Magical Magic Creature Spotlight: Ghoul

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

Ghoul


MOM Classification: XX


It’s funny that the entry prefaces by saying that while a ghoul is ugly, it’s not dangerous. Because if it’s ugly, it must be dangerous, right? And nothing that’s beautiful could possibly be dangerous? That’s not how it works, you know, not even in this book!


Anyway, ghouls live in attics and barns, and eat moths and spiders. Note that this entry specifically indicates that ghouls seek out wizard attics and barns- I’m starting to think that magic really does smell different. Anyway, the worst that a ghoul will do is throw things around or growl at anyone who stumbles across it. For this reason, they often become pets of the wizard families they live with- though there is a magical task force to remove ghouls from houses that have passed into Muggle hands. Honestly, these wizards are just plain obsessed with keeping anything magical out of the way of Muggles (how many stories have you seen where a creature like this becomes the friend of ordinary children, again?). Remind me why they don’t know anything about how these magical creatures actually live (even when they do)?


The Weasleys have a ghoul in their attic, which is once used to pass off as Ron with dragon pox (or somesuch)- for no readily discernible reason as to why it would work. On Warner Brothers’ website when the movies were popular, there was a Harry Potter game that would involve trying to make more noise than the ghoul in the Weasleys’ attic.

Comments

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Rowling would have you believe that the wizards named these things first, and those silly Muggles, looking at them through their stupid little non-magical mindset, did the best they could (see "comical inexactitude" statement from the intro).

But that's true, this whole beastiary basically consists of Rowling either copying the Muggle legends to the letter yet insisting they're different because it's HER interpretation (see: Chimera) or else making up a completely different version just because she can and labeling it the proper one (see: Fairy). For odd entries, I could give her some credit for thinking outside the box (it is her world, after all)... if she wasn't so patronizing about the whole thing, and insisting that her legends make sense in the context of the real world!

[oryx_leucoryx]

Were I to believe Rowling to be much more intelligent and truly sneaky I'd think she did this in order to protect herself and her world from unintended implications based on Real World mythology and folklore. 'How can anyone believe the centaurs raped Umbridge and Hermione set it up on purpose? My world's fairies are nothing like the fairies of folklore, my ghouls are different, why assume my centaurs are the same?'

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

I think that the fact she is pretty much saying that all of the real world legends are totally wrong is pretty darn arrogant, even for her. I'm surprised that she hasn't been called on this more.