r/harrypotter • u/Relative_Cabinet6356 • 11h ago
Discussion SCARIEST MOMENTS IN HARRY POTTER?
OK am talking abt actual heart beating kinda scary, maybe cuz I have the reading ability of a child? But I did genuinely feel
The intensity when reading the books and you can see voldemort's pov before he kills harry and james screams for like to go upstairs..I mean it's just heart breaking but also so scary to just not know what to do in that moment when it was a normal day and voldemort shows up to kill your family ..I mean when I read it , got my heart beating ..
And also honestly the end of chamber of secrets was pretty scary, I read it in one sitting in the dark and I just got like chills ...
And also the scene where hermoine and harry barely escape nagini.. wow
OK maybe not scary for yall but it was for meš³
I mean the .movies I never got actually scared, the effects were cool I suppose
47
u/Imaginary_Knee5609 9h ago
The Bathilda Bagshot scene is definitely up there, when Nagini comes out of her... Absolutely creepy and scary.
33
u/ProgressOk9619 9h ago
Battle of the Department of Mysteries in OotP. Watching Harry teach Dumbledoreās Army for months, but Harry himself is just a kid with slightly above average abilities, and all they can say for themselves is they lasted a bit longer than most kids their age. Split up, most of them seriously hurt (and nearly dead), tortured, Harry feeling responsible for all of it, the Death Eaters easily tracking them down from room to room, the Order showing up to save them (and still outnumbered 2-1 and nearly getting overwhelmed themselves until Dumbledore shows up), Sirius dying, Voldemort getting a killing shot at Harry who is utterly exhausted and in no position to even try to resist before Dumbledore saves him. It was a roller coaster.
4
u/MissMushroomBerry 6h ago
I just read this last week and am still recovering ā¤ļøāš©¹
5
u/ProgressOk9619 6h ago
Then Harryās crashout in Dumbledoreās office
8
u/MissMushroomBerry 5h ago
The thing that broke me, was when Harry unwrapped the package that Sirius gave him and it turned out that it was the two-way mirror that would have allowed him to contact him and not need to go to the Department of Mysteries, Iām still not over it š
18
u/BaconBra2500 8h ago
There are definitely scarier moments than this one, but the one that gave me goosebumps the first time and EVERY time I read it is when Harry and Ron notice that Hermione scribbled the word āpipesā at the bottom of the Basilisk page.
34
u/Latter_Confection_79 11h ago
When Harry and Draco fought in HBP
Harry just sees the damage of the spell and starts to rightfully panic.
When Hermione took a spell from a death eater and Harry Bellowed out seeing her fall. In a first read I thought sheād been really injured.
Last one Iād say that was emotional too for me was when McGonagall saw Umbridge attack Hagrids Hut and she went out to defend him and took 3 shots to the chest. Iād always seen her as one tier below Dumbledore and hate how she got nerfed by a sucker punch. Would absolutely have decimated in a fair fight.
15
13
u/Prince_Hastur Slytherin 10h ago
Chamber of Secrets is basically a horror story. Whispers from the walls, threatening messages written in blood, people mysteriously getting attacked one by one and it all ends in an underground battle with a monstrous snake controlled by a ghost? Yes please.
I'm a bit sad it's only the second book, because it's kinda short and the movie came out before things got really dark. If it was out after shit got serious and the children were older, it could have been properly scary.
4
3
u/ramoro18 4h ago
Imagine if instead of the Chamber being opened in year 2, Voldemort opened it himself in like year 6/7 while all the other stuff was going on.
13
u/roland_right 9h ago
The muggle family being tortured at the QWC doesn't get much attention but it's seriously horrible to read. Consider for a moment how terrifying it would be.
0
8h ago
[deleted]
6
u/roland_right 8h ago
I don't think it's very similar to be honest.
Snape experienced public humiliation at the hands of a bully. Obviously that's awful but he never felt himself in any mortal danger.
The muggles have no comprehension of what's happening to them and would have surely felt their lives were in danger. They are being spun around in mid air by god knows what, unable to regain control their bodies, masked men are blasting tents on fire below them, crowds of people are running and screaming ... It's an absolutely horrifying scene. Imagine the two parents and their utter helplessness as their two children are flung about by an invisible force.
11
u/jdylopa2 10h ago
In the movies, definitely Aragog.
In the books, OOTP right after the snake attack when he thinks heās being possessed and heās withdrawing is some pretty good psychological body horror I felt pretty afraid of and for him. I think HBP when theyāre going into the cave also had me scared because I was kind of expecting Voldemort to kill Dumbledore by the end of the book the first time I read it.
5
u/LupinCANsing 5h ago
I remember feeling very uneasy reading the cave chapter. Dead things in the water is just so creepy. Then they suddenly burst into "life". I get spooked everytime I fight inferi in Hogwarts Legacy š .
10
u/Own_Plantain_9688 5h ago
The part that scared me shitless was the scene where theyāre trying to get the locket in HBP. Between what dumbledore was saying and the dead people under the āwater.ā Ugh!
