Ghosts
Nearly Headless Nick
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, often referred to as Nearly Headless Nick, (died October 31, 1492) is the Gryffindor House ghost whose neck was almost completely severed in life after 46 hits with a blunt axe. Harry Potter becomes friends with Nicholas when he attends his "deathday" party (the 500th anniversary of the event) in a Hogwarts dungeon. Sir Nicholas' death date has the distinction of having served as the basis for the entire timeline of dates in the Harry Potter series, until the timeline was confirmed by the headstone of James and Lily Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Nicholas has a fairly small role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, where he is merely introduced as Gryffindor's house ghost. In Chamber of Secrets, he celebrates his Five-Hundreth Deathday Party and he is also a victim of the Basilisk that Ginny Weasley unleashes, under the influence of Tom Riddle. The stare of the Basilisk is supposed to be lethal to anyone who looks at it directly in the eye. While the living students all had some barrier between them and the Basilisk (and are therefore petrified rather than killed) Nicholas does look at the Basilisk's eyes directly. However, since he is already dead, he too is only petrified. The Grey LadyHelena Ravenclaw, more widely known by her nickname The Grey Lady, is the Ravenclaw House ghost. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has stated that The Grey Lady appeared very briefly in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is of common agreement that the Grey Lady is the ghost that Harry and Ron encounter on their way to visit the Mirror of Erised, as referenced in this passage: "[Harry and Ron] passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else". Fans have found no other unexplained mention of a ghost in the book, so it is assumed this is The Grey Lady. She may also be "the ghost of a long haired woman" that floats past Harry and Hagrid when they are talking about a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Peeves Peeves is a fictional poltergeist who haunts Hogwarts. Being a poltergeist, Peeves is a spirit rather than a physical being, but very different from the ghosts for which he is mistaken occasionally. Peeves's existence is essentially the embodiment of disorder ("an indestructible spirit of chaos" [3]), where he is observed to constantly cause it. In appearance, he is a small man with a mischievous face, dressed in wildly coloured clothing. He is capable of flight, intangibility and teleportation. Like ghosts, he is also capable of invisibility, however he is usually observed to take physical form. Peeves is also seen to have the ability to manipulate objects; a trait not generally possible with ghosts. He derives joy from mischievous acts, causing more of disruptions rather than actually being violent and dangerous. As a "spirit of chaos," it is his entire purpose to cause disorder, break things, and be as annoying and disruptive as possible.
Moaning Myrtle
In Chamber of Secrets, it is established that the character is the ghost of a Muggle-born witch who died while a student at Hogwarts (from the house of Ravenclaw), fifty years prior to the events in the book. The books indicate that Myrtle was often bullied during her years at Hogwarts, leading her to become extremely depressed and often retreat to the second floor girls' lavatory to weep and cry her depression to tears, not knowing that hiding there would lead to her death. It is revealed through the events in the book that Myrtle was hiding there to elude Olive Hornby, a classmate of hers who perpetually tormented her with teasing, when the Chamber was opened and Tom Riddle's Basilisk emerged and killed her. Tom Riddle used her death to create his very first Horcrux: his diary. It is also worth mentioning that Moaning Myrtle was Tom Riddle's (later Lord Voldemort) first known victim. After death, Myrtle haunted Olive everywhere she went, until Olive complained to the Ministry of Magic, who ordered Myrtle to return to Hogwarts. Ever since then, Myrtle has haunted the same lavatory where she died.
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