Category Archives: Harry Potter

Winners and Choosers

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Nathan

After looking at the notion of people chosen by the gods, I became curious as to how the concept of a specific person being the Chosen One originated. It’s a pretty common trope in fantasy, someone being prophesied to save the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, Babylonian, British, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Characters, Christianity, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mario, Mythology, Oz, Philosophy, Religion, Semitic, Star Wars, Television, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dogs Matter

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Nathan

From looking up the Barghest, a mythical black dog that made an appearance in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, I found that there are a whole lot of ghostly black dogs in the folklore of the British Isles, as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, British, Cartoons, Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, Monsters, Mythology, Names, october daye, seanan mcguire, Television, Urban Legends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beyond Good and Eva

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Nathan

I’m way behind on my book reviews, but I want to space them out a bit. That might mean I’ll finish another book or two before writing them all, but that’s the way these things go sometimes. I’d earlier read … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, Humor, Magic | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Brick Bat

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Nathan

The Lego Batman Movie – Lego has become a significant franchise apart from their actual plastic building bricks, and sometimes it really seems to complicate things. I mean, Lego Star Wars? Just pick one or the other! I’ve heard these … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Harry Potter, Humor, Monsters, Toys, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Harry Potter and the Shameless Galleon Grab

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Nathan

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany – Does Rowling have some debts to pay or something? Several years after the Potter series was brought to a close, we’re now seeing this play … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Harry Potter, Magic, Plays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Friends in Grindylow Places

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Nathan

You might remember the Grindylows from their appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which they lived in the lake at Hogwarts. They are an actual sort of creature from English folklore, being particularly associated with Yorkshire … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Etymology, Harry Potter, Monsters, Mythology, Slavic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Samodiva Is the Female Version of a Varkolak

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Nathan

In Anne Nesbet’s A Box of Gargoyles, one of the effects of the strange magic affecting Paris is that some ordinary women turn into Samodivi, described as a sort of Bulgarian vampire. What I’ve found online suggests that, while they … Continue reading →

Posted in Harry Potter, Mythology, Slavic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Where Virtue Is Victorious

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Nathan

When looking at a Tor article about mapping fantasy lands, which I previously looked at here, I noticed that the description for post-Wizard Oz gave it a Virtue level of two, defined as “Overriding harmony in world, active championing of … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Cartoons, Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Star Trek, Star Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Canon Fodder

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Nathan

I didn’t have the chance to write much last week, which means I didn’t write anything about Mario on Thursday, which is semi-officially Mario Day because “Mar 10” looks like “Mario.” Of course, that only works if you write the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Comics, Harry Potter, L. Frank Baum, Mario, Oz, Oz Authors, Star Trek, Star Wars, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Left, Right, and Centaur

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Nathan

In an old post, I discussed some beings from mythology that are part human and part animal. The most famous of this bunch are probably the centaurs, and I mentioned how they’re sometimes portrayed as wild, orgiastic creatures, and other … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Cartoons, Chronicles of Narnia, Greek Mythology, Harry Potter, Heroes of Olympus, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Percy Jackson, Piers Anthony, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Rick Riordan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments