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Kill... time to kill... so hungry... for so long. I smell blood! I SMELL BLOOD!
~ Serpent of Slytherin speaks in Parseltongue, heard only by Tom Riddle and Harry Potter.

Basilisks are a race of giant, dreaded serpentine monsters bred by Dark Wizards featured in the Harry Potter franchise. A member of these monstrous beasts known as the Serpent of Slytherin — belonged to Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin — serves as the overarching antagonist of the 1998 book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and its 2002 film adaptation of the same name, the second installment in the Harry Potter franchise.

The Serpent of Slytherin lived in the Chamber of Secrets until Ginny Weasley (possessed by part of Tom Riddle's soul contained in his Diary) opened the Chamber of Secrets. This Basilisk escaped inside the school and petrified a few people which included Filch's cat Mrs. Norris, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Nearly Headless Nick, Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater since they witnessed the monster and did not make direct eye contact (except Nick but he was already dead).

The Serpent of Slytherin was voiced by Jason Isaacs (who also played Lucius Malfoy in the same franchise, Colonel Mekum in Soldier, William Tavington in The Patriot, Captain James Hook in the 2003 Peter Pan film, Zhao in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ra's al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood, Satan in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, The Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars Rebels, Reza Zaydan in HITMAN, Dr. Heinreich Volmer in A Cure for Wellness, Dracula in Monster Family, Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery, SkekSo in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the titular character in Superman: Red Son, Dick Dastardly in Scoob!, Billy Butcher in The Boys Presents: Diabolical, Enver Gortash in Baldur's Gate 3 and Brainiac in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League) while her vocal sound effects are provided by Randy Thom.

History[]

Ancient History[]

Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.
~ Harry Potter, reading information on the Basilisk.

The first member of these creatures was created in ancient Greece by Herpo the Foul and was one of the first examples of the Dark Arts and was considered highly dangerous, inhumane and illegal to breed. The Basilisk was considered the enemy of almost everything, the enemy of humans, spiders, and roosters. The Basilisk was especially feared by spiders, with them even fearing to name it, presumably because of their eight-eye vision which would render them vulnerable to paralysis.

The Medieval Period[]

There were no recorded sightings of Basilisks, but Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin himself bred a Basilisk deep within Hogwarts castle, marking the beginning of the Basilisk's reign of terror in the school. The Basilisk lived for two hundred years, unless killed, and she posed a serious threat, which would be seen in the twelfth century.

Modern Period[]

Harry Potter: But if you're not the monster, then what did kill that girl 50 years ago?
Aragog: We do not speak of it! It is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others.
~ Harry Potter and Aragog about the Basilisk.

The beast was summoned up by Slytherin's descendant and heir, Tom Marvolo Riddle, in 1943, to continue her original purpose and purge Hogwarts of those "unworthy to attend" (Muggle-Borns). She petrified many students and ended up killing one girl (Moaning Myrtle), sending the school into a panic and threatening its closure. To prevent his beloved Hogwarts from closing, Riddle called off the snake and framed Rubeus Hagrid and his illegal pet, Aragog the Acromantula, as the ones responsible. The Basilisk was sent to slumber once more within the recesses of the Chamber. This incident was one of the few events in Riddle's transformation into the feared dark wizard, for he fashioned his diary into one of his first Horcruxes by infusing it with his fragment resulted from such murder.

Fifty years later, the monster was awoken once more to finish the job after Riddle's shade from the Diary possessed Ginny Weasley and used her to open the Chamber of Secrets. The school roosters were killed by Ginny to prevent them from interfering with the Basilisk's mission, and attacks on many students (as well as Filch's cat and one of the school ghosts) sprung up. Several signs pointed to the Basilisk as the culprit, with most victims petrified, the roosters dead, spiders fleeing from the school, and Harry Potter hearing threatening voices within the walls (as the Basilisk used the plumbing system to travel from place to place). Harry was thought to be responsible for the release of Slytherin's Monster event because he could speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes; an ability shared by Voldemort. It would later be revealed that the Parseltongue skills were transferred with some powers to Harry on the night Voldemort failed to kill him, which resulted in the latter's downfall. When Hermione Granger became petrified, everyone else started to think otherwise because she was one of Harry's best friends. On the discreet advise of Hagrid, Harry and Ron visited an aging Aragog, who revealed to them of Hagrid's innocence, the death of a girl in a bathroom, and that he was not the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. The acromantula, however, informed the boys of a small clue on the chamber's resident monster, which they referred to as the "unspeakable horror" living in the depths of the school.

