Harry Potter Was Never A Wizard - The Darkest Hogwarts Theory Explained
There are a lot of "Harry Potter" fan theories out there, but this one is especially disturbing.
Reddit user u/Mr_Boomstick posited that perhaps none of the events within the main narrative of "Harry Potter" ever happened ... and that Harry (played onscreen by Daniel Radcliffe) isn't even a boy wizard. Apparently, they rewatched some of the "Harry Potter" films and thought that every single occurrence can be explained as some sort of symptom of mental illness, from which Harry suffers. Basically, the young boy's life is so traumatic that he has to mentally escape.
"It became clear to me that the entire Harry Potter series is an extended metaphor — a coded transcription, really — about a boy with severe mental illness, suffering from delusions. Everything depicted in the movie can be interpreted as a recitation (from his delusional perspective) of his attempts to cope with the harsh realities of his confinement in a mental institution.
"Here's my thesis," they continued. "Every major event in the books is a fantasy/delusional version of the experiences that a child would encounter in the course of being institutionalized and forcibly treated for mental illness."
The Redditor also theorizes that Harry's parents never actually died, but that the evil, Muggle Dursleys — his maternal aunt, uncle, and cousin — are his actual immediate family and subject him to constant torment and abuse. Harry's violent outbursts and unpredictable mental health lead to him injuring his cousin Dudley (Harry Melling), represented in the story by the pig's tail inflicted upon Dudley by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). This, in turn, leads to Harry being sent to "Hogwarts," which is actually an institution. The post is quite extensive ... so where does it go from there?
One Redditor thinks that all of Harry Potter's story is borne from delusions and psychosis
Within the narrative of "Harry Potter," Harry himself is known as "the Boy Who Lived" thanks to the fact that he survived a vicious attack by the Dark Lord Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes, among others) when he was just a baby, the same attack that killed his parents. However, in this Reddit theory, it's suggested that Harry's parents never existed, and neither did Voldemort.
When discussing the death of Harry's fellow Hogwarts classmate Cedric Diggory, played by Robert Pattinson (whom the Redditor confusingly refers to as "Derek"), they write, "The clean-cut [Cedric Diggory] (a fantasy image of the popular, successful boy Harry could have been were it not for his mental problems) is murdered by 'Voldemort,' who is Harry's alter ego and the projection of his rage and fury." Still, this Redditor doesn't think Harry literally murdered a popular, successful boy. "If the murder of [Cedric] is not meant to be a real event, but entirely imaginary in Harry's mind, then the murder of the normal boy is a metaphor for Harry losing his final chance at a normal life."
Beyond that, the Redditor points out all sorts of symbolism that could refer to Harry's mental health struggles, including the presence of the "mad" Azkaban escapee (and Harry's godfather) Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) or the fact that Voldemort and his followers frequently torture people to the point where they go insane — which happens to the parents of Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis).
Not content to keep this theory to what they saw in the movies, though, the Redditor also brought the series author into the whole thing.
The same redditor also connected this theory to the author of Harry Potter
The Redditor goes on to point out that series author Joanne Kathleen Rowling — who publishes under the abbreviation J.K. Rowling — has been quite open about her own mental health history. The British author has talked extensively about her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, and she created dementors — creatures in the Harry Potter universe that drain humans of joy and feed off of them by doing so — as a metaphor for those issues.
To that end, this Reddit theory even takes a look at Lumos, an organization created by Rowling to help prevent young children from being placed in orphanages and institutions. On its official website, the foundation is direct about its goals: "Lumos strives to increase awareness about the harmful effect of institutions on children's lives. Even those that are guided by the best intentions can never replace the benefits of a loving and nurturing family environment."
So could this fact lend credence to the idea that Harry Potter is a young boy struggling with psychosis who imagines that his institutionalization is actually an experience at a magical, exciting school for young witches and wizards? Maybe, but the theory has some larger problems that are tough to ignore.
How valid is this intrepretation of Harry Potter?
Quite frankly, some of the Redditor's evidence is flimsy. Take, for example, this point about Sirius Black and his longtime close friend Remus Lupin, played by David Thewlis: "In the 4th book, Black is closely affiliated with (and introduced by and treated as a kind of surrogate for) a werewolf, who is obessesed with the moon. The moon is a symbol for insanity (i.e., lunacy)."
The "Harry Potter" books are in the fantasy genre; it's not telling or strange that a werewolf is involved. Plus, the idea that Harry and Voldemort are the "same person" is taken to the extreme, with the Redditor writing that when Dumbledore visits an orphanage to collect a young Tom Riddle in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," it's actually Harry somehow, which would make the entire timeline of "Harry Potter" incorrect. This visit takes place years before Harry's birth, and ostensibly, Harry is a real person.
Even pushing all of that aside, "Harry Potter" is a series about how love, friendship, and kindness can overcome even the most dangerous of hurdles. It feels relentlessly bleak and sad that the entire thing would be about a young boy struggling with mental demons, so for now, we can safely assume that Hogwarts is what it is presented as — a school for young magical children where they learn to turn mice into teacups.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org