harry potter - How are Dementors created/born?

This is inspired by some discussions in chat. In the Harry Potter universe, how are Dementors born? Or are they artificially created by some magical means?

Answer

Dementors do not breed (No, there'll be no sweet sweet love in Azkaban tonight!) but rather grow like fungi under certain conditions. They multiply by feeding off human despair, unhappiness, hopelessness, and are akin to depression. They are pretty insidious creatures. Dementors have no soul themselves, thus their constant drive to suck the souls from others.

According to J.K. Rowling:

You cannot destroy Dementors, though you can limit their numbers if you eradicate the conditions in which they multiply, ie, despair and degradation.

Dementors are JKR's representation of depression:

JKR (Rowling is asked about dementors being “a description of depression”): “Yes. That is exactly what they are. It was entirely conscious. And entirely from my own experience. Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced. It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad. Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It’s a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different. I think [dementors] are the scariest things I’ve written.”

Leaky Lounge Web Chat Transcript with J.K. Rowling

Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Dementors

The Dementor at the Harry Potter Companion

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