Hogwarts Ghosts

Part 1:

Part 2:

Choose one of the house ghosts from Hogwarts and answer the following two questions in as much detail as you can.

A. Document what is known of your chosen ghost, from before his/her death to his/her time in Hogwarts. (15)

Nicholas de Mimsey Porpington is a fictional ghost created by Rowling as the Ghost of Gryffindor House. He died because he was beheaded, but he earned his nickname Nearly-Headless-Nick because his head is still slightly attached to his neck. He was beheaded with a blunt knife, which had to be used fourty-five times before he died. Unfortunately, some sinew and skin was still left, so he was left to an afterlife of ridicule. He was beheaded for a silly mistake that anyone could make. He was tired and went for a stroll when he met “Lady Grieve” who thought he could fix her tooth. But instead of fixing it, he gave her a tusk, which angered her and got him beheaded, nearly.

B: JK Rowling often uses mythology to create her characters. With thoughts of your chosen ghost, research and report on myth and other occurances in which surrounds your chosen house ghost (for example: their name and where it might have come from) (25)

Nicholas is often a nice sounding name associated with Father Christmas. Nearly Headless Nick (NHN) is a pleasant character played by John Cleese, who is always helpful to any student and welcoming to the first years. JKR could also have used the beheading details from myth or history surrounding that era when he was alive (Tudor). It is believed, but probably not entirely certain, that the royals and any other important people were beheaded for no particular reason other than being annoying or scary to others. For example, Anne Boleyn was beheaded for just having a deformity of six fingers. They also had very bad teeth and hygiene, so it is understandable that NHN was asked to fix a tooth, although why is not clear.

Source: HP Lexicon

Part 2:

Choose one of the house ghosts from Hogwarts and answer the following two questions in as much detail as you can.

A. Document what is known of your chosen ghost, from before his/her death to his/her time in Hogwarts. (15)

I have chosen the ghost of my own house: Nearly Headless Nick. His real name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, who died during a botched execution in 1492. The executioner used a blunt axe, and he was hit 45 times in the neck, yet his head still did not come off – hence the nickname “Nearly Headless”.

Nick is now the resident Gryffindor ghost, and has proved very helpful to Harry and his friends during their time at Hogwarts. In December 1992, Nick was petrified by the basilisk. As he was already dead, the gaze of the giant snake did not kill him.

B: JK Rowling often uses mythology to create her characters. With thoughts of your chosen ghost, research and report on myth and other occurrences in which surrounds your chosen house ghost (for example: their name and where it might have come from) (25)

Nearly Headless Nick does not seem to have very many myths surrounding him. He died in 1492, 500 odd years ago, during the Middle Ages. He is a “Sir”, and is described as wearing quite posh clothes, and so we can assume that he was of the upper class nobility. His name, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, sounds quite pompous and convoluted, which seems to reflect in his personality.

Beheading as a form of execution was a popular form of death penalty during the times of his life (hanging being another one), however I believe the “Nearly Headless” part was included to bring a bit of comic relief to the character of Nick.

From jkrowling.com, we have “The Ballad of Nearly Headless Nick”, which was included in the original manuscript of Chamber of Secrets:

Quote :

It was a mistake any wizard could make
Who was tired and caught on the hop
One piffling error, and then, to my terror,
I found myself facing the chop.
Alas for the eve when I met Lady Grieve
A-strolling the park in the dusk!
She was of the belief I could straighten her teeth
Next moment she'd sprouted a tusk.
I cried through the night that I'd soon put her right
But the process of justice was lax;
They'd brought out the block, though they'd mislaid the rock
Where they usually sharpened the axe.
Next morning at dawn, with a face most forlorn,
The priest said to try not to cry,
"You can come just like that, no, you won't need a hat,"
And I knew that my end must be nigh.
The man in the mask who would have the sad task
Of cleaving my head from my neck,
Said "Nick, if you please, will you get to your knees,"
And I turned to a gibbering wreck.
"This may sting a bit" said the cack-handed twit
As he swung the axe up in the air,
But oh the blunt blade! No difference it made,
My head was still definitely there.
The axeman he hacked and he whacked and he thwacked,
"Won't be too long", he assured me,
But quick it was not, and the bone-headed clot
Took forty-five goes 'til he floored me.
And so I was dead, but my faithful old head
It never saw fit to desert me,
It still lingers on, that's the end of my song,
And now, please applaud, or you'll hurt me.

Source: www.jkrowling.com

Part 1:

Part 2:

Choose one of the house ghosts from Hogwarts and answer the following two questions in as much detail as you can.

A. Document what is known of your chosen ghost, from before his/her death to his/her time in Hogwarts. (15)
The Bloody Baron
The Bloody Baron, is as we know, the Slytherin ghost. His robes are covered in silvery blood. It is unknown the reason for this, but most people assume that it is unicorn blood, which makes sense, The Bloody Baron is represented as being quite mirthful. The Bloody Baron, along side with Dumbledore, is the only one who is able to 'control' the annoying poltergeist, Peeves, who haunts the castle and plays random tricks on the students. For an unknown reason, Peeves is very very frightened of the Baron. He always addresses him formally.

