The Harry Potter series has captured the imaginations of fans across the world. While elements like the magic of Hogwarts and the relationships between characters might make the series compelling, there are also some rather dark and heavy moments. Even the very beginning of the story starts with an orphaned baby whose parents have just been murdered, so it’s clear that terrifying things will happen.
There are many rather disturbing moments throughout the series. Some of these include strange cursed beings, like the Inferi, while others are the cruel and disturbing things that the Death Eaters inflict on others around them. But, beyond just being scary, these moments also made viewers and readers feel a level of disgust in one way or another.
The Way The Dursleys Treated Harry
When thinking about upsetting moments from Harry Potter, this is something that often flies under the radar and that many fans forget. However, the more Harry’s treatment by his relatives is considered, the crueler the behavior seems.
The Dursleys neglected Harry and verbally abused him ever since he was a young child. They were evil in a very mundane way, and they don’t really deserve redemption, at least not Vernon and Petunia.
The Device That Turned People Into Babies In The Department Of Mysteries
This strange scene is one that doesn’t get talked about as much anymore because it wasn’t shown in the movies. This might be because it’s just so strange that it would have been too weird and off-putting for the movies.
But, in the book version of The Order of the Phoenix, there is a male Death Eater whose head is transformed into a baby’s head after falling into the bell jar in the time room. It’s definitely one of the oddest examples of magic in the series.
The Treatment Of House-Elves, Especially Dobby
This is another broad theme that is truly disturbing. While Harry and Ron might have not taken Hermione’s interest in S.P.E.W. Seriously, Hermione was right to be upset about how house-elves were treated.
They were basically slaves, and wizarding society had no real issues with subjugating them. Many house-elves were also treated especially cruelly on an individual level because they had no legal rights, so their “families” could do whatever they wanted to them. So, characters like Dobby were emotionally and physically abused.
The Torture And Killing Of Muggles And Muggle-Borns
There are a couple of notable examples of this that need to be included, as this is a pervasive and disturbing element that drives the story along. Voldemort and his followers hate Muggles and Muggle-borns, and this bigoted ideology drives them to do unspeakable things to innocent people.
One of the first moments that truly disturbed fans is when the Death Eaters got together at the World Cup to torture the Muggle camp directors just for fun. Then, there is the scene when Charity Burbage, the Hogwarts Muggle Studies professor, is kept floating about the table by Voldemort and the Death Eaters and then killed.
The Dementors Trying to “Kiss” Harry
Dementors as a concept are extremely disturbing on so many levels, and there are many scenes with them that give fans nightmares. An honorable mention includes when the Dementors are sent to Little Whinging, especially because Umbridge is the one who sent them.
However, one of the most visually disturbing dementor scenes is in Prisoner of Azkaban when the Dementors try to suck out Harry’s soul, and they nearly succeed.
Voldemort Drinking Unicorn Blood
While in some ways, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone might be seen as a more lighthearted movie because the main characters are only eleven years old, there are a surprising number of disturbing scenes.
While the reveal of Voldemort living on the back of Quirrell’s head is also up there, there's something about the hooded figure drinking the unicorn blood that fans will never forget. It’s also disturbing because of what drinking unicorn blood represents.
Harry Seeing Voldemort’s Damaged Soul Form
Voldemort is a terrifying, disturbing, and just evil character, and he has many scary moments. However, for the scenes that inspire disgust, the ones that show Voldemort in his “baby” form might be the worst. While he’s also scary when he’s in this weakened form at the graveyard, the scene in the imaginary King’s Cross really takes the cake.
Voldemort’s soul has been so damaged and destroyed that it looks like something out of anyone’s worst nightmares. He’s broken pretty much beyond repair, and the sight is extremely ugly.
Nagini Emerging From Bathilda Bagshot
When thinking of disturbing moments that had viewers looking away, this one is pretty high on the list. Bathilda Bagshot seems off right away, but she just appears as an old woman for the most part.
However, the truth is revealed in the most horrifying way when Nagini emerges from Bathilda’s dead body. It’s a dark curse that’s one of the worst to think about in the series.
Umbridge’s Cruel Punishments
Other than Voldemort, Umbridge is one of the scariest and most vile characters in the series. She seems to thrive on hurting people just for the joy of it, and she's happy to go along with whatever power structure gives her control over others.
She does so many disturbing things, but fans quickly saw how nasty she was as a person when she cruelly punished Harry by making him carve words onto the back of his hand over and over. It’s also true that she does the same thing to many other students by breaking even small school rules.
Hermione Being Tortured
There are many moments that really disturbed fans, including some of the many deaths in the series. Cedric’s death comes to mind, but most of the deaths weren’t shown for too long.
However, the scene where Bellatrix tortures Hermione really sticks out to fans because Hermione is a character they know so well and care about. It’s very disturbing to read about and to watch, and because fans are so attached to Hermione, it felt particularly upsetting.