Should we believe that the Gargoyle has always been the same person, we must also stretch that belief around the concept of this person being free from the chains of mortality. The Gargoyle did not seem to age, and while their followers would've had you believe it was all home remedies and clean living, I suggest that the Gargoyle may have instead been feeding on the life force of their clan, their brood. Perhaps the sugar rule had to do with keeping our blood adequatley dry, like a Nebbiolo.
Vampires across cultural mythos defy the rules of senescence by consuming the vitality of humans, often by ingesting blood, but not limited to as much. Sure, the Gargoyle may very well be a sanguineous snacker, but they might have also been able to transmute the spiritual essence of their victum followers, converting devotion into power. In this case I wonder if the Gargoyle sensed my loyalty wane, casting doubt's shadow on the necessity of my inclusion. Perhaps the sugar rule served as a simple scapegoat then, and my breaking of it was partially or even entirely contrived behind my back.
Who knows why I wasn't wanted.
Part of the initiation process to join the Castle invoves drinking a liquid made by the Gargoyle called the Tonic. There are countless stories involving vampires using their own intravenous secretions to catalyze a process by which they can turn normal folk into vampires. It is a key componant in that transformation's initiation, however it can lead to other conditions as well. There is a role that humans may fill for a vampire known as a Thrall. These beings consume a vamp's blood and find themselves addicted and committed, forming intensely loyal bonds to their new vampiric lord. Gargoyle may have had a set up that would tempt Carmilla, or Lestat. Their was a loose tier system to the Castle, I remember that. There was an ever-classic inner-circle. I would guess that if this theory proves true that they were/are the vampires and the rest very well could be thralls.
Now, you may be wondering "why marine?" and this is a fair query when you have not lived a life so thouroughly wrought with experience as I have. At this point it makes far less sense to me that vampires would ever not be associated with the sea. Vampires are routinely depicted as a form of "undead", and dead things don't tend to breathe. They are also often severely susceptible to sun damage. Now where might a good place be to hide from the sun all day? Underwater, where you're also a lot less likely to run into any nosey humans. A theory I'm far more comfortable labelng as a "pet" would be my belief that vampires and sirens/mermaids are one in the same, but this section says "Attire" and this is my website about Goyle, so lets move on. The Gargoyle had a notably nautical taste in fashion. Perhaps it is credulous of me to think this has to do with anything other than taste, but leaving such a stone unturned could prove my Great Hamartia. We can not ignore one of the few perceptible qualities of such a figure as mysterious as the Gargoyle. We know they at least have an aesthetic interest in the ocean, would it be so bold as to assume this interest is due to some type of inherent bond?
So our cult leader is a vampire, but do they still need the water? And if so, how are they accessing it in a land-locked state like Arkansas? The area where the Castle lived was not too far from the man-made Beaver Lake. This lake flooded into the valley sometime in the 60s by way of a damming system. But the valley was not empty. Besides a forest of trees, a man nicknamed "Coin" had built a town, an ampitheatre and even the foundation of a pyramid on land covered up by the lake.