Claudia Burlesco

The headmistress of Miss Burlesco's Orphanage in Vallaki.

She describes it as her work to take care of all kids of Barovia, and does not believe that the majority of people in the valley have any interest in helping one another.

Miss Burlesco's Orphanage
An old building with wooden, sagging steps, and one fresh new window on the first storey standing out against the weathered facade.

Miss Burlesco provides a homes and shelter for the orphans of Vallaki. The orphanage is largely supported by the wage earned by one of the older boys, Millivoj, the church gravedigger. Millivoj was tricked by Henrik the coffin maker into assisting with Count Strahd von Zarovich's assault on Vallaki which became known as the Feast.

Millivoj has been at the orphanage for years but is not originally from Vallaki.

It is also home to Felix, a small boy that was found to have a cursed tin locket on his person which caused him to be possessed by a demon. He said that he found the locket in the woods whilst playing hide and seek, and then described being possessed as being able to watch his own actions, rather than living them. It is thought that this was he cause of him killing his parents in cold blood before he arrived at the orphanage. Whist in this state Felix recalled taking he locket to Millivoj's room to "make him still" after Millivoj had delivered the bones of St Andral to Henrik. The locked carried the following inscription in celestial: "Let darkness hide from the light". Claudia took the rusted tin locket from him and hid it in her desk.

Curiously, when the party of Hallgrimm Mikkenson, Sigismund "the Bold", Narid Ashplantt, and Ireena Indirovich visited the orphanage in their attempts to recover the bones for Father Lucien, Claudia lied to them about having taken Felix to see Father Lucien when he was first brought to her. She later admitted to Narid that she did this to try and win the party's sympathy because she did not feel that the party would take her concerns over the child seriously unless they thought that someone as well respected as Father Lucien had validated her concerns. She stated flatly that "People of Barovia do not help others."

After the party rescued two children from the Old Bonegrinder they took the children to the orphanage to be looked after.