- "The jet of red light hit the Death Eater in the middle of his chest: he froze, his arm still raised, his wand fell to the floor with a clatter and he collapsed backwards towards the bell jar."
- — Description.[src]
The Stunning Spell (Stupefy), also known as a Stunner, is a charm[1] that renders a victim unconscious and halts moving objects. It is commonly used in duels, and was one of the spells Harry Potter taught Dumbledore's Army. If the spell is used by multiple wizards aiming at the same target, the damage it causes is increased, for example; Professor McGonagall had to be moved to St Mungo's after being hit with the spell by multiple Ministry of Magic employees in 1996, and Madam Pomfrey expressed surprise that it did not kill her. If multiple Stunning Spells are aimed at a dragon, they will work, however one alone is not strong enough.[2] It manifests itself as a jet of scarlet light.
Defence against the Stunning Spell
Stunning Spell being blocked by Lucius Malfoy
The effects of a Stunning Spell may be counteracted by Rennervate, but will also wear off with time. It can also be deflected by a Shield Charm. Species known to be naturally resistant to the spell include dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants. Rubeus Hagrid was unaffected by this spell when, in 1996, several Ministry of Magic employees attempted to remove him from Hogwarts grounds.
It is also possible to bewitch objects to be resistant to the spell. Fred and George Weasley bewitched their fireworks to explode when hit by Stunning Spells.[2]
Known uses
| Caster(s) | Victim(s) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Pettigrew | Ron Weasley | Cast non-verbally with the wand of Remus Lupin, in order to make his escape.[3] |
| Peter Pettigrew | Crookshanks | Cast non-verbally with the wand of Remus Lupin, in order to make his escape.[3] |
| Twenty Ministry of Magic employees | Winky & Barty Crouch Jr | During the chaos after Morsmordre was cast following the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.[3] |
| Harry Potter | Ron Weasley | Used numerous times on during practice for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament.[3] |
| Barty Crouch Jr (in disguise as Alastor Moody) | Fleur Delacour | Used discretely during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament in an effort to ensure that Harry won.[3] |
| Harry Potter | Viktor Krum | During the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament to save Cedric Diggory from the Cruciatus Curse Krum was casting under the influence of the Imperius Curse.[3] |
| Albus Dumbledore | Bartemius Crouch Jr. | After Harry's return from the Little Hangleton graveyard, Dumbledore used the spell to subdue the disguised Bartemius Crouch Jr. after he had attempted to attack Harry[3] |
| Dolores Umbridge | Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs firework | At the start of Umbridge's reign as Headmistress at Hogwarts, she attempted to stun the Weasley twins fireworks in order to prevent them from spreading around the school[2] |
| Five Ministry of Magic employees | Minerva McGonagall | The Ministry employees were trying to remove Rubeus Hagrid from Hogwarts, but attacked McGonagall when she offered him protection.[2] The concentrated effects were devastating enough to have her hospitalized, and was considered a miracle that she did not die. |
| Nigel Wolpert | Harry Potter | Used in the Room of Requirement during a D.A. practice.[4] |
| Hermione Granger | Nott | During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in defence of Harry Potter.[2] |
| Harry Potter & Hermione Granger | Crabbe Sr. & Rabastan Lestrange | During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.[2] |
| Unknown Death Eater | Ginny Weasley | During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.[2] |
| Unknown Death Eater | Luna Lovegood | During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.[2] |
| Ron Weasley | Unknown Death Eater | During the Battle of the Seven Potters.[5] |
| Harry Potter | Thorfinn Rowle | During a skirmish at the Luchino Caffe in 1997.[5] |
| Harry Potter | A Muggle waitress | While aiming for Antonin Dolohov during a skirmish at Tottenham Court Road.[5] |
| Hermione Granger | Mafalda Hopkirk | As part of the Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic in 1997.[5] |
| Harry Potter | Dolores Umbridge and Yaxley | While infiltrating the Ministry.[5] |
| Bellatrix Lestrange | Scabior and three other Snatchers | After they defied her authority at Malfoy Manor.[5] |
| Harry Potter | Lucius Malfoy | During the Battle of Malfoy Manor.[5] |
| Harry Potter | Fenrir Greyback | During the Battle of Malfoy Manor, using three wands at once.[5] |
| Ron Weasley (supposedly as Dragomir Despard) | A beggar | The beggar lunged at Hermione while she was disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange with Polyjuice Potion.[5] |
| Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley | Various Goblins at Gringotts | During their escape from the bank after robbing it in 1998.[5] |
| Luna Lovegood | Alecto Carrow | While searching for information on Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem with Harry Potter during the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Hermione Granger | Gregory Goyle | During a skirmish in the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Fred Weasley | Unknown Death Eater | During the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Dean Thomas | Unknown Death Eater | During the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Harry Potter | Unknown Death Eater | In assistance to Draco Malfoy during the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Parvati Patil | Travers | During the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
| Aberforth Dumbledore | Augustus Rookwood |
During the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] |
Etymology
"Stupefy" comes from the English stupefy, which means "to stun" or "to amaze". It may also come from the Latin stupere, meaning "to be stunned".
