Ghostly Tales
by Artemis
October is here! Chilly winds brush against my neck and I shiver. Brrr. The cold makes me think about Halloween, and what's in Hogwarts that relates to Halloween most? Ghosts! There are lots of ghosts in Hogwarts, and some you might not even be aware of!
First up, the Wailing Widow! The Wailing Widow was a female ghost from Kent. She was a close friend of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington as she attended his five-hundredth Deathday Party, having had to travel all the way from Kent to Scotland. Also attending the party was a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead! Weird, huh?
And there's also Lord Draben (fl. 1600s), otherwise known as the Ghost of the Cavalier, was a wizard who had some connection with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In his lifetime, Lord Draben was a Cavalier: a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and his son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration in the mid-seventeenth century. When Lord Draben died, he became a ghost, taking residence at Hogwarts Castle. He attended the Start-of-Term Feast in 1991, and later joined a group of ghost carollers singing Christmas at Hogwarts later that year.
Coming on, Edgar Cloggs! He's a ghost who has been hanging around the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts for as long as anyone can remember (which is a really long time). He is willing to help the Quidditch teams of Hogwarts practise, as he was a Keeper and a Chaser when he was alive. His name is derived from the Old English elements ead "rich, blessed" and gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king who is regarded as a saint. The name did not survive long after the Norman conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Sir Walter Scott's novel 'The Bride of Lammermoor' (1819). Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Now to the school Poltergeist - Peeves! Peeves is a poltergeist at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, since c. 993. Fond of mischief and chaos, he is a constant pain to the school and its inhabitants, especially Argus Filch, the caretaker, as the only ones able to control him were the Bloody Baron and Albus Dumbledore. In 1995, Peeves, along with most of the Hogwarts residents, opposed Dolores Umbridge, the High Inquisitor, and pranked her until she was kicked out of the school at the end of the school year. In 1998, Peeves fought at the Battle of Hogwarts against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. After the Second Wizarding War, Peeves is still making trouble at Hogwarts. Unlike the overwhelming majority of his colleagues, Peeves has a physical form, though he was able to become invisible at will. Peeves appears like a little man with wickedly slanted, orange eyes, dressed in loud, outlandish clothes including a bell-covered hat and an orange bow tie. He had black hair and compared to the Hogwarts ghosts, he was solid-looking, not pearly white and transparent. He was capable of flight and intangibility, like a ghost, but could also affect solid objects and make himself invisible.
Peeves is the most notorious and troublesome poltergeist in British history. His looks are said to reflect his nature, which "those who know him would agree was a seamless blend of humour and malice". Peeves is more of a chaotic spirit rather than a physical being, but highly different from the other school ghosts. Peeves is essentially an embodiment of disorder, and took great pleasure in constantly causing it. At times, Peeves could be legitimately dangerous. Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch waged a constant war with Peeves, and year after year requested the poltergeist be thrown out of the school. Peeves further annoyed and bothered the Hogwarts community by joining in with whatever current gossip was circulating among students. When Harry Potter was suspected of being the "Heir of Slytherin" in 1992, Peeves taunted him in the hallways for "speaking in tongues." Students were known to allow Peeves to take the blame for their own mischief.
Peeves did not heed commands from Hogwarts prefects or professors, though Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was an exception. The Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, was probably another. The one Hogwarts ghost that struck fear in Peeves, in addition to controlling him, was the Bloody Baron. Overall, Peeves did not seem to care who he annoyed. If students were late to class, he would, among other things, drop wastepaper baskets on their heads, pelt them with chalk, or pull the rugs out from under them. The worst case involved him sneaking up invisible, grabbing the person's nose and screeching "GOT YOUR CONK!" However, Peeves was loyal to Hogwarts and proved this in the Battle of Hogwarts where he dropped Snargaluff pods on Death Eaters in mid-air, causing general chaos among their ranks, later showing evident joy when Voldemort was defeated.
Hmm...only ghosts in this article seems a little boring, doesn't it? So now, why not add a little more Hogwarts-and-Halloween-related things? For example...the food?
I don't know about you, but I love a good feast and the Halloween feast seems pretty delicious to me! Candy-filled pumpkins, black cauldrons of big lollipops, a bowl of apples with leaves, marshmallows, and a gummy bat, sugar cones rolled in chocolate, covered in sprinkles, and in a bed of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, chocolate-drizzled cheesecakes, candy bars with candy canes wrapped in gummy bugs and spiders, cauldron cakes, butterbeer, ton-tongue coffee, acid pops, blood pops, chocolate frogs, and pumpkin pasties!
Pumpkin Pasties are a wizarding food sold by the Honeydukes Express on the Hogwarts Express. They are sort of like a Cornish Pastie, but filled with pumpkin instead and are also the favourite dessert of the hero of the second wizarding war hero --- Harry Potter! Harry Potter tried them for the first time on the Hogwarts Express, at the start of his first year, when he famously impressed Ron Weasley by buying everything from the trolley saying "we'll take the lot". He bought some of everything off the food trolley, and then shared his food with Ron Weasley. In 1994, Cho Chang ordered two from the food trolley. This was the first time Harry met Cho, so it could be said this is where his crush began.
So anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Halloween is amazing! That's about it for today, see y'all next month!
Your always,
Artemis