Summary
- Voldemort drinking unicorn blood is a chilling scene early in the series.
- Harry and Ron's encounter with Aragog and giant spiders is a terrifying moment.
- Dementors attacking the Hogwarts Express is intense, setting a dark tone.
The Harry Potter movies are often cozy, magical, and nostalgic, but they can also be scary, especially for younger audiences. As Harry grows older and the Second Wizarding War looms ever closer, the Harry Potter books and films get ever darker.
Harry Potter: The Darkest Things To Ever Happen In Hogwarts
Although Hogwarts is a safe place under normal circumstances, several grisly events have transpired throughout its long history.
Unsurprisingly, many of the scariest scenes in Harry Potter involve the Dark Lord himself, Lord Voldemort, but with giant spiders and Dementors on the loose, there are plenty of other spooky moments. While adult viewers might not find these scenes as scary now, they may remember struggling to sleep when they were younger.
6 Voldemort Drinking Unicorn Blood In The Forbidden Forest
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
While the first two films are known for being more magical and aimed at children, they still have scary moments that could also be described as spooky. One such moment occurs when Harry and Draco are alone in the Forbidden Forest at night as part of their detention.
From ominous music and creepy sounds to a dark forest floor lit only by moonlight, there is a lot of trepidation in this scene and younger viewers can easily resonate with Harry and Draco, both first-years. When they find a hooded figure drinking the blood of a freshly slain unicorn, Draco can hardly be blamed for running, and first-time viewers must worry for Harry, who is frozen in terror. It is then revealed that the figure was Lord Voldemort, adding further darkness to the scene and the rest of the film.
5 Harry & Ron Meet Aragog
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
For those who suffer from arachnophobia, the scene where Harry and Ron meet Aragog and his giant-spider family is understandably one of the most terrifying moments in the entire series. Even for those without this particular phobia, hundreds of giant spiders are still scary, especially when they are trying to eat Harry and Ron.
Given Ron's own fear of spiders, he is particularly mortified, but thankfully, his family's Ford Anglia comes to the rescue. Even then, they aren't out of the clear, as Spiders clamber on to the car, and there is one final jump scare as one spider appears at the window and latches onto Ron. Players of Hogwarts Legacy will be glad to know the game features an arachnophobia mode, but unfortunately, no such changes can be made to the Chamber of Secrets film.
4 Katie Bell Gets Cursed
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The scary thing about Katie Bell being cursed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is that nothing appears to be happening, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are enjoying a nice winter walk back to the castle. Then they hear a blood-curdling scream.
The camera then pans over to Katie before she is thrown around and raised into the air in a crucifix position. She lets out another scream, barely heard over the intense wind, and then she drops to the ground twitching. It's certainly one of the most distressing moments in the series, and it happens out of nowhere.
3 Dementors Attack The Hogwarts Express
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Scary Harry Potter moments often happen at the end of films, but fairly early on in The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry and viewers have their first encounter with a Dementor. These terrifying creatures were brilliantly depicted, and the way in which they make everything around them colder while sucking the happiness out of everyone is truly ominous.
Harry Potter: 8 Characters Scarier Than Voldemort
Voldemort might be a terrifying character in the Harry Potter series; however, these characters were more frightening.
The fact that the golden trio just happened to be discussing the escaped murderer Sirius Black, who Harry had recently learned may be after him, adds to the suspense of the scene. On top of this, Harry hears a woman's scream before passing out, and it isn't the last time he hears it in the film. He later realizes it is the sound of his mother just before her death.
2 Nagini Attacks In Bathilda Bagshot's House
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
The later films are full of darker moments, but one of the scariest scenes has to be Nagini's attack at Bathilda Bagshot's house. With flies to be heard and a creepy old woman in a dark house, the scene fills viewers with dread even if Bathilda is supposed to be an ally.
Hermione then follows the sound of buzzing flies and finds a room covered in blood. Harry, unaware upstairs, then witnesses the horrific shriveling of Bathilda, and out of her emerges Nagini, Voldemort's snake. Nagini then attacks, making for an incredibly tense few moments.
1 Voldemort's Return In The Graveyard
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
Easily one of the most scary Harry Potter scenes has to be the graveyard scene at the end of the Goblet of Fire. After seemingly achieving a joint victory by claiming the Triwizard Tournament Cup, Harry's world is brought to a standstill when Peter Pettigrew kills Cedric Diggory at the behest of his master.
If this isn't dark enough, plus the creepy graveyard setting, Harry then gets pinned against a gargoyle and not only has to watch Voldemort be reborn, but he even plays a part in his return, as his blood is forcefully taken. The first look at Ralph Fiennes as the Dark Lord is truly terrifying, and he then proceeds to call his Death Eaters, who are equally ominous in their outfits. As death seems imminent for Harry, it's easy to see why this entire scene is capable of haunting the dreams of younger viewers.
The Best Harry Potter Games Of All Time
Even though Harry Potter games tend to be extremely hit-or-miss, a few releases capture the magic of the books, movies, and the overall universe.