HOGWARTS HOUSE GHOSTS

(Redirected from Helena Ravenclaw)
The article is about the 'ghosts' who cohabit with the students of the various 'Hogwarts houses' in the ''Harry Potter'' novels by J. K. Rowling. Though the books mention at least twenty ghosts residing at Hogwarts, only the house ghosts are included in this article.

Contents

Nearly Headless Nick

The Bloody Baron

The Fat Friar

The Grey Lady

See also

References

Nearly Headless Nick

'Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington', often referred to as 'Nearly Headless Nick', (died October 31, 1492) is the Gryffindor House ghost whose neck was almost completely severed in life after 46 hits with a blunt axe. Harry Potter becomes friends with Nicholas when he attends his "deathday" party (the 500th anniversary of the event) in a Hogwarts dungeon. Sir Nicholas' death date has the distinction of having served as the basis for the entire timeline of dates in the ''Harry Potter'' series, until the timeline was confirmed by the headstone of James and Lily Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Nicholas has a fairly small role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, where he is merely introduced as Gryffindor's house ghost. In Chamber of Secrets, he celebrates his Five-Hundreth Deathday Party and he is also a victim of the Basilisk that Ginny Weasley unleashes, under the influence of Tom Riddle. The stare of the Basilisk is supposed to be lethal to anyone who looks at it directly in the eye. While the living students all had some barrier between them and the Basilisk (and are therefore petrified rather than killed) Nicholas does look at the Basilisk's eyes directly. However, since he is already dead, he too is only petrified.
Nicholas appears again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when he explains to Harry the nature of death and what it means when a ghost is left behind. Harry had been looking for some comfort to see Sirius Black again, but Nicholas's explanation dashes Harry's hope of communicating with Sirius. Nicholas makes clear that this is not possible. He appears briefly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Harry asks him to bring him to the Grey Lady (see below).
It was rumoured for a while that the blood on the Bloody Baron is Nick's but it is later revealed to be the Helena Ravenclaw's blood.
The word "mimsy" is borrowed from Jabberwocky, where it is explained by Humpty Dumpty to be a portmanteau of "flimsy" and "miserable" (which quite fits with the character). Perhaps the name "Mimsy-Porpington" is inspired by the "fretful porpentine" spoken of by the Ghost of Hamlet's father. (See ''Hamlet'', Act One, Scene Five.)
In the movie versions of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (2001), and ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (2002), Sir Nicholas is played by John Cleese.

The Bloody Baron

'The Bloody Baron' is one of the ghosts that haunts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the Slytherin House ghost. He is the only person besides Dumbledore who can exert any control over the Poltergeist Peeves; Peeves is terrified of him for some unknown reason, referring to him as "Your Bloodiness" and "Mr Baron."
The Baron's nickname comes from the fact that he is covered with blood, which appears silvery on his ghostly form. When Nearly-Headless Nick is asked in the first book why the Baron is so bloody, Nick delicately comments that he "never bothered to ask." However, this is explained in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' when Helena Ravenclaw (see below) tells Harry that the Baron had been in love with her when the two were alive, and when she ran off with the diadem, Rowena Ravenclaw sent the Baron after her, knowing he would not stop until Helena was found. When she refused to return with him, however, the Baron killed her in a fit of rage, and then, in remorse, killed himself with the same weapon. He has thus haunted Hogwarts ever since, wearing his ghostly chains as a form of penitence ("as he should," Helena bitterly adds).
In contrast to a very solemn and quite frightening ghost in the books, in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the only film adaptation in which the character has to date appeared), the Bloody Baron is represented as being quite mirthful.

The Fat Friar

'The Fat Friar' is the Hufflepuff House ghost. He is a jolly man and very forgiving. In ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' when the first years are waiting for Professor McGonagall to return and the ghosts pass overhead, the Fat Friar is pleading on behalf of Peeves the Poltergeist to allow him to come to the welcome feast despite his past wrongdoings.

The Grey Lady

'Helena Ravenclaw', more widely known by her nickname 'The Grey Lady', is the Ravenclaw House ghost.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has stated that The Grey Lady appeared very briefly in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. It is of common agreement that the Grey Lady is the ghost that Harry and Ron encounter on their way to visit the Mirror of Erised, as referenced in this passage: "''[Harry and Ron] passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else''". Fans have found no other unexplained mention of a ghost in the book, so it is assumed this is The Grey Lady. She may also be "''the ghost of a long haired woman''" that floats past Harry and Hagrid when they are talking about a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''.
According to a letter written by JK Rowling to Nina Young, the actress who played the Grey Lady in the first film, she is "''a highly intellectual young lady …. She never found true love as she never found a man up to her standards''".^[1]
The Grey Lady makes a more notable appearance in the deleted scenes portion of the ''Chamber of Secrets'' DVD. When Harry is finding the secret of Tom Riddle's diary, he asks her for privacy.
In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' it is revealed that the Grey Lady is Helena Ravenclaw - daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, and was killed by the Bloody Baron. She informs Harry Potter that she stole the Diadem of Ravenclaw from her mother, in an attempt to become smarter than she, and then went into hiding in Albania. It was a dying Rowena Ravenclaw's wish to see her daughter again and so sent for the Bloody Baron to look for her, knowing that he would not rest until he brought her back. However, she refused to come with him and in a moment of blind rage he killed her with a single stab wound to her chest. Overcome with remorse, the Bloody Baron killed himself using the same weapon in turn. The diadem remained in the hollow of the tree in the Albanian forest until Voldemort managed to charm the story out of her ghost, The Grey Lady. Riddle, who had been seeking out historically significant objects to make into Horcruxes later retrieved the diadem from Albania and hid it in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts while visiting the castle years later.
There are a number of Grey Lady ghost stories of Great Britain — for example, the benevolent Grey Lady of Glamis Castle — and it has been suggested that they might have been an inspiration for this character.
She may also have been inspired by Lady Jane Grey, who was cousin of King Edward, Queen Elizabeth the first and Queen Mary. Lady Grey was Queen of England for a short time (9 days only, in fact, and held the shortest term of any queen of England).

See also

Ghosts (Harry Potter)

References

1. Ghosts Harry Potter Lexicon