister in Roose Bolton, and perhaps in House Bolton generally.

But you can see it two ways:

- Martin used the vampire "looks" and mythos to make Roose and the Boltons look sinister. That's why people think of vampires or skinchangers.

- Roose and the Boltons are sinister because there is something supernatural about them.

Right now, I don't think anything in the books can help us go one way or the other.

We can point out a few elements I guess:

- If Roose is a supernatural creature of some sorts, we haven't read about his type.

- Roose eats and drinks like anybody.

- The Boltons are ancient enemies of the Starks, and since the Starks have a magical element to them (warging), it's not a stretch to think the Boltons have too.

I think this quote is interesting:

This quote makes little sense to me, because Roose is basically saying he doesn't expect to live more than 15 additional years, although he's only in his fourties. I know life expectancy isn't much in Westeros, but can a lord really not expect to live up to 55 or 60? Especially one obsessed with living a long life? That's a bit odd. And if Roose is a supernatural creature of sorts it's even odder.

Roose's pessimism in this quote makes me think that he is sincere. He's genuinely afraid to die. So much so that he's ready to entrust his House and his legacy to a psychopathic bastard.

I think there's one likely explanation here: Roose isn't immortal. He's seeking immortality. The reason he burns a book in Harrenhal is because he found it useless.

This is important because we readers know that immortality of some sorts can be achieved in his world, especially since magic is returning. Having the Stark's main enemy in the North ready to give up so much for it means he likely will.

How? One can only speculate:

- He can betray the North to the Others. Especially if the Boltons are descedants of a human-Others mix.

- He can go over to R'hllor and try to use their magic to his personal ends.

- He can use blood magic to prolong his life.

I don't know which he'll choose, but I don't know if it's important. What's important is what he wants, because it has political implications for the future.

I think it's likely Stannis will win the Battle of Ice and defeat the Boltons (and Freys). At least one Stark will come back as warden of the North (Rickon or Sansa, but even Arya or Bran are still alive). House Bolton will be almost wiped out in the ensuing battle(s). The Dreadfort may be captured and/or burned.

The question is how will House Bolton survive then? For a long time I thought Ramsay would survive Roose and become the main antagonist in the North. But Ramsay's characterization isn't as developed as Roose's. So I'm starting to think it's the other way around: Ramsay is going to die. Either Walda will be killed as well, or Roose will be in no position to have other children. Desperate to survive and to see House Bolton live on, Roose will do something abominable. Either he'll submit to the Others, or he'll perform a ritual to turn himself into something inhuman. It's even possible he kills Ramsay to achieve immortality, though I think Ramsay is Theon's or Arya's to kill (or Jeyne's).

To sum up: Roose has the profile of a classic immortal villain. But he isn't yet. He can only become one now that magic is back. And then... Well, he'll become the Stark's worse enemy. Maybe he'll kill one (Rickon, most likely), and/or be killed by one (Jon or Arya). But he'll be important for the endgame.

Damn, this is actually a theory. :) Crackpot, but well...

Those two parts i bolded i can definitely see unfolding. if Roose loses Winterfell and most of his army and is desparate to gain power i could see him doing something drastic like helping the others or something along those lines.

i mean, they gotta get passed the Wall somehow dont they?

[Balerion the kitten]

To sum up: Roose has the profile of a classic immortal villain. But he isn't yet. He can only become one now that magic is back. And then... Well, he'll become the Stark's worse enemy. Maybe he'll kill one (Rickon, most likely), and/or be killed by one (Jon or Arya). But he'll be important for the endgame.

Damn, this is actually a theory. :) Crackpot, but well...

This is actually quite clever. Roose wanting to become immortal rather than being immortal.

[Amris]

I'm bored so I figured I'd make this topic, cause I couldn't find any other ones relating to this. So sorry if their is about a zillion threads on Bolt-On.

Anyway Bolt-On is a fan theory that (as the title says) claims Roose Bolton is some sort of immortal creature, possibly an other, who steals and wears other people's skin.

I love this theory, although I don't think it will actually happen because all it's evidence is circumstantial.

Have to say first of that a lot of this is from Alt Shift X's video. Recommend looking some of them up, they're really good.

But anyway here's all the quotes/proof I could find.

