Skip to main content

harry potter - Why don't muggles know about magical & mythological creatures?


The wizarding world is aware of many many types of beasts which the muggles doesn't know of, or at least only knows as mythology/legend. Why don't muggles know of mandrakes, centaurs, unicorns, trolls, dragons, etc on a factual level? Is this because all these critters live in the parts of the world that are somewhat masked off by magic (as are places like Hogwarts and so on)? Does the wizarding world make an active effort to hide these creatures via charms and enchantments? Do the creatures themselves possess cloaking powers or something? Are they simply too rare for us to find out about?



Answer



This is discussed at great length at the opening of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in a chapter labelled "A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts"


Rather than copying the chapter wholesale (which I'd recommend you read), I'll summarise the key points:




  • Many fantastic beasts are known about, but are sufficiently rare that sightings are practically unheard of. This includes dragons, hippogriffs, unicorns, etc. Some are considered mythical and others presumed extinct





  • Many small creatures are seen regularly but are simply mistaken for mundane creatures




  • Many creatures possess their own magical defences (invisibility, extreme speed, etc)




  • Some creatures live in areas that are as-yet unexplored by muggles; deep jungle and at the top of mountains




  • Many creatures can only be seen by magical persons, either because of natural invisibility or because they've had disillusionment charms cast over them





  • Some live in areas marked as unplottable by the Ministry or in reservations that are continually monitored by wizards to prevent the creatures from escaping




  • Breeding of certain creatures is closely controlled to prevent population increase




  • The Ministry of Magic in each country is responsible for using memory charms on those that spot fantastic beasts





  • The Ministry of Magic has a Dept. of Misinformation intended to confuse muggles. This is accomplished by liaising with the muggle PM to put out credible cover stories for large events




  • International charter only protects a small number of species (27)




  • Muggles are often unwilling to speak of their experiences with magical creatures out of fear of appearing insane, foolish or drunk





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more