Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast

Potterversity Episode 41: Terror and Trauma


Listen Later

Harry Potter may not technically be considered a work of horror, but there are plenty of horrifying aspects to explore in this episode.

Katy and Emily speak with Dr. Jeff Ambrose about the scariest parts of the series and the lasting effects horrific events have on characters (and readers and viewers). The series has its fair share of monsters, torture, murder, and soul-sucking, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire bringing in such terrors as Death Eaters, Unforgivable Curses, and a gruesome graveyard resurrection. Horror as a genre traffics in trauma, which is bound to result from the characters' experiences.

Emotion is closely tied to magic in the Potter, so manifestations of trauma in the series come in the form of Thestrals, Dementors, and boggarts but also in Harry's role as a Horcrux, literally carrying past trauma within him, and in what Harry represents to Snape. While trauma can certainly be tied to personal identity, Jeff disagrees with the idea that it erodes characters' personalities, pointing to how Harry manages to function despite his traumatic past and how characters have different responses to their trauma.

Although the wizarding world and Hogwarts provide safe spaces for Harry, they are also full of dangerous and scary things: the shadow of a villain so frightening that people still fear to speak his name a decade later, a poltergeist, the ghost of a murdered student, a restricted section in the library, and the need to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts.

While Harry Potter does contain a great deal of darkness, it also shows us how to overcome it. Trauma can cause characters to make mistakes, like how Dumbledore keeps secrets and Snape harbors resentment, but Harry finds a community of support and Hagrid shows love to all kinds of creatures.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Potterversity: A Potter Studies PodcastBy Potterversity with MuggleNet.com

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

45 ratings


More shows like Potterversity: A Potter Studies Podcast

View all
MuggleCast: The Harry Potter Re-Read Podcast by Harry Potter

MuggleCast: The Harry Potter Re-Read Podcast

4,033 Listeners

Travel with Rick Steves by Rick Steves

Travel with Rick Steves

189 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,727 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,124 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,182 Listeners

Alohomora!: The Original Harry Potter Book Club by Alohomora!

Alohomora!: The Original Harry Potter Book Club

440 Listeners

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text by Not Sorry Productions

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text

6,359 Listeners

Potterless by Mike Schubert

Potterless

7,446 Listeners

Swish and Flick: A Harry Potter Podcast by Swish and Flick Podcast

Swish and Flick: A Harry Potter Podcast

2,390 Listeners

WHAT WENT WRONG by Sad Boom Media

WHAT WENT WRONG

3,007 Listeners

The Strike & Ellacott Files by The Strike and Ellacott Files

The Strike & Ellacott Files

137 Listeners

Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade by Audacy

Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

12,874 Listeners

The Three Broomsticks by Irvin K, Aurelia L, Ev M, Sam W, Sierra O, Sophia J

The Three Broomsticks

15 Listeners

Harry Potter After 2020 by Lorrie Kim and JC

Harry Potter After 2020

19 Listeners

Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast by Prof. Julian Wamble

Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

272 Listeners