Dementors made their first appearance in theHarry Potterfranchise in the novel (and later the movie)Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. One of the most frightening creatures in theHarry Potterfranchise, they’re dark creatures, illustrated to appear almost in tattered robes as they float along, leaving sadness in their wake. They can be seen by witches and wizards, but non-magical humans, or Muggles, cannot see them, only feel the effects of their presence.
When originally speaking about the creation of Dementors, writer J. K. Rowling explained that they were meant to symbolize depression. Dementors are a darkness that feels impossible to fight at times, but one that can be overcome. That’s exemplified in Harry Potter’s own fear of them and his determination to overcome them. They might symbolize depression, but what exactly are Dementors in the world ofHarry Potter?
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What Are Dementors?
Dementors are wraith-like creatures who are blind, relying on their ability to sense the emotions of others. They float off the ground, glide through the air, and inhabit various pockets of despair around the world. Wherever they live, the people in the surrounding area tend to have more generalized feelings of unhappiness. DuringVoldemort’s attempt to seize powerin the Wizarding World, for example, larger numbers of Dementors existed in the world, causing despair and a sense of unease. Their increasing numbers also caused a change in weather conditions, creating mists and fogs in the middle of the summer months.
The Ministry of Magic in theHarry Potterfranchise classifies Dementors as “non-beings,” meaning they aren’t technically considered living organisms like the magical creatures typically encountered. Instead, they’re closer to ghouls or apparitions. They’re also considered amortal instead of immortal. They don’t live forever, but cannot be killed by typical means. The number of Dementors dwindle when there is more happiness in their environment. While they might not really die, they do disappear.
Where Did The Dementors Come From?
The exact origin of Dementors is unknown in the Wizarding World, though there are several bits of lore surrounding their existence that have been released in supplemental materials for the Harry Potter franchise. What is known for sure is that thesmall island in the middle of the North Sea known as Azkabanwas home to a large number of them for at least five hundred years. It’s there that the Ministry of Magic initially discovered them and eventually employed them as guards of the prison they built there.
Before that discovery in the 1700s, many Dementors were kept on the island by a wizard known as Ekrizdis. When Rowling created theHarry Potter website Pottermore, she shared snippets of information about the Wizarding World with fans there. Some of that information was about Ekrizdis, a wizard during the 14th century, who created a fortress on the island that would become known as Azkaban, surrounding it with Dementors before the rest of the Wizarding World even knew of their existence. Other dark wizards throughout history have employed their services as guards as well as they don’t have specific allegiance; dementors just want to consume human happiness.
Dementors are not said to breed, but to grow like a fungus. That means they continue to appear as they are able to feed on more happiness and cause more despair.
How Do Dementors Attack?
Dementors don’t actually have to attack someone to feed on their happiness. People who live near Dementors will feel the effects of the Dementor without an active attack happening. They will be uneasy or sad at the least, depressed at the worst. WhenDudley Dursley was attacked inHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, for example, he was nearly inconsolable, reliving his worst moments, but his parents couldn’t understand what happened to him. If a Dementor does attack, however, a person can be reduced to a catatonic state and be “soulless.”
That is because a Dementor’s attack is in its kiss. The creature actually attaches its mouth to its victim and sucks out their soul. It’s not made clear in the franchise if that means a person’s soul is trapped within the Dementor, or if their soul is simply consumed by the Dementor. Regardless, they become a shell of their former selves, alive, but with no thought, no reaction to stimuli, nothing. In theHarry Potterfranchise, a Dementor’s kiss is referred to as a “fate worse than death.”
What Is A Dementor’s Weakness?
Though Dementors feed on happiness and cause depression, happiness is also, paradoxically, their weakness. If a person is truly and completely happy, they won’t feel the effect of the Dementors at all. This happened in theHarry PotternovelHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowswhen Harry is brought back to life from the brink of death. He’s so happy to still be alive, that he doesn’t experience the same fears and horrible memories as he usually does when close to the Dementors. This, however, doesn’t actually allow witches and wizards to combat Dementors since that isn’t likely to be a permanent state of being.
A Patronus charmis what can be used to shield a person from a Dementor. The charm can be incorporeal, like a wisp of smoke, from a less experienced magic user, and will slow a Dementor down, but won’t stop them completely. When cast by a more experienced magic user, however, the Patronus charm will be embodied by a corporeal animal shape that can push Dementors away, though it won’t actually kill them.
A Patronus repels a Dementor because it acts like concentrated light and happiness against the darkness. While there are likely othermagical shields and charms that can be used to protect peoplefrom Dementors, the Patronus is the only one highlighted in theHarry Potterfranchise and appears to be the most effective.
Dementors appear throughout theHarry Potterfranchise in the novels, books, and video games.