SOURCES:Wikipedia

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Part two

Nearly Headless Nick.

Also known as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, Nick died on Halloween night, 1495. His neck was severed but a blunt blade, he was struck 45 times, but did not become headless. He was deprived of being able to join the headless hunt, he and harry became good friends. He was the victum of the baskitlis during Harry's second year. And until the OotP he was more so undercover.

but that is Nick. so yeah

Hogwarts Ghosts


Part 1:

Part 2:

Choose one of the house ghosts from Hogwarts and answer the following two questions in as much detail as you can.

A. Document what is known of your chosen ghost, from before his/her death to his/her time in Hogwarts. I choose the Ravenclaw ghost, the Grey Lady. Almost nothing is known of her from the books other than that she is tall. J.K. Rowling sent a letter to Nina Young, who plays the Grey Lady in the HP movies, stating that the ghost is "a highly intellectual young lady...She never found true love as she she never foung a man up to her standards.". She has yet to have any significant role in the books, but perhaps the Hogwarts Ghosts histories will be addressed by J.K. Rowling at a later date.
B: JK Rowling often uses mythology to create her characters. With thoughts of your chosen ghost, research and report on myth and other occurances in which surrounds your chosen house ghost. There are several refrences to Grey Ladies in England and Scotland, the first being the Grey Lady of Brodick Castle. She is believed to have been one of three women who starved to death after being abandoned in the dungeons when they fell ill with the Black Death. There are reports of a Grey Lady seen at Denbigh Castle, and in a the village Sychdyn, near Mold there have been tales of footsteps heard as a Grey Lady walks thru the village. There is yet another Grey Lady haunting Ruthin Castle, although her history is a bit bloodier than the other grey ladies. According to legend she was married to Reginald De Grey, after he cheated on her, she murdered his mistress with an axe. She was executed and was not allowed to be buried in sacred, thus her grave still lies in the area around the battlements, where it can be vistied today. The Grey Ladies seem to like haunting castles, including Warkworth Castle, Stirling Castle and the Glamis Castle.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grey_Lady
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/index/master-index-g.html
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/hauntings/ruthin.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/weird/ghosts/pages/greyladies.shtml

Part 1:


Part 2:

Choose one of the house ghosts from Hogwarts and answer the following two questions in as much detail as you can.

A. Document what is known of your chosen ghost, from before his/her death to his/her time in Hogwarts. (35)

The Grey Lady



The Grey Lady is the ghost for Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In life, Helena Ravenclaw was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, who founded Ravenclaw House and was one of the four founders of Hogwarts. She was envious of her mother's cleverness and importance, so she stole her diadem, believing the item could help her become wise enough to accomplish her goals. Not even her mother admitted to others that the diadem was gone.

The man who would later become the Bloody Baron, who wants to marry Helena, was sent by Rowena Ravenclaw to find Helena to bring her back to Hogwarts, where Rowena was fatally ill. She tried to hide from him, but he eventually succeeded in finding her. After refusing to go with him, he stabbed her, killing her. After seeing what he'd done, he stabbed himself to death.

In Death, Helena Ravenclaw went on to become known as the Grey Lady, ghost of Ravenclaw. The Bloody Baron became the ghost of Slytherin, and wore his chains as an act of penitence, a sign of his remorse for killing Helena. At some point during his stay at Hogwarts, Helena told Tom Marvolo Riddle of the diadem she had stolen from her mother, which information he was able to get from her because of his charisma, and also where she had hidden it. As Lord Voldemort, Riddle would turn the diadem into a Horcrux.

Harry Potter later sought the diadem to destroy it. When he tried to confront the Grey Lady about it, she tried to avoid him, and was hesitant to give him any information. He managed to find out that she had indeed told Tom Riddle about it, and thanks in part to the information she gave him, was able to figure out where Voldemort had hidden the item.


B:
JK Rowling often uses mythology to create her characters. With thoughts
of your chosen ghost, research and report on myth and other occurances
in which surrounds your chosen house ghost (for example: their name and
where it might have come from) (45)

"Helena" is a Latin form of Helen, derived from Greek ‘ελενη (helene) which means "torch" or "corposant" (source of light). In Greek mythology, Helena of Troy was the most beautiful woman in Greece and the major cause of the Trojan war. Helena was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whom Zeus raped after taking the guise of a swan. Helen's sister was Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon; her brothers were the Dioscuri, or Divine Twins, Castor and Pollux. While still a girl, Helena was carried off by the Athenian hero Theseus, but the Dioscuri rescued her unharmed. Later, she was sought after by almost every prince in Greece, but she finally married Menelaus, king of Sparta, who was the richest of the suitors.




Sources:
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/ghosts.html
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/ghosts.html#deathday
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Helena_Ravenclaw
http://library.thinkquest.org/17709/people/helena.htm

SLYTHERIN
maybie93 - 16 HP