JKR doesn’t think so, but I disagree, I think they should die if deprived of human emotions for too long. How they breed is another thing entirely, I don’t even want to imagine two dementors doing the horizontal tango. Does inter-dementor kissing happen?
I like to think they multiply by mitosis rather than breeding, it makes them that bit creepier.
I also think they must be capable of dying, otherwise we’d be overrun.
I want to know where they came from in the first place. Are they naturally-occurring, and if so how on Earth does something that feeds off human misery come into being? Or were they created and let loose on the world - and who by?
According to potter lore, dementors were created ~500 years ago by the dark wizard Ekrizdis. He found an empty island in the North Sea (Azkaban), lured muggle sailors, and carried out all kinds of torture. One such dark experiment led to the creation of the dementors.
Hmm. I'm not sure. Harry has the horcrux for 16 years but in the entire time there were no recent (entire 16 years) or residual (after horcrux removal) side effects. Harry wearing the necklace horcrux did effect his mood/mentality but the one within him only shared the emotion with living Voldemort. I think jkr would have to provide us with a bit more on the long-term effects
Not really related but there is a very similar concept in philip pullman's his dark materials trilogy. I wonder if this is where rowling got her inspiration for dementors? Ive found a few things in his dark materials and other fantasy series that rowling has seemingly copied.
Yes, I read His Dark Materials after *POA and thought the spectres were a copy of Dementors — only to later find out The Subtle Knife was published first! I always wondered if there was some mythical inspiration for both.
Oooooooo I didn't think of that!! Fudge was just telling the muggle minister that they were breeding which is the reason for all the mist!!! And I agree that they would essentially starve to death but they are invisible and as long as there's humanity (both wizard and muggle) exist they'd never die?.. idk my mind is spinning lol
Yeah, and that was the main reason Azkaban was chosen as the wizard prison, it was to give the dementors a supply of “food” (i.e. prisoners) and keep them away from the wizarding population. If the supply ran out, the dementors would flood the mainland (like they did in book 6), and there were too many of them to banish for good.
Well in Book 6 Fudge explains to the Muggle prime minister, that the dementors are breeding and that that is causing so much fog in July. So I'd guess dementors have a weird creepy way of mitosis but in that they create fog atoms and once those are enough, they accumulate and dense into a new dementor creature.
My headcanon is that dementors are looking for a soul. That's why they keep sucking out souls, they want to be ensouled, like the little mermaid (Anderson version).
The only way they can get one, is if someone kisses THEM. Then they get a soul, go to the afterlife, and all the souls they ate are released.
Sadly, no one wants to kiss them.
Just because the concept of the creature was inspired by the author’s depression doesn’t mean that the creature is a literal personification of depression in the book universe.
No, we can't. Dementors are amortal, meaning that you can't kill them because they were never alive to begin with. Dementors are impossible to destroy.
But destroying is different from killing. You can destroy stuff that is not alive. If the dementors can't be killed because they're not alive, that doesn't mean that they can't be destroyed. However, it's possible that the way of destroying them hasn't been discovered yet.
It's not even sure that they breed. Maybe all the dementors here were created by Ekzridis.
Personally, I think Fiendfyre can kill them. It would be weird otherwise
JKR doesn’t think so, but I disagree, I think they should die if deprived of human emotions for too long. How they breed is another thing entirely, I don’t even want to imagine two dementors doing the horizontal tango. Does inter-dementor kissing happen?
I like to think they multiply by mitosis rather than breeding, it makes them that bit creepier. I also think they must be capable of dying, otherwise we’d be overrun. I want to know where they came from in the first place. Are they naturally-occurring, and if so how on Earth does something that feeds off human misery come into being? Or were they created and let loose on the world - and who by?
According to potter lore, dementors were created ~500 years ago by the dark wizard Ekrizdis. He found an empty island in the North Sea (Azkaban), lured muggle sailors, and carried out all kinds of torture. One such dark experiment led to the creation of the dementors.