On dusk the next day, Harry and Ron then visited Moaning Myrtle, who was actually the girl that the Basilisk had killed the first time that she was let out of the Chamber. She told them that she had seen a pair of "great yellow eyes" beside one of the sinks in the girls' lavatory. Harry and Ron investigated the circular column of sinks and found a small snake engraved on a non-functional tap, hinting at the location of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets; Harry figured that he had to speak in Parseltongue in order to access the Chamber portal, which turned out to be a large pipe that led directly under the school and the lake. Harry was able to slay the Basilisk (with help from Fawkes the Phoenix and the Sword of Godric Gryffindor) and save Ginny from Riddle, who turned out to be a part of Voldemort's soul encased in the Diary.

Later, in 1998, Ron and Hermione were able to reenter the Chamber of Secrets (with Ron providing a surprisingly good imitation of Parseltongue needed to open the sink portal and the chamber's main door) to collect fangs from the Basilisk's skeleton, which they used to help Harry destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Behavior[]

Parseltongue won't save you now, Potter; it only obeys me!
~ Tom Riddle, explaining the Basilisk's complete loyalty to the Slytherin bloodline.

Basilisks are always violent, intimidating, ferocious, sadistic, ruthless and bloodthirsty monsters. Although it can be inferred that these serpents are instinctive at very least in the wild, it is obvious they can develop distinct personality depending on their upbringing. This is best shown in the case of a most well known of Basilisk, the Serpent of Slytherin; in addition of natural sadism and ferocity of her race (which reflected through things she said while Harry listened to her attacking her victims), she displayed blind and unshakable devotion to the heirs of Slytherin, including Lord Voldemort, along with nerves of steel to the boot, proving greater malice than her brethren. Given that Salazar Slytherin was the one who bred her, it made sense that the aforementioned devotion was the result of her either trained, enchanted or persuaded to obey only the Slytherin bloodline along with its heirs or descendants and not all Parselmouths.

Known Victims[]

Ron Weasley: But if it kills by looking people in the eye, why is that no one's dead?
Harry Potter: Because no one
did look it in the eye. Not directly at least.
~ Harry and Ron discussing why no one has been killed by the Basilisk.
  1. Several unknown students attending Hogwarts in 1943 (all petrified, possibly restored).
  2. Myrtle "Moaning Myrtle" Warren (died, became a ghost) (the only victim who died).
  3. Mrs. Norris (petrified, restored to health) (looked at her reflection in flood of water of the floor)
  4. Colin Creevey (petrified, restored) (saw her through his camera)
  5. Sir Nicholas "Nearly Headless Nick" de Mimsy-Porpington (petrified, restored though already a ghost)
  6. Justin Finch-Fletchley (petrified, restored). (looked at her through Nick)
  7. Penelope Clearwater (petrified, restored). (saw her in her mirror)
  8. Hermione Granger (petrified, restored). (saw her in Penelope's mirror)

Gallery[]

Images[]

Audio Samples[]

Trivia[]

  • Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk in the book and film is a female. Male Basilisks have a red plume of feathers on their heads.
    • In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, the Basilisk is male because it has a red plume on its head.
  • In the film, Penelope Clearwater was not shown as a victim of the Basilisk, which is likely due to budget constraints (petrified victims are protrayed with life-like models of themselves).
  • The Basilisk has differences in the book and film.
    • The book depicts it as a simple giant snake with some characteristics of a viper and Titanoboa.
    • While the film's original script uses its book depiction, the creative arts department took to new concepts progressively began implementing subtle characteristics of other reptiles — such as monitor lizards. legless lizards, alligators, and crocodiles as well as adding osteoderms and other hard scales, along with eyes with functional eyelids and earholes (which real snakes do not have as their eyesight is poor and are deaf) while maintaining its serpentine textures and characteristics. These enhancements resulted in the film adaption of the Basilisk having a more dragon-like appearance, resembling a wyrm specifically.
      • An addition to the film Basilisk's wyrm characteristics were the roars it makes alongside its screams of pain.
      • The eyelids and earholes were inspired by legless lizards.
    • Overall, while likely a coincidence Basilisk's movie depiction is the inversion of Nagini's snake form, which was designed after real-life constrictor snake with minor changes.
  • To make the Basilisk's vocalizations, the filmmakers recorded sounds of horses, elephants and tigers to create the creature's sounds while its vocal effects are also provided by sound designer Randy Thom.
  • Harry's battle with the Basilisk in the movie may be an allusion to Prince Phillip's battle with Maleficent's dragon form in Disney's 1959 adoption of Sleeping Beauty.
    • Both men used swords in the fight.
    • Both swords had great powers, and were in turn, used to destroy the villains by impalement: roof of the mouth for the Basilisk and chest/heart part for Maleficent.
  • Harry's battle against Salazar's Basilisk also alludes the destined duel between Thor the Nordic Thunder God and Jörmungandr during the Ragnarök in Norse mythology. In both cases, the hero wins against their serpentine opponent at the cost of being poisoned.
  • Daniel Radcliffe suggested to director Chris Columbus that his father be cast as the voice of the Basilisk in the film, recalling that he gave the Basilisk 'a great voice' when he read his son the first two books. Radcliffe's father was reportedly mortified by the suggestion. Ultimately, Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the films, was cast instead, albeit uncredited, to provide the voice of the creature during its offscreen appearances.
  • The Basilisk in the film was a mix between CGI technology and an animatronic puppet. Twenty feet of the creature and the head were built in the studio for close-up shots of the snake.
  • The Basilisk's skeletal corpse can be seen inside the Chamber during the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida.
  • In Jimmy Neutron, Finbarr Calamitous made a robot based off the Basilisk when Jimmy is playing a Harry Potter-based character and Carl playing a character based on both Quirinus Quirrell and Tom Riddle (with the former being a vessel for Voldemort and the later being an incarnation of Voldemort).
  • Ironically, the Basilisk that Voldemort used to purge Hogwarts of Muggle-Borns and Harry Potter was used against him by having her venom destroy most of his Horcruxes, which eventually led to his death.
  • In addition to a rooster's crow, the smell of a weasel is also unbearable and practically fatal to a Basilisk as with in mythology.
  • Ginny was intended to perish as the sacrifice for Voldemort's diabolical scheme to revive himself via his diary — the same diary he turned into one of his 7 Horcruxes — that sapped her life force and unleash Serpent of Slytherin along the way to purge Hogwarts from muggle-borns and anyone who disagreed/opposed pure-blood supremacy he and Salazar fiercely believed in, all as per his second message, "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever". But thanks to combined efforts of Harry, Ron, the reluctant Lockhart, and Fawkes in their endeavor to save Ginny and everyone in Hogwarts, the one who died in the end being Serpent of Slytherin in her place. The basilisk's skeleton was still present in the Chamber by the time Ron and Hermione went there in a bid to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's Cup with her fangs, which ironically fits the message.

