Roose Bolton/Theories

In a theory known as "Bolt-on", some readers believe that Roose Bolton is an immortal being, possibly an Other, that steals and wears other people's skin.

Evidence for

• The Faceless Men of Braavos have demonstrated that it is possible to remove other people's faces and wear them as a disguise. The Dreadfort is proximate to Braavos, so the Boltons might have sailed there and learned the secret.
• Even if they never travelled to Braavos, House Bolton has been flaying people for centuries, and would be most likely to discover that skin could be worn.
• Roose states that the only reason he did not kill his illegitimate son Ramsay Snow is the taboo of kinslaying. However, Roose conceived Ramsay when he hanged a miller and raped his wife beneath his swaying body, and broke his sworn oaths by killing his liege lord; it seems uncharacteristically moral of him to shun kinslaying.
• It seems more likely that Roose plans to take on Ramsay's identity and skin eventually, as Ramsay shares Roose's distinctive blue eyes. Even if the being wearing Roose's skin is immortal, its persona needs to "die" every so often to avoid suspicion. It is even possible that Roose killed his only trueborn son Domeric Bolton, because Domeric did not share Roose's eyes.
• Reek notes that Roose does not seem to age:

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.^[1]

• Nearly every mention of Roose Bolton mentions the pale coldness of his nature or eyes, indicating that he might be an Other. At one point, it is even stated "Roose Bolton's own face was a pale grey mask".^[2]
• Old Nan tells Bran a story of a man who had a child with a woman in white, probably an Other by her description. Old Nan's stories have a surprising history of being true. This child could be Roose.

Evidence against

• There is no direct evidence for this theory, only circumstantial evidence.