So first of we know that disguising yourself in other people's skins is possible, as the faceless men have shown us. It involves magic and other people's skin and flesh. The process involves removing your own face and replacing it with another. If anyone else knows this it seems likely it's the Boltons, after all they've been flaying people for years. And they are close to Braavos, who knows maybe they found this out there. Maybe this creature wearing roose's skin has been doing this for centuries. Wearing one Boltons face to the next Bolton in order to avoid suspicion. After all the same man can't rule dreadfort forever.

It's not impossible, after all their are other characters who have lived far beyond what's considered normal. Bloodraven, Children of the forest, others and likely melissandre.

This theory does kind of stem from him being an other.

He's been described as a cold man, with strange pale eyes and pasty skin. And Theon notes that he's ageless, not a wrinkle on him.

"This is a cold man"

"His eyes are ice"

"Though past forty, Roose was as yet unwrinkled, with scarce a line to tell the passage of time...there was an agelessness about him, a stillness".

This fits pretty well with an others description.

I'm saying that because in one of old nan's tales a man (who could have been a Bolton) gave his seed and soul to a women who fits the description of an other perfectly. "Skin as white as the moon, with eyes like blue stars", it's possible that the child was this immortal creature. And if he was it could explain why this creature has been alive for centuries. Could he be the son of the Nights king with his ice queen? After all practically every time he is seen in the books, his cold nature and eyes are mentioned.

"Roose Boltons own face was a pale grey mask with two chips if dirty ice where his eyes should be".

Pale grey mask, a mask made of flesh by skinchanging :dunno:

And so this goes onto the next point- Ramsay Snow, the future host of this creature.

"Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison. In the Vale, Domeric had enjoyed the company of Redforts sons. He wanted a brother by his side, so he rode up the Weeping Water to seek my bastard out. I forbade it, but Domeric was a man grown and thought that he knew better than his father. Now his bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord ... if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?"

Hmm, interesting. If there is one thing we have picked up on about Ramsay is he has unique quirky methods of killing people, poisoning doesn't seem to be one of them. How would Ramsay even get his hands on poison? When did he even learn about different poisons and their uses?

And why would Roose Bolton, the man who conceived his bastard by rapeing a Miller's wife underneath her husband's hanging body, the man who broke guest right and his oaths to his king by killing him, be worried about upsetting his gods by killing his bastard? Maybe it's because he had a son, but his son didn't have his eyes. He couldn't switch into another body without it having the same eyes, other wise it would cause suspicion for when the new Lord suddenly changes eyes. So when he saw his bastard, and his eyes, he thought "yes my next container".

"The babe did have my eyes... when her dead husbands brother saw those eyes he beat her bloody and drove her from the mill".

So he poisoned domeric to make it seem like it was only natural to bring Ramsay and name him his heir. And also his younger sons who died in their cradles, because they didn't have his eyes.

Yes, yes, it sounds ridiculous but is it less ridiculous than his version?

"And wont my bastard love that? Lady Walda is a Frey, and she has a fertile feel to her. I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. The two before her never made a sound in bed, but this one squeals and shudders. I find that quite endearing. If she pops out sons the way she pops in tarts, the Dreadfort will soon be overrun with Boltons. Ramsay will kill them all, of course. Thats for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House. Walda will grieve to see them die, though".

By his logic house Bolton will be in better hands with a psychotic, violent, flay loving bastard who hasn't been trained to rule and has made numerous enemies. Than in the hands of a child who could grow to be a great Lord.

Also the fact he says he'll be dead before they grow into manhood. Seems like he's saying "I won't be able to keep this disguise on long enough for them to grow up". So he's happy to let Ramsay kill them because it's already been settled that he'll wear his skin next.

Why else would he deal with Ramsay and all the crap that comes with him?

Also the leaching. Could it be his way of stopping unnatural side affects that comes with being some sort of creature that resembles an other?

"Once the heart has ceased to beat, a man's blood runs down into his extremities, where it thickens and congeals ... His hands and feet swell up and turn as black as pudding. The rest of him becomes as white as milk." - Coldhands.

"Frequent leachings are the secret to a long life. A man must purge himself of bad blood" - Roose Bolton.

Also weird how he says "secret to a long life".

Is it possible? Or is it completely ridiculous? What do you think of Bolt-On?

And sorry but my quote thing hasn't been working.

Edit- And the reason why I love it is because it's so messed up.

New edit- ugh, even the bold text isn't working

I posted a similar theory once and still think it is possible. Whether it is likely though ... I don't know. We have hints but no evidence. The hints could as well mean something totally different or nothing at all. So the theory is crackpot. But its a nice pot.