Navigation[]

           HarryPotter Villains

Death Eaters
Lord Voldemort | Barty Crouch Jr. (Warner Bros.) | Bellatrix Lestrange | Corban Yaxley | Peter Pettigrew (Warner Bros.) | Alecto Carrow | Amycus Carrow | Antonin Dolohov | Augustus Rookwood | Walden Macnair | Thorfinn Rowle | Evan Rosier | Cedric Diggory (Alternate Timeline) | Rodolphus Lestrange | Avery II

Death Eater defectors
Severus Snape | Regulus Black | The Malfoys (Lucius Malfoy & Draco Malfoy)‡ | Igor Karkaroff | Peter Pettigrew

Death Eater Allies
Quirinus Quirrell | Dolores Umbridge | Fenrir Greyback | Pius Thicknesse | Albert Runcorn | Snatchers (Scabior) | Vincent Crabbe | Gregory Goyle | John Dawlish | Kreacher | Stan Shunpike

Hogwarts Staff
Severus Snape | Barty Crouch Jr. (Warner Bros.) | Alecto Carrow | Amycus Carrow | Quirinus Quirrell | Dolores Umbridge | Gilderoy Lockhart | Argus Filch | Salazar Slytherin

Ministry of Magic
Cornelius Fudge | Pius Thicknesse | Corban Yaxley | Muggle-Born Registration Commission (Dolores Umbridge & Albert Runcorn) | John Dawlish | Damocles Rowle

Gellert Grindelwald's Alliance
Gellert Grindelwald | Credence Barebone | Vinda Rosier | Queenie Goldstein | Gunnar Grimmson | Abernathy | Krall | Carrow | Nagel | Krafft | MacDuff | Helmut | Anton Vogel | Karl

Other Wizards & Witches
Morfin Gaunt | Marvolo Gaunt | Merope Gaunt | Herpo the Foul | Merwyn the Malicious | Ekrizdis | Delphini | Rita Skeeter | Cormac McLaggen | Peregrine | Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde | Patricia Rakepick | Merula Snyde | Ismelda Murk | Emily Tyler | Gormlaith Gaunt | Corvus Lestrange | Raczidian | Erkstag Warden | Mundungus Fletcher | Isidora Morganach

New Salem Philanthropic Society
Mary Lou Barebone | Credence Barebone

Ranrok's Loyalists
Ranrok | Pergit | Belgruff the Bludgeoner | Grodbik | Ogbert the Odd

Creatures
The Serpent of Slytherin | Acromantula (Aragog & Acromantula Colony) | Dementors | Centaurs‡ | Giants | Inferi | Nagini | Mountain Troll | Gnarlak | Griphook | Kreacher | Manticores (Manticore Queen)

Tales of Beedle the Bard
Charlatan | Death | Warlock

Muggles
The Dursleys(Marge Dursley) | Tobias Snape

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