Insanity

Insanity
Ailment information
Provoked by	Imperius Curse Cruciatus Curse Portrait curse Dementors Emerald Potion (temporarily) Essence of Insanity Mirror of Erised Prophecy Records Song of the Fwooper Inbreeding
Symptoms	Extreme variance from normal behavioural patterns
Treatment(s)	Shock Spells (possibly)
Known affected	Uric the Oddball (likely) Snickerton Earl of Paunchley Ekrizdis Mad wizard from Versailles Apollonia Black Mustafa Kama (claimed) Albus Dumbledore (temporary) Bartemius Crouch Senior House of Gaunt Frank Longbottom Alice Longbottom Broderick Bode Herbert Chorley

"Why he killed them? Well, that's no mystery, is it? He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"

— Cornelius Fudge regarding Bartemius Crouch Junior's presumed insanity

Insanity, also known as madness, is a general term for certain abnormal behavioural patterns, typically associated with those suffering from serious mental illness.

Description

Janus Thickey Ward for spell damage

Those suffering from insanity often could not interact with normal society, and frequently required long-term treatment in a medical facility such as St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Prolonged exposure to certain curses, such as the Cruciatus Curse or Imperius Curse, may have caused this condition.

It could also be inflicted by certain types of potions, either temporarily or permanently, such as the Drink of Despair and possibly Essence of Insanity. Listening to Fwooper song for a sufficiently long period could also cause insanity. Shock Spells may have been a treatment for this condition.

History

Many wizards turned mad from looking into the Mirror of Erised, incapable of admitting that what the mirror showed them—their deepest and most desperate desire—was a mere image.

The portrait curse unleashed upon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1988–1989 school year due to the Cursed Vaults, would turn students insane long after they remained trapped in portraits, the longer they existed outside of the real world.

In July 1991, as Vernon Dursley wildly drove the Dursley family and Harry Potter to various locations in the hope of shaking off following wizards, Dudley Dursley ventured the suggestion that he had gone mad.

In his earlier years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ronald Weasley, particularly in the early stages of their association, often claimed that Hermione Granger was insane because she was clever, read excessively and for pleasure, and retained information which was never of adequate interest for him to notice. He also once claimed she was mad for not initially realising how to combat Devil's Snare in the Underground Chambers with magic.

Starting in the summer of 1995, the Daily Prophet, under pressure from the British Ministry of Magic, ran a smear campaign claiming, among other things, that Harry Potter's assertion that Lord Voldemort had returned was a sign that he had gone insane, which only ended when Voldemort's return was proven following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Albus Dumbledore, who was also a prime factor in an attempt to spread Harry's claim, was also considered insane for the duration. When Harry gave an interview to Rita Skeeter regarding these events on Valentine's Day 1996, he wondered how people would react to it, suspecting that for many people it would simply confirm that he was completely insane, "not least because his story would be appearing alongside utter rubbish about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."

Peeves made this claim of Remus Lupin with a tune to match. He sang: "Lupin! Loony, loony, Lupin!" However, this may have been a joke, as Peeves is known to make this, and he may just have been comparing the sound of Lupin’s name to the sound of the word “loony”.

Insanity commonly affect one's perception on reality, making them believe in things that do not exist. As such, Truth Serums may be diluted in effects when used on such individuals, as what they believe to be the truth may be fabricated. For this reason, Cornelius Fudge chose not to believe Bartemius Crouch Junior's testimony under the Veritaserum, believing the man's insanity to be affecting the words coming out of his mouth. It was also for this reason he refused to believe Harry's claim that Voldemort has returned, as Skeeter made Harry seem to have moments of insanity.

Sometime in 2020, a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force visited St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to see for themselves the medical impact of the Calamity, and discovered that repeated experiences of becoming a Foundable could drive the victim mad.

Known insane individuals

"His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, Mr Crouch appeared to be talking to someone that he alone could see."

