J.K. Rowling fleshes out one of Harry Potter’s villains for Halloween

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

To celebrate Halloween, J.K. Rowling took to Pottermore.com to write up a profile for one of the most malicious characters in the Harry Potter universe, Dolores Umbridge. For those not in the know, Pottermore serves as a home for all things Harry Potter.  You can learn just about everything regarding the characters from their parents to what kind of core they have in their wand. Occasionally Rowling will write some original material for the masses to check out. If you haven't registered for Pottermore, however, you can check out the entire Umbridge profile here.

Here's an excerpt on how Dolores Umbridge came to be:

I have noticed more than once in life that a taste for the ineffably twee can go hand-in-hand with a distinctly uncharitable outlook on the world. I once shared an office with a woman who had covered the wall space behind her desk with pictures of fluffy kitties; she was the most bigoted, spiteful champion of the death penalty with whom it has ever been my misfortune to share a kettle. A love of all things saccharine often seems present where there is a lack of real warmth or charity.

So Dolores, who is one of the characters for whom I feel purest dislike, became an amalgam of traits taken from these, and a variety of sources. Her desire to control, to punish and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort's unvarnished espousal of evil.

I found it pretty fascinating that Umbridge was a spinoff of a real person Rowling studied under. Granted, writers use what they know, but Umbridge is such a despicable villain so it's hard to imagine any part of her actually existing out there in the real world. On the other hand, I do know a lot of crazy cat ladies, so there's that. From someone who considers himself a mild Harry Potter fan (I swear), I'm actually looking forward to the next three movies set in the Potter-verse and what kind of adventure they'll bring our way.

The next chapter in the Harry Potter universe, FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, is scheduled to hit theaters on November 18, 2016.

Dolores Umbridge is definitely one cinema's most deliciously fun villains.  Imelda Staunton must have had a hell of a time playing her!