Harry and the Hags

[jotwo2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 131386

Harry and the Hags

In The Sorcerer's Companion A Guide to the Magical World of Harry 
Potter by Allan Zola Kronzck and Elizabeth Kronzck I read the 
following entry.

"The British Isles are said to be populated by a great variety of 
hags.  Some are benevolent spirits associated with harvests and 
spinning, others are witchlike figures who torment and even eat 
people

The most famous hag in England is Black Annis, an one-eyed cannibal 
with blue skin, long white teeth, and claws of iron.  She is said to 
dwell in the hills of Leicestershire, in a cave she carved from the 
rocky terrain with her own fingernails.  In front of her cave stands 
a great old oak tree, in which she sits to survey the countryside in 
search of prey.  When a tasty-looking child comes into sight, she 
swoops down and has a feast.  When not in the tree, Black Annis is 
often seen sitting at the mouth of her cave, perched atop a pile of 
her victim's bones."

As most fans know, JKR features many creatures from folklore in her 
books, and this includes hags.  For example, one of Gilderoy 
Lockhart's works of fiction was called Holidays with Hags; Hagrid 
said that Quirrell had a "nasty bit o' trouble with a hag"; and when 
staying at The Leaky Cauldron Harry spotted "what looked suspiciously 
like a hag, who ordered a plate of raw liver from behind a thick 
woollen balaclava".  

Hags have featured in the canon outside the novels.  Fantastic Beasts 
and Where to Find Them mentions a disastrous summit between wizards 
and other magical beings organised by Burdock Muldoon, Chief of the 
Wizards' Council.  Among the chaos caused by a variety of 
creatures, "hags glided about the place in search of children to 
eat".  This shows JKR is aware of the bad reputation of hags.  She 
has also alluded to it in the newsletters called The Daily Prophet 
that were sent to members of an early fan club organised by 
Bloomsbury, and which, according to the Harry Potter Lexicon, were 
written by JKR herself.  One Daily Prophet contained a letter from 
someone called Black Annis.  She was not the only hag involved in 
correspondence.  Another sent in a missive entitled "A word in 
support of hags", in which she tried to sound friendly but ended by 
offering babysitting services.  There was also an article about a 
Professor Regulus Moonshine who claimed to have developed a potion 
that reduces the appetite for human flesh in hags.

There are also Famous Hag Cards.  JKR confirmed on her web site that 
she wrote the original Famous Wizard Cards, but I don't know if she 
wrote these as well.  Some of them are twists on fairy tales.  One 
particularly caught my attention.

"Somnolens, Leticia


This spiteful hag was jealous of the king's daughter and caused her 
to prick her finger on a spindle tainted with a Draught of the Living 
Death.  A young wizard who had smeared his lips with Wiggenweld 
potion kissed the princess and brought her out of her trance."

This is obviously based on Sleeping Beauty.  Going off at a tangent, 
the reference to an antidote to the Draught of Living Death struck me 
as interesting.  I wonder if it will appear in the novels.  To weld 
also means to join, so I wonder if Wiggenweld potion doubles as a 
love potion.  

The offspring of a muggle princess and a wizard would be half-bloods, 
but it's probably a wild flight of fantasy to speculate if this has 
anything to do with the ancestry of the half-blood prince.

Maybe coming slightly more down to earth, Chapter Two of the HBP is 
called Spinners End.  I wonder if there is any connection to the 
spinning done by hags.  We will find out soon enough.

In a wider debate, there has been discussion about which side in the 
second war magical creatures like the centaurs, goblins and merpeople 
will support.  I don't think anyone has really discussed what part 
hags might play.  Given that JKR has already emphasised their flesh-
eating tendencies I have had the idea that Voldemort may try and 
recruit them into his army of Dark creatures.  Maybe he will offer 
them the chance to eat people.  As they are supposed to devour 
children, perhaps he would use them in the attack that most fans are 
convinced that he will make on Hogwarts.  I know this is a gruesome 
possibility, but it's not far removed from the traditional role 
attributed to hags.  

The alternative is that JKR may spring another surprise on the 
readers and turn the reputation of a Dark creature on its head.  If I 
were asked to suggest candidates for this I would choose either 
vampires or hags.  Indeed, one of the Famous Wizard Cards features 
Honoria Nutcombe, founder of the Society for the Reformation of 
Hags.  As several of the characters featured on these cards did 
something relevant to canon e. g. Felix Summerbee, inventor of 
Cheering Charms, Ignatia Wildsmith, inventor of Floo Powder, maybe 
Honoria is significant too.  Let's hope that the Society has done its 
work well and that the hags remain neutral at least, or even join the 
good side. 

That's all the possibilities that I can come up with.  Whether any 
will turn out to be correct, it's a case of wait and see.

JoTwo