Afraid of the Boggart?

[blaqlives]

Discussion of The Burrow article Afraid of the Boggart? by Jeg.

Very good observation. That's very interesting.

[Mae]

cool thought. i always imagined a boggart being some sort of whispy white smoke.

[Byrum]

LOL that was great. It would be an ironic twist. I hope we find out what it is someday, in fact we might have already seen what a bogart looks like but we dont know it yet....

you know i never really thought what a boggart would actually look like but now that i have given it some thought i would say something smokey or misty. i like your theory on why laughter works maybe it is afrade of it...

Very good article. I've always imaginet boggart as something like purple jelly, lol

[Turtles]

Very well thought out. I like it. Maybe it actually does look like Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothing. That is truly hilarious!

[sholeigh]

Moody knows what a Boggart looks like, and he recognised it when Mrs Weasley asked him to check it out, so they must all look similar.

I always imagined it as a dark mass of liquid/gas that fills up whatever space it's in.
I suppose if you look at nature, small animals make themselves look scarey when they have no other form of defense.
I wonder what the boggart would do once it had scared you?

[omnedon11]

Originally Posted by sholeigh

Moody knows what a Boggart looks like, and he recognised it when Mrs Weasley asked him to check it out, so they must all look similar.

I always imagined it as a dark mass of liquid/gas that fills up whatever space it's in.
I suppose if you look at nature, small animals make themselves look scarey when they have no other form of defense.
I wonder what the boggart would do once it had scared you?

(Bold mine).

Yes, and it is powerful enough to make its presence known even if it is locked up.

[sholeigh]

Posted by Omnedon11:
Yes, and it is powerful enough to make its presence known even if it is locked up.

In what way? I think I only remember it rattling a cupboard.

[AchelRay]

good point if we are afraid of something that we havent seen or done how will we know how to conquer it. I probably wouldn't think about it that way but again good point

[cakesoccer]

Interesting. I've never really thought about that. I've always imagined a boggart being like one of the uncles in Casper the Friendly Ghost. I know it's not really realistic, but that's what I've kinda thought. Actually, come to think of it, I also think of Peeves as one of the uncles, though I know that's not true.

[veil_walker]

Hey...'tis weird, because I sent my e-mail in when the topic started with my worst fear and I said that I am most afraid of a boggart and that idea is so stupid that I would laugh at the thought of it, so no boggart could get to me.

Interesting observation - but what I've always wondered (since OotP) is - what Mad-Eye-Moody saw in that desk with the boggart. Wouldn't it have to be the true form of a boggart? Otherwise - how would he know it was "just a boggart"? Ideas anybody? I'm really wondering...

[Gryffindor5]

I agree with Sarilni. The boggart couldn't have sensed moody staring at it from the floor below and through the solid desk drawer could it? Or what if it's not really the boggart that changes form but a person's mind that changes the form of the boggart. So, unless the boggart is currently taking the form of someone else's fear, your mind will always force it take the shape you fear when you look at it not matter how close or far from it you are. But then how would a giant spider or a dementor fit into a desk drawer? It's very confusing.

[sholeigh]

Posted by Griffindor5
...your mind will always make it take the shape or your fear when you look at it not matter how close or far from it you are

Great idea, except that everyone else in the room sees the boggart change too, so it can't be only in your mind. The boggart must actually have to change shape itself.

[grawps_girl]

Great post-i guess i've always seen the boggart as...well i don't know but yea more like an aura rather than a specific object...I like the idea that it looks funny itself and so requires humour to be defeated. I wonder what other people think they'd see when encountering a boggart?

[Adults4Harry]

Another great editorial that delves into something my mind had never even considered to ponder.

[Canis_Major]

On the Moody issue, it is possible a boggart has ways of knowing when anyone is looking at it, with a magical eye or not. Maybe Moody saw his greatest fear, but recognized it as "just a boggart". Lupin said nobody knew their true form, and he has known Moody for a long time.

[aimlessA]

Originally Posted by Canis_Major

Maybe Moody saw his greatest fear, but recognized it as "just a boggart".

I agree with Canis_Major. I think Moody simply saw whatever was his greatest fear and knowing that whatever it was it couldn't possibly be in that cupboard he knew it was a boggart.