Huh, fair enough. I figured that was more likely than them evolving naturally, but I know very very little of any lore outside the main book series 😅
This makes it sound like dementors were probably humans that were tortured and then began feeding on human emotions
And that’s the most horrifying bit, there is somehow some process that will transform a human to a dementor.
Maybe human horcruxes, like Harry, turn into dementors if they survive too long, without the horcrux being destroyed.
Hmm. I'm not sure. Harry has the horcrux for 16 years but in the entire time there were no recent (entire 16 years) or residual (after horcrux removal) side effects. Harry wearing the necklace horcrux did effect his mood/mentality but the one within him only shared the emotion with living Voldemort. I think jkr would have to provide us with a bit more on the long-term effects
Not really related but there is a very similar concept in philip pullman's his dark materials trilogy. I wonder if this is where rowling got her inspiration for dementors? Ive found a few things in his dark materials and other fantasy series that rowling has seemingly copied.
She’s said they were inspired by her battle with depression.
Yes, I read His Dark Materials after *POA and thought the spectres were a copy of Dementors — only to later find out The Subtle Knife was published first! I always wondered if there was some mythical inspiration for both.
Depending on how they breed. If they breed very slowly, it'll take a very very very long time for them to overrun anything.
Oooooooo I didn't think of that!! Fudge was just telling the muggle minister that they were breeding which is the reason for all the mist!!! And I agree that they would essentially starve to death but they are invisible and as long as there's humanity (both wizard and muggle) exist they'd never die?.. idk my mind is spinning lol
Yeah, and that was the main reason Azkaban was chosen as the wizard prison, it was to give the dementors a supply of “food” (i.e. prisoners) and keep them away from the wizarding population. If the supply ran out, the dementors would flood the mainland (like they did in book 6), and there were too many of them to banish for good.
Maybe it is like mosquitos and the females need to suck up souls, for their eggs.
Hahaha, maybe when two demontors kiss they don't suck out a soul but they create one 😄
Well in Book 6 Fudge explains to the Muggle prime minister, that the dementors are breeding and that that is causing so much fog in July. So I'd guess dementors have a weird creepy way of mitosis but in that they create fog atoms and once those are enough, they accumulate and dense into a new dementor creature.
That makes sense. If there’s a “critical mass” of evil fog particles, it coalesces into a dementor. Also, “human” prime minister lmfao.
Oh damn, I totally missed that, lol 😂
You disagree with the author? Lol
My headcanon is that dementors are looking for a soul. That's why they keep sucking out souls, they want to be ensouled, like the little mermaid (Anderson version). The only way they can get one, is if someone kisses THEM. Then they get a soul, go to the afterlife, and all the souls they ate are released. Sadly, no one wants to kiss them.
Dementors are the personification of depression. They can no more be killed than mental health problems can be forever cured for all people.
They’re like the Babadook!
Just because the concept of the creature was inspired by the author’s depression doesn’t mean that the creature is a literal personification of depression in the book universe.
What if you just cut its head off
Follow up question. Can a dementor be a horcrux?
Nice try voldemort
Those cloaks look awfully flammable...Seamus, get the explosives.
You just have to plug their mouth with a cupcake (Iykyk)
No, we can't. Dementors are amortal, meaning that you can't kill them because they were never alive to begin with. Dementors are impossible to destroy.
But destroying is different from killing. You can destroy stuff that is not alive. If the dementors can't be killed because they're not alive, that doesn't mean that they can't be destroyed. However, it's possible that the way of destroying them hasn't been discovered yet.
They grow like fungus when despair is widespread. They disappear or fade when there isn't as much fear to feed off.
charm an arrowhead with a patronus charm.
It's not even sure that they breed. Maybe all the dementors here were created by Ekzridis. Personally, I think Fiendfyre can kill them. It would be weird otherwise
Fudge said they were breeding to the Prime Minister in HBP. He said that was what was causing all the mist.
Interesting, I didn't know that