Dementor
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Image:Dementor.JPG In the Harry Potter book series, a dementor is an utterly foul soul-sucking fictional fiend. They were the guardians of the wizard prison, Azkaban until they joined Lord Voldemort.
In appearance, dementors are humanoid figures approximately three meters in height covered in dark, hooded cloaks which reveal only grey, scabby, decaying hands. According to the author, they grow like fungi in the darkest, dankest places [1], creating a dense, chilly fog. That they can come into existence implies that they can go out of existence, though this would have to involve starvation as dementors are immune to physical violence. Their movie counterparts are considerably shorter, and fly instead of gliding.
The wraith-like creatures have no eyes. They sense and feed on the positive emotions of human beings, forcing them to relive their worst memories. The very presence of a dementor makes the surrounding atmosphere grow cold and dark, and the effects are cumulative with the amount of dementors present. Those kept in the company of a dementor for too long are often driven insane, which is the main source of Azkaban's well-deserved horrible reputation. Prolonged exposure to a dementor can also rob a wizard of his power, which is probably the reason the ministry uses them as guards in Azkaban. Their source of sustenance allows the Ministry of Magic to reluctantly employ them; dementors are at least intelligent enough to be greedy, and to obey as long as doing so provides them with a bigger feast. Dementors are invisible to Muggles and Squibs, but affect them in the same way. While at least one Squib in the series has claimed to see a Dementor, J. K. Rowling has stated that this was a lie [2]. The author has herself likened the effect of a dementor to the human ailment known as depression.
The only way to shield oneself from dementors is to use the difficult Patronus Charm to drive them away. The charm summons a patronus, a sort of magical manifestation of good will, providing varied levels of protection against the dementors' influence, based on the caster's strength as a wizard. When summoned by an experienced caster, the patronus will take the form of an animal significant in some way to the individual (remininscent of the concept of a totem or spirit animal), while the lower level patronus is more amorphous and ephemeral. Chocolate is an effective first aid to mild cases of contact.
In addition to feeding on positive emotions, dementors can perform what is known as the Dementor's Kiss where the dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's and sucks out the person's soul. The victim is left as an empty shell, incapable of thought and with no possibility of recovery. It is believed existing after a Dementor's Kiss is worse than death (in fact, as a person's soul is their self, to be "kissed" by a dementor is to cease to exist). The Ministry of Magic occasionally allows this as a punishment. It is implied that some wizards feel the Kiss is a fate too horrible for any criminal, and as such the Dementor's Kiss can perhaps be seen as an allegory for the death penalty. Muggles who have had their souls sucked out in a dementors attack would mistakenly be thought to suffer from the medical condition known as brain dead by muggle doctors since the victim would have no memory or anything after the lethal "kiss". This makes Dementors even more terryfing since they'll attack both Wizards and Muggles alike (yet only magical beings can see their attacker).
The demonic creatures were inspired by nightmares J.K. Rowling had as a teenager.
Some people have compared dementors being similar to Nazgûl in The Lord Of The Rings, due the fact they are both robed in black and inspire terror in their presence. There are also similarities between dementors and the spectres in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Lethfolds from J.K Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them share many of the same characteristics as Dementors. The Patronus Charm is the only spell that effects them and they to are covered in black cloaks.
Dementors in the narrative
Harry Potter first encountered dementors during the school year of 1993-1994, when they were sent to guard Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against Sirius Black, who had recently escaped Azkaban Prison. Harry, whenever he got near one, was forced to relive his worst memory: hearing the last moments of his parents before they were murdered by Lord Voldemort. His first encounter with a dementor was on the Hogwarts Express and he was on the verge of death before he was saved by his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin.
Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore warned the Hogwarts students not to give the dementors any reason to harm them.
Harry endured a second encounter with a group of dementors during a Quidditch game, which caused him to lose consciousness and suffer a near fatal fall from his broom. Disaster was only averted by Dumbledore, who arrested Harry's fall then drove the dementors away with a Patronus.
To overcome the dementors, Harry asked Lupin for assistance. Lupin taught Harry the Patronus Charm. When Harry finally mastered the Patronus Charm, his Patronus took the form of a silver stag.
Harry failed to produce a fully formed Patronus when he and Sirius Black were attacked by a group of dementors. The two were miraculously saved however by the intervention of a powerful and fully formed Patronus, which had in fact been conjured by Harry himself, who had used a time turner to travel back into the past from three hours in the future. (This technically counts as both Harry's third and fourth encounters with the dementors, since, due to his time travelling, he experienced this same encounter twice.)
Harry's fifth encounter was in an alley near his home on Privet Drive, when he and his cousin Dudley Dursley were ambushed by two dementors (sent secretly and illegally by Dolores Umbridge). He was able to successfully use the Patronus Charm and was subsequently rescued by a Squib named Arabella Figg. JK Rowling has said that she may reveal in book 7 what Dudley's "worst memory" is, i.e. the memory the dementors forced him to relive during this attack. "What would spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley have been forced to hear?" (p33, Order of the Phoenix, UK paperback edition)
Dementors served the Ministry of Magic as the guards of Azkaban because it allowed them to feast on their human victims. However, at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the dementors of Azkaban mass revolt against their employers to join Lord Voldemort as he can provide them with more humans to feast upon.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the dementors from Azkaban joined Voldemort and were breeding, thus causing the "unseasonal" July mist.
Dementors represent the unexplained formless fears that haunt the human mind.
Etymology
The name "dementor" is arguably derived from "demented"; i.e. insane. Thus a dementor is literally something that dements. The word also suggests "mentor", or teacher, giving the idea that the dementor is an "un-teacher", something that deconstructs and undoes your memory and mind. This may be a reason why one uses a "Patron-us" to shield themself from the effect of a "de-mentor". The word Patron not only suggests something or someone supportive, but also, being derived from the Latin "Pater" meaning "father", suggests someone "fatherly". Harry's Patronus was a silver stag, and his father James Potter was known to be able to turn into a stag.
Another likely idea is that it is a portmanteau of the words demon and tormentor.it:Dissennatore nl:Dementor ja:吸魂鬼 no:Desperant pl:Dementor pt:Dementador fi:Luettelo Harry Potter -käsitteistä sv:Dementor