When did Slytherin become the Evil House ?

[drjuliehoward]

No: HPFGUIDX 88694

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Doriane" <delwynmarch at y...> 
wrote:
> 
> Hi all !
> 
> Many weird thoughts have been crossing my mind lately. I'll write 
> down a few of them, and you can remind me how dumb and twisted I 
am :-
> )
> 
> By the time Harry and Co enter Hogwarts, Slytherin has acquired a 
> reputation as a House that prefers purebloods and that spawns evil 
> wizards by the dozen. But I'm wondering when that reputation was 
> born ? Has it always been that way, or did it become that way when 
it 
> became obvious that many of LV's supporters were former Slytherin 
> students ?
> 
> One important consequence, for example, would be that the 
Marauders 
> could have been in Slytherin without it meaning anything. LV 
started 
> gathering his supporters at about the same time the boys entered 
> school, so they could have been sorted in Slytherin without it 
> meaning that they were somehow evil, or that their families had 
long 
> delved in the Dark Arts.
> 
> So can anyone point me to any canon that would indicate when 
> Slytherin House's reputation was built ?
> 
> Del

Julie:
I think their reputation turned when LV was gaining his power and 
supporters.  I based that on my intepretation of Hagrid's (I 
believe) statement in SS, "There wasn't a witch or wizard that went 
bad that wasn't from Slytherin."  (paraphrased as I do not have my 
book with me).  However, I still refer to JKR's interview from 
October 2000 when she clarified that James was a Chaser but did not 
clarify the assumption in the question that he was on the Gryffindor 
Quidditch Team.  Based on that, I believe James was a Gryffindor.
However, I do not agree with the thought that all Slytherins must be 
evil/bad.  I think that is much too stereotypical for JKR who 
emphasizes tolerance.