An Hallowe'en Feast

> By the time Hallowe'en arrived, Harry was regretting his rash promise to go to the ***deathday party***. The rest of the school was happily anticipating their Hallowe'en feast; the Great Hall had been decorated with the usual live bats, Rubeus Hagrid's vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and there were rumours that Albus Dumbledore had booked a ***troupe of dancing skeletons'** for the entertainment.*
>
> *Description, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*

 *The **Hallowe'en feast** at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry occurred on 31 October every year. It was festooned with confectionery-filled* **pumpkins***, apples, black* **cauldrons** *of big lollipops,* **carrot cake***,* **bats***, orange streamers,* **goblets** *of coloured sweets, possibly* **Pumpkin juice***, and all sorts of Hallowe'en-related decorations.
There was always some entertainment at the end, which might be by the Hogwarts ghosts who popped out of the walls and did formation gliding. It was a highly anticipated feast which most Hogwarts students looked forward to every year.

### Location

Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle, Scotland, Great Britain*

## History

### 1990s

> A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.
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> Description of the feast in 1991, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 File:Troll in the Dungeons!.jpg
In 1991, the feast was interrupted by Professor Quirrell, who came in screaming that there was a troll in the dungeons before fainting. In reality, the mountain troll had been secretly let in by Quirrell under Lord Voldemort's orders. The feast was cut short and all the students had to finish it in their common rooms, while the teachers went to find the troll. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley went off to find and inform Hermione Granger about it in the bathroom and ran into the ***troll***.
In 1992, it was rumoured that Albus Dumbledore had booked a ***band of skeletons*** to play there. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger did not attend the feast. As such, Argus Filch believed that they were involved with the Petrification of his cat, Mrs Norris, which occurred on the same night since they were not at the feast with all the other students.

## Behind the scenes

* In the first book, when Professor Quirrell reports that a troll is in the dungeons, Dumbledore tasks all prefects with leading the students back to the Common Rooms. In the GBA version, he tells everyone to stay in the Great Hall and specifically asks Gryffindor Prefect Percy Weasley to guard the door. Ron and Harry have to get past him when leaving the hall on their way to save Hermione Granger from the troll.

## Appearances

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## Notes and references

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