HARRY POTTER GUIDE.
08. Hogwarts: Ghosts
A ghost is the imprint of the soul of a once-living wizard or witch, and as such, a type of spirit. These fleshless spirits are either afraid of death or have some extraordinarily strong connection to the locations they haunt. Ghosts are visible and appear as a greyish-silver apparition of their former (living) selves. They pass through solid objects without damaging themselves or the material but create disturbances in water, fire and air. The temperature drops in the immediate vicinity of a ghost, and their presence can also turn flames blue. Muggles cannot become ghosts, nor can they see ghosts clearly. In some instances, animals may also become ghosts upon death.
Bloody Baron: The Bloody Baron was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Founders' time and was sorted into Slytherin House. After Hogwarts, he fell in love with Helena Ravenclaw, but she did not love him in return. He was sent by Rowena Ravenclaw to find Helena in Albania, but Helena refused to return with him and so he killed her in a rage. When he realised what he had done, the Baron stabbed himself with the same knife and died. After death, he is one of the ghosts that haunt Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the ghost of Slytherin House. Covered in Helena Ravenclaw's blood to this day, he earned himself the moniker of "Bloody Baron".
Cuthbert Binns: Professor Cuthbert Binns was a wizard and History of Magic professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He owned an office in the main castle and Classroom 4F on the first floor to teach in. He taught until a very old age when he fell asleep in the staff room and died in slumber. Afterwards, he became a ghost who continued to teach, droning on about various Goblin Rebellions and Giant wars to bored, sleeping students.
Duncan Ashe: Duncan Ashe was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the second half of the 20th century and was Sorted into Slytherin. He was friends with Jacob from his first day at school until his dying day. The two were noted to be mischief-makers by others, and frequently visited Zonko's Joke Shop. Sometime during the 1970s or 1980s, he died when compelled by R to concoct an Erumpent Potion, which exploded while he was preparing it. After his death, Duncan returned as a ghost and stayed at Hogwarts, though he rarely showed himself to the other residents of the Castle. Unlike the other ghosts, he was first introduced in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
Edgar Cloggs: Edgar Cloggs was a ghost who was often found hanging around the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts for as long as anyone could remember. He was willing to help the Quidditch teams of Hogwarts practise. By the year of 1993, he was also included on a Chocolate Frog Card, for his achievements in the sport.
Fat Friar: The Fat Friar was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his youth, and was sorted into Hufflepuff. He was a jolly man and very forgiving. He was executed because senior churchmen grew suspicious of his ability to cure the pox merely by poking peasants with a stick, and his ill-advised habit of pulling rabbits out of the communion cup. After his death, he returned to the school as the resident ghost of Hufflepuff House.
Ghost at Gryffindor Tower: This individual was a wizard in his lifetime, having died of hanging. After his death, he returned as a ghost and resided at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In 1993, he was seen in the Gryffindor Tower, floating through the arriving students. When he walked through Dean Thomas, he reacted as if he had just walked through cobwebs.
Gloomy Nuns: These nuns were witches who, after their deaths, returned as ghosts. On 31 October 1992, they attended Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington's five-hundredth Deathday party, where they stood around the dance floor.
Helena Ravenclaw: Helena Ravenclaw, also known as the Grey Lady, was a witch and Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Ravenclaw house. At some point after starting her education, Helena stole her mother's diadem and ran away to Albania. Her mother became fatally ill and hoping to see her daughter one last time, sent the Bloody Baron, a man who harboured an unrequited love for Helena, to find her. In a fit of rage, the Baron murdered her when she refused to return with him, before he stabbed himself out of regret for what he had done. Helena and the Baron eventually returned as ghosts to Hogwarts Castle, where she became and continues to be the Ghost of Ravenclaw House.
Highwayman: This ghost of a highwayman resided at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In 1993, he jumped through a window in the Entrance Hall on his ghost horse, sending ghostly debris flying without doing any actual damage. He then rode into the Great Hall, holding a severed head in the air by its hair, a ghost knight mounted on another ghost horse was chasing after him.
Horatio Cloke: Horatio Cloke was a ghost that haunted the Cloke Mansion. Mathilda Grimblehawk and her partner encountered Cloke after the Spirit Division asked them to investigate ruins near Upper Flagley where strange lights and shapes were seen. Unlike the other ghosts, he was first introduced in Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World.
Knight with an arrow sticking out of his head: This individual was a knight and a wizard in his life, who presumably died when he was shot by an arrow. He returned after his death as a ghost. On 31 October 1992, he attended Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's five-hundredth deathday party at Hogwarts Castle and engaged in conversation with the Fat Friar.
Myrtle Warren: Myrtle Elizabeth Warren, more commonly known after her death as Moaning Myrtle, was a Muggle-born witch who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1940–1943 and was sorted into Ravenclaw house. She was killed on 13 June 1943 by the Serpent of Slytherin, under Tom Riddle's orders. After the incident, she became a ghost who haunted the second-floor girls' bathroom (and occasionally other bathroom facilities) at Hogwarts.
Lord Draben: 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.
Portly Ghost: This ghost attended Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's five-hundredth Deathday party on 31 October 1992. He was described as portly. He floated through spoiled food and claimed that he could almost taste it.
Ragged man wearing chains: This ghost attended Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington's five-hundredth Deathday Party on 31 October 1992. He stood around the edge of the dance floor and wore chains.
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington: Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, known after his death as Nearly Headless Nick, was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. He was a wizard of the royal court as an adult. He was executed by an improper decapitation on 31 October 1492 after he had a magical mishap with Lady Grieve, in which he tried to straighten her teeth but it backfired and she grew tusks. Since then, he became the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower at the Hogwarts Castle.
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.