This 31 October, there are some exotic magical creatures out there that won’t be put off by even the scariest of carved pumpkin faces…

The Werewolf

The curse of the werewolf is so well-known that even Muggles have learned to fear them – although outside the wizarding world they’re still thought of as nothing more than a scary story. Most of the time, of course, a werewolf is only as dangerous as you are, but when the moon is full the person afflicted transforms into a ravenous wolf-like monster.

Even worse, not every werewolf is as good-natured as everyone’s favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin: some have been known to spread their curse deliberately, like the infamous Fenrir Greyback. As Newt Scamander notes in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, werewolves are particularly dangerous: ‘Almost uniquely among fantastic creatures, the werewolf actively seeks humans in preference to any other kind of prey.’ Did you know there’s a full moon coming up?

The Pogrebin

A Pogrebin is a small Russian demon with a large rounded head that resembles a stone. It chooses a person to follow and creates such a feeling of lethargy and despair in them that finally they can take no more and fall to their knees. It’s at this point that the Pogrebin, nasty creature that it is, pounces to eat its victim.

Thankfully it can be driven off with common hexes or, if you’re you’re so inclined, a well-aimed kick has also been found to be effective.

The Bundimun

A Bundimun infestation will fill your house with the smell of decay – kind of like an anti-air freshener.

It can be hard to spot them, as they look like patches of green mould, but you need to root them out quickly. Their unwelcome scent may help create a spooky ambience, but Bundimun secretions eat through buildings, and nothing would ruin your Hallowe’en party more than the house collapsing.

The Erkling

The Erkling is a three-foot high elfin monster from Germany, capable of attracting children with its high-pitched cackling. It all sounds a bit Pied Piper, doesn’t it? It would be terrible if an Erkling were abroad at Hallowe’en: as you might have guessed, it wouldn’t be the trick-or-treat sweets it wanted to eat…

The Kappa

Lupin, while he was a professor, taught a class about Kappas: in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban they’re described as ‘creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds’.