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"Is this all real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"
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- "People ask me what it's like being a gargoyle... well, to be honest, most of the time you have a very cold bottom."
- — Lonely Male Gargoyle[src]
Gargoyle refers to a carved stone or statue with an ugly monstrous design.[1] Since medieval times, gargoyle statues had been commonly seen in many structures and buildings, including the Hogwarts Castle, and like many other statues in the wizarding world, most wizarding gargoyles were enchanted to be animate and, oftentimes, even sentient.[2]
Nature[]
Gargoyles served as statues for buildings such as Hogwarts Castle, both externally and internally.[2]
It should be noted that, whilst some gargoyles, like the Lonely Male Gargoyle, did seem to have some degree of sentience,[2] this is not known to be an innate ability and any noted animation was likely due to magic, such as a charm.
In 1911, there was a strike held by Gargoyles. It was led by a group of wildcat Gargoyles.[3]
Known gargoyles[]
Sentient Hogwarts gargoyles[]
A number of Hogwarts gargoyles had the ability to talk and possess personality, such as:
- Staffroom Gargoyles
- The Stairwell Gargoyle[4]
- The Comedic Female Gargoyle[2]
- The Barking Mad Male Gargoyle[2]
- The Lonely Male Gargoyle[2]
- The Lonely Male Gargoyle's friend[2]
- The Miserable Female Gargoyle[2]
- The Sarcastic Male Gargoyle[2]
Other gargoyles[]
- The Sandstone Gargoyle[5]
- The Yawning Gargoyle
- The Hufflepuff Silver Gargoyle
- Several others
Etymology[]
From the French gargouille, meaning "throat" or "gullet". In Latin gurgulio, gula, and similar words derived from the root gar, meaning "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the PC video game adaption of Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban, they are used as targets to cast Lumos and when done so, they will make a small movement.
- In the Nintendo GameCube adaptation of Chamber of Secrets Gargoyles appear as bosses that must be defeated by redirecting Expelliarmus spells at them. These cannot be considered canon as the Disarming Charm does not work in this way.
- As far as can be determined, Sandstone Gargoyles appear to be natural fantastic beasts unrelated to enchanted stone gargoyles. The latter may habe been inspired by the former.
- In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the gargoyle statue that stood in the second floor entrance to the Headmaster's office was moved to the Entrance Courtyard.
- Some of the sayings of wizards are "gulpin' gargoyles" and "galloping gargoyles".
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, a gargoyle that looks like a dragon-creature can be seen in the Room of Requirement near a photo of a wizard in Egypt. Later on, a real dragon gargoyle can actually be seen, which the player can destroy.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) (Cutscenes) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
- Hogwarts Legacy
- The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Gargoyle on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 18 (Into the Forest) - History of Magic Lesson "Gargoyle Strike of 1911"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
- ↑ Harry Potter Trading Card Game