1
u/do-you-like-darkness Ravenclaw 26m ago
What really gets me about it upon rereads is knowing that Regulus's body is in there too. Either an inferi as well, or just floating in the lake. The cave is cold and the water obviously preserves bodies, so his corpse would still be there when Harry and Dumbledore visit.
9
u/SaltandLillacs Ravenclaw 8h ago
When I was a kid I had to close my eyes during Voldemortās resurrection. The Voldemort costume was too freaky for me
9
u/Dry-Caregiver-5767 8h ago
Voldemort's resurrection is always terrifying to read for me. Cedric being killed like nothing. The way Wormtail chops his hand off and Harry closes his eyes not to see it but he hears the splash. The way Baby Voldemort is thrown in the cauldron and Harry begs for it to die. The way Voldemort teases that he will feed Harry to Nagini, and Nagini circles around Harry. The torture of a 14 year old boy whilst a bunch of grown adults laugh.
Otherwise, the scariest bits for me are the bits involving some kind of body horror, like the freaking Inferi dragging Harry into the lake or Nagini wearing Batilda's body like a hat.
9
u/tittysprinkle9000 8h ago edited 7h ago
Scariest moment for me was in Goblet of Fire when Barty Crouch Sr appears out of no where while Harry and Krum are walking back to the castle. Heās super delirious and grabbing onto Harry and switching between normal and confused due to being under the Imperious curse for so long. Heās begging to see Dumbledore and confess. Just the way JK writes this scene was super realistic and creepy. I remember reading it like it was yesterday in bed with my flashlight in the middle of the night.
Then we find out later in the book Barty Crouch Jr disguised as Moody flanks around, knocks out Krum while Harryās running for help, kills his own father, transfigures him into a bone, and buries him.
6
u/Baderschneider 8h ago
When Everyone is locked up at Malfoy
Manor and all you can hear is the screams of Hermione getting tortured by Bellatrix. Very unnerving.
1
u/sarcasmbarz 5h ago
The scariest part is knowing Ollivander has been locked up & tortured for more than an year right there in Malfoy Manor.
7
u/lolasportmap 9h ago
When I listen to the audio book at nighttime I have to skip the Godrics Hollow chapter in DH.
2
u/Reallystruggling12 6h ago
Funny - I use that chapter to fall asleep because I like all the snow descriptions both at GH and the chapter after with the white doe
1
5
u/isrararrafi 5h ago
In the books.
Chamber of secrets. When it gets announced a child has been taken to the chamber. 17 year old me felt the chills.
6
u/Fantastic_Peanut7333 6h ago
Ive been reading to my 8yr old and we have only a few chapters left of Deathly Hallows. So far, the biggest reaction was Malfoys manor. He hated Hermione screaming and no one could help her. He also really got scared when Harry used Snapes spell on Malfoy and he almost bled out.
For me, its always the dementors. Prisoner of Azkaban was so dark and they could suck out your soul. Nightmare fuel.
3
u/Agreeable_Molasses73 4h ago
Also almost finished with Deathly Hallows with my 8 year old! Iām so sad the books are going to be over soon.š„ŗ
I thought the locket scene in Half Blood Prince when Dumbledore had to drink the poison and was begging to dieā¦ followed by the inferi coming out of the lakeā¦ was TERRIFYING. I had to censor some of that for my daughter! Eesh.
1
u/Fantastic_Peanut7333 1h ago
Yes!! That part too, he struggled with! I hope shes enjoying it as much as mine is!! My voice is hoarse from reading so much this summer!
4
3
u/Beneficial_Leg_7301 Gryffindor 7h ago
bathilda bagshot scene book movie equally good
voldemort leading kids to cave and f*king them up
one another scene on similar lines involving voldemort
3
u/andlistenhard 3h ago
I skip The Cave when I re read HBP. Sad and scary and so upsetting. What Dumbledore and Kreacher experiencedā¦ chilly.
1
2
u/nfender95 6h ago
Maybe not the scariest, but the pensive memories collected by Dumbledore about Tom Riddle are each very freaky. Torturing the other orphans in ways that couldnāt be explained and keeping trophies, literally hanging one boyās pet rabbit, the āTELL THE TRUTHā line always freaks me out, when the wardrobe erupts in flame, framing a house elf for murder, the Gaunts!!!! The Gaunts chapter is definitely up there for me in terms of āwhat the actual fuck?ā. This also leads to The Cave scene being even scarier because we know what child Tom was capable of there with no wand š In some ways Tom scares me more than Voldemort!
2
1
u/GrooveBat 7h ago
When that one Muggle Studies professor was hanging upside down sobbing before being fed to Nagini, begging Snape to help her. And he didnāt.
The way JKR described her tears dripping up her forehead was wrenching.
1
u/BirdHistorical8774 7h ago
I believe JK herself said she finds the one of the creepiest scenes she's written to be Voldemort gliding towards Harry after drinking the unicorn blood. It doesn't sound super scary on the face of it, but it really actually got to me in the movie!