— Bartemius Crouch Senior's erratic behaviour after having suffered the Imperius Curse

• Ekrizdis, the Dark wizard who constructed Azkaban, was believed to have been insane.
• According to Albus Dumbledore, people had been driven to insanity attempting to realise the visions provided by the Mirror of Erised.
• Morfin Gaunt had much mental instability due to his family's practice of inbreeding, leading to violent outbursts periodically. Coupled with losing the family's signet ring to his nephew, Morfin lost his sanity, and he kept muttering, the only words for the remainder of his life, how his father would kill him for losing the last heirloom (despite knowing his father already passed away years ago).
• According to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, many Azkaban prisoners were driven insane from just a few weeks of exposure to the Dementors' negative influence, talking and screaming in their sleep, and some even stopped eating and chose death.
• According to Yusuf Kama, the death of his mother Laurena in childbirth as a result of her abduction and rape by Corvus Lestrange (IV) caused his father Mustafa to go insane from grief.

Uric the Oddball, who was likely insane

• As Uric the Oddball was known to have listened to the Fwooper's song for several months non-stop, as well as to have engaged in various eccentric behaviours, he was most likely insane. The look on his face and his odd jellyfish-hat led to this belief as well.
• According to legend, Snickerton became insane following an attempt to have rival tailor Delfina Crimp arrested for being a witch. He found himself unable to make clothing without it being torn to shreds, and held the delusion that he was being stalked by a giant pair of invisible scissors, though it is more likely that Crimp followed him throughout his life and shredded his clothing with her Severing Charm.
• The tyrannical Earl of Paunchley lost his mind after slamming into a Shield Charm cast by Hannah Cockleford while jousting on his horse, causing him to think to he was a donkey called "Hairy Cyril" for the rest of his life, apparently caused by brain damage.
• There was a mad wizard from Versailles who possibly created the Jewel-Encrusted Tortoise Shell.
• Apollonia Black grew delirious in her old age, and eventually died after consuming belladonna, a poisonous plant, mistaking it for elderberry.
• Frank and Alice Longbottom were driven insane due to prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse by Bartemius Crouch Jnr and the Lestranges. They were permanent residents of the Janus Thickey Ward of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and no longer seemed to recognise their son.
• An old Muggle tramp Harry Potter saw when shopping with the Dursleys apparently was insane, as he was talking to a person who was not there.
• Bartemius Crouch Snr became insane after continual usage of the Imperius Curse on him by Lord Voldemort. When Harry Potter and Viktor Krum found him on the edge of the Forbidden Forest in 1995, he wildly shifted back and forth between coherence and statements to his surroundings, and believed it was several months earlier and he was dictating instructions to his assistant, Percy Weasley.
• Bartemius Crouch Jnr was considered insane by Cornelius Fudge, and therefore his testimony was not deemed credible. Though his confession was true, Crouch demonstrated his instability with his deranged look throughout his interrogation, and Harry proclaimed him mad for showing glee at killing his father.
• Having drank the Drink of Despair, Kreacher, Regulus Black and Albus Dumbledore all became tortured by hallucinations of their worst fears, driving them temporarily insane.
• Broderick Bode was bewitched to steal the prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney regarding Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, but only those about whom a prophecy was made could remove it from its shelf in the Hall of Prophecy without suffering madness. Nevertheless, Bode's madness was apparently temporary and he apparently would have recovered had he not been assassinated by Devil's Snare disguised as a Flitterbloom to prevent him from revealing what he knew.

"Who Am I?" book cover

• It appeared Gilderoy Lockhart went insane after becoming amnesiac from his backfired Memory Charm, as he was shown wearing a straitjacket and looking madden while humming to himself in the front cover of his final book, Who Am I?.
• Herbert Chorley was a Muggle politician and a Minister in the British government, who in 1996, was subjected to a poorly done Imperius Curse by a Death Eater, which subsequently caused him to go insane, with him acting like a duck and was placed in St Mungos for treatment. It is unknown if he recovered.
• The Crazed Capybara of South America was known to become somewhat crazed when angered.
• Mason Tremblay went mad and started attacking the Muggle community.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Referred to as 'Mental')
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Mentioned only) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Appears in portrait(s))
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Mentioned only)
• J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore (Mentioned only)
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Mentioned only)