Rank 4: Nearly Headless Nick
Nearly Headless Nick is the house ghost of Gryffindor. He gets quickly offended, for example, when one doesn’t call him by his proper name – Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. There are several reasons for this:
- The issue of “nearly headless” is a sore point. Nick would love to participate in the “Headless Hunt.” However, he was rejected because he is not completely headless.
- “Nick” colloquially means “to steal” or “to give a little cut” in English. The latter is, of course, a nasty reference to his botched beheading.
The story of his beheading did not make it into the book, but was published later:
- One evening, Sir Nicholas met the noble lady Von Schwan in the park. Impressed by his magical abilities, she wanted him to magically correct her crooked teeth. But the spell went wrong, and instead, “huge tusks” grew for her. Before he could correct his mistake, he was captured and sentenced to death by beheading.
Rank 3: Peeves
Peeves is actually not a real ghost, but a so-called poltergeist. Due to some similarities (and the “ghost” in “poltergeist”), we will still consider him in this list.
Poltergeists were never living humans. They are immortal beings that interact with objects and can even eat. Similar to real ghosts, they can become invisible and float.
All these characteristics Peeves, the poltergeist of Hogwarts, fully exploits. He annoys students and teachers alike and drives the caretaker Argus Filch to madness. Only the Bloody Baron, whom we will come to later, has him fully under control.
Unfortunately, Peeves didn’t make it into the movies. You can find more differences here:
Rank 2: The Grey Lady
Helena Ravenclaw, also known as the Grey Lady, is the house ghost of Ravenclaw. She is very quiet and reserved, and hardly interacts with students. In earlier drafts of the books, she was actually called the “Whispering Lady”.
During her lifetime, Helena was a typical Ravenclaw: intelligent, with a great love for knowledge and books. She was also the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four founders of Hogwarts.
One day, however, she became jealous of her mother. She stole her magical diadem to make herself even wiser and then fled to Albania.
When her mother later fell fatally ill, she sent the Bloody Baron to look for Helena. When Helena refused to return with the Baron, he murdered her. He then committed suicide out of regret.
Rank 1: The Bloody Baron
The Bloody Baron is the house ghost of Slytherin. As mentioned above, his fate is closely linked to that of Helena Ravenclaw. He was long in love with Helena and unsuccessfully tried to win her heart.
As his nickname aptly suggests, he is covered in blood everywhere. This likely stems from the tragic incident where he killed Helena and himself. According to Helena herself, he still regrets this act to this day, which is why he has placed himself in heavy chains.
The Bloody Baron is by far the most feared ghost at Hogwarts, respected even by Peeves.
Do you agree with the ranking? And what is your favorite ghost? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
As ghosts cannot interact physically with their environment, they are also deprived of enjoying food. At ghost celebrations, there is often spoiled food. This supposedly enhances the taste when the ghosts float through the food. However, spoiled food is not only found with the ghosts but also in the Great Hall: As a child, I always wanted to eat in the Great Hall of Harry Potter – Now I know the truth
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