Doom Falls is a waterfall in the northwest of the European country of Latveria, the largest and highest waterfall in the region. It is found on the Draken River, shortly after it splits from the Klyne River. The waters in its lower area are characterized by being especially cold and, at least during part of the year, covered by a layer of ice.[1]
Initially known as Dark Falls, the waterfall was in the wilds of Latveria, and was part of the legend of Darkoth, the Death Demon. It was said that a man had suffered terrible deprivation when he was lost in the Latverian forests. Nearly insane, he reached the Draken River, broke through the ice cap, and fell screaming through Dark Falls into the depths, but a shepherd of sheep witnessed the misfortune and ran to the town in search of help. Several Latverians searched under the ice of the river for hours, with little hope, and then they saw emerge, down the river, a huge monster with a demonic appearance, long tail and skin turned purple from the cold. The creature howled and the villagers tried to escape, but four of them did not make it home. Ever since, throughout all of Latveria, Darkoth's name has been used to frighten children, with the night howls as proof of his existence (and eventually Doctor Doom adapted the legend to his needs, convincing the Latverians to that only his power could personally protect mere mortals from the Death Demon).[1]
Sometime between 1830 and 1870, vampire slayers Kurt Kroft and Pietro Kroft tracked down Count Dracula and cornered him in Dark Falls. Dracula managed to kill Pietro, but after he was staked almost through the heart, he fell over the falls into the water. Kurt mistakenly believed that he had killed Dracula, but the vampire emerged from the waters and killed an innocent shepherd before fleeing. The townspeople attributed the two deaths to the legend of Darkoth.[1]
Following Doctor Doom's rise to power, the Dark Falls were renamed Doom Falls. Back then a tranquil natural wonder, Doom Falls became one of Latveria's tourist attractions. Van Dyne's Guide to Travel in Europe recommended visiting the falls with a local guide, even if it was one of Doom's robot guides and not a human: According to the Guide, the human guides told interesting folk tales about the country that the robots left out; but in the case of Doom Falls, even the programming of the robots included the legendary story of the falls.[1]