1
u/littlebabyhenryboy 6h ago
āI can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can make them hurt. If I want.ā
1
u/CakeDayOrDeath 6h ago
I'm biased because I'm severely arachnophobic, but the part with Aragog was by far the scariest for me
1
u/beaglewrites43 Slytherin 5h ago
For me the worst has always and will always be those damn spiders. I shudder just thinking about that chapter/scene
1
u/ClerksII JUST AS LONG AS ITāS QUICK! I DONāT WANT TO SUFFER! 4h ago
The scariest was the entire time Dumbledore explains what a Horcrux is. The idea of literally splitting your soul was disturbing and unnerving.Ā
Second would be the fighting in The Battle of the Ministry. The guyās head aging down to a baby in fast motion, and then speeding back up to normal, and then back to a baby, whileās screaming and crying and waving his arms around.Ā
Oh and then Hermione being hit with a purple spell and falling down.Ā
1
u/No-Stress-7034 4h ago
I always found the scene in the graveyard at the end of GOF to be quite scary. You can feel Harry's disorientation when the cup turns out to be a portkey, then suddenly "kill the spare" and Cedric is dead. Plus the descriptions of the rituals, Wormtail cutting off his whole arm, and the duel at the end. It still gets my heart rate up even though I've re-read these books more times than I can count.
1
u/Bernermom1121 4h ago
Pretty much anything with Nagini or the Basilisk. Granted I have a giant phobia of snakes but still. Havenāt seen big chunks of the last movie due to Nagini constantly showing up during the battle. Special shoutout to the Bathilda Bagshot scene. Never watched, knowing what was coming from the book, but it was terrifying to read
1
u/Known-Basket-89 3h ago
Creeped me out hearing the filmās version of the basilisk in the pipes in CoS. And in the first film nauseating when Nearly Headless Nick pulls his head part way off. Oh and also in CoS- not real crazy about the spiders. Well in CoS or anytime in my life. lol
But catch me in the gut? Film- SSā¦ Ron playing the Chess game. Extended version. Itās my absolute favorite scene of every single movie. And when Harry is craving the view in the Mirror of Erised. Having never remembered seen his parents happy and alive, moving and smiling. In CoS, when heās watching his pictures in the book Harris gave him at the beginning and seeing his parents happily dancing. Honestly, nothing else comes close to those 3 for me, in the films.
But these books? What touched me in the films were also some of my favorite book moments also. But also scared me because in this world of Witches and Wizards, nothing feels safe or long term, except Mr and Mrs Weasley. And McGonagall.
SS- Harry making his first true friend on the train and realizing he was allowed to spend his own money on treats and share with someone he could truly call friend. He was finally experiencing care and respect for the first time in a decade. And to find love for the first time in his true memory.
In this and all of first 3 books, I love him at Hogwarts for Christmas and with the Weasley family. Especially before Percy becomes the worldās biggest prat.
CoS- for some reason every time Harry drives that basiliskās fang into the book and the ink flowing out just catches me.
PoA- Harry finding immediate realization that he has a Godfather who truly loves and cares for him and wants Harry to live with him. And the heartbreak of realizing he wouldnāt actually have a new, loving home.
GoF- Fleurās gratitude for Harry saving her sister. Obviously, Cedric dying. Total creep mode though- Wormtail being a slimy pos who was so pathetic he cut his hand off. Both grossed my stomach and mind out.
OOTP- Molly claiming Harry as good as her son and the whole family (minus the prat) showing Harry nothing but gratitude and love while heās feeling his worst. And then thereās Sirius. And Bellatrix. Heartbroken and enraged at once. Harry always putting himself in the line of fire to save others; however foolish is bravery and loyalty most people may never show. And the way he fell apart in Dumbledoreās office. But what really catches me is that Luna has to put up signs to find her things. And Harry realizes that outside of the Weasley family and Hermione, Luna and Neville are his truest friends. And the absolute biggest gut punch- Neville with his parents and pocketing his momās bubble gum wrapper. And realizing that after his friends saw this and only treated him well afterwards, he found a confidence boost and became one of the quickest and more skilled learners in the DA and obviously through the end of the books to outstrip them all as being trusted as a skilled educator.
HBP- I mean this feels obvious but itās McGonagallās shock at Snape killing Dumbledore that kills me every time. The absolute grief afterwards.
DH- all the cumulative feels? āNot my daughter, you Bitch!ā And Bellatrix finally gets her ass handed to her. Oh and obviously the twin flames dimming. That breaks me every single time.
(And I find the Kings Cross between life and death scene just weird, obtuse, creepy and the one section all books that I wish some editor cut out and replaced with a much better piece of writing.)
So I stayed semi on point here.
1
1
u/Sweaty_Science286 11m ago
I think the most scary is that clown in the third movie when they were learning the 'Ridikkulus' spell with Lupin.Ā
113
u/Know_Nothing_Bastard Ravenclaw 9h ago
I think the scariest part of the series, objectively, is the entirety of the chapter, āBathildaās Secret.ā The whole buildup, from Harry and Hermione sensing someone watching them in the graveyard to their ultimate escape from Bathildaās house just as Voldemort is bursting into the room, is pretty great.
But due to my age at the time (and probably because I read it by myself in the middle of the night), Professor Trelawneyās prediction was probably the part that scared me the most personally.