Behind the scenes
The DA using the Stunning Spell against Death Eaters
- Another variation of the spell is Stupefy Duo.
- In the books, it is described as a "jet of red light," and appears as such at the beginning of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Ministry of Magic Officials apparate near the trio and attempt to stun them after the destruction of the Quidditch World Cup fair grounds. However, from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on, it is shown as blue light that often just knocks people off their feet.
- Harry counters unidentified green curses cast by Death Eaters with the Stunning Spell, causing the spells to collide and explode in midair. If these green curses were Killing Curses, then this would indicate that Killing Curse can be parried if it collides with another spell.
- In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Stupefy is shown as a ball of red light, but when cast by opponents, it is green, like the Killing Curse.
Yaxley being hit by the Stunning Spell.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione attempts to use a Stunning Spell on one of the enemy giants, but is prevented from doing so by Ron as it would "crush half the castle." However, it was Hermione herself who pointed out in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Stunning Spells are almost completely ineffective against Giants, even when cast by multiple wizards.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, it can be bought at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley.
- Flavius Belby tried to use this spell against a lethifold, however it had no effect as lethifolds can only be repelled by the Patronus Charm.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Hermione casts Stupefy at Blaise in the Room of Requirement instead of Gregory Goyle. This is due to Crabbe's part being replaced by Blaise and thus is Goyle is the one to conjure the Fiendfyre.
- It has been implied that Dobby does this to Wormtail in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. However, when Harry does this to Umbridge and Mafalda, they are instantly knocked out, while Wormtail stands for a few seconds, says "Ow" (hinting that the spell was quite painful) and collapses. This, as well as his unintended non-reappearance in Part 2, suggests that he may be dead, or that Dobby used a different spell to knock him out.
- In Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , Voldemort casts Stupefy at Neville Longbottom out of anger, after Harry Potter seemingly came back to life. Neville was blown backward into the Great Hall, and remained unconscious until he woke to slay Nagini.
- In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during one of the classes od the DA, Harry calls a Stunning spell, "a wizard's bread and butter."
Stupefy in different languages
| Language | Incantation |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian (Български) |
Вцепени се (literally - "be numb") |
| Dutch | Paralitis |
| Catalan | Animo Linqui |
| Croatian | Omami |
| German | Stupor |
| Hungarian |
Stupor |
| Icelandic | Rænulaus |
| Italian | Stupeficium |
| Spanish |
Desmaius/ Desmaio |
|
Swedish |
Lamslå |
| Finnish | Tainnutu |
| Danish | Lammer (Stunner) |
| French | Stupéfix |
| Romanian | Stupefy |
| Norwegian | Lamstivosløvus |
| Polish | Drętwota |
| Greek | Αποχαυνώσιους - (Apochavnosius) |
| Hebrew |
שתק |
| Hindi | जर्व्तम (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) or बिसमित भव (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)) |
| Turkish | Sersemlet |
| Estonian | Juhmista |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Atordoar/Stupefy (Books); Estupidificar (VideoGames) |
| Portuguese (Brasil) | Estupefaça; Estupore(In the movie of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) |
| Serbian | Ošamuti |
| Thai | สตูเปฟาย |
| Russian | Окаменей (in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire); Остолбеней (in later books) |
| Czech | Mdloby na tebe! |
| Slovak | Nehýb sa! |
| Slovenian | Hromi! |
| Vietnamese | Điểm huyệt! |
| Japanese | Suchu-pifai! 「麻痺せよ!」, pronounced "Mahi seyo!!" literally means, "Be paralyzed!" in Japanese. |
Appearances
Harry casts Stupefy in the Duelling Club.
Aurors casting Stupefy
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter: Spells
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape (Possibly)
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- Wonderbook: Book of Spells
- Harry Potter for Kinect
Notes and references
- ↑ JK's official site (text only), accessed 28/7/2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "GOF" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
