[HPforGrownups] Scary Characters

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 124

At 22:00 08/25/2000 -0700, you wrote:
>What characters do I find scary?
>
>Actually, in Book 4, I found Fudge to be chillingly scary at the end.
>People like him do more damage than the blatant bad guys sometimes.  The
>Death Eaters scare me also, because they hide their identities.  They're not
>OUT THERE like Voldemort is.  They are your next door neighbor, or one of
>your co-workers.  Creepy.

I agree with you about the Death Eaters, particularly that scene in GoF
where they are taunting the muggle family. The KKK allusion sent a chill
down my spine - literally.  Brrrr! There is no way I would read that to a
young child.  For me, that (following the killing of Frank Bryce in Chapter
1) was the coming-of-age scene for the HP series.  

I also got goose-pimply about Fudge and Dumbledore's behaviour in places and
for, some reason, Crookshanks gives me the creeps.  People and things
behaving out of character creates a sense of foreboding.  Voldemort is just
too hammy and B.A.D. to be scary - he's a complete pantomime villain and
would probably look great with a twirly moustache once he has enough face to
grow one. Mind you, the scene with Quirrel/Voldemort sharing a head at the
end of PS is chilling. 

I'm not easily scared by 'monsters' like the Basilisk, the Dementors or
Aragog.  I've always loved horror films, but it's usually the psychological
beasts that spook me - the innocents who turn out to be the serial killers
or vampires.  It's the shadows and noises that do it, because the things you
can't see are invariably more frightening that the things you can. 

'Son of Neil'

***

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