Hogwarts School of Theology

by Johnny

Halloween has come and gone (only 361 days left till the next one), but I want to briefly call to attention one important aspect of this fascinating holiday; that of confronting your fears with laughter and mockery. A while ago, I came across an interesting article by James B. Jordan (director of Biblical Horizons) titled “Concerning Halloween” exploring the Christian elements in Halloween. Jordan writes:

The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: On October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom.

What is the means by which the demonic realm is vanquished? In a word: mockery. Satan’s great sin (and our great sin) is pride. Thus, to drive Satan from us we ridicule him. This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.

The idea of mocking Satan is not new. Martin Luther said, “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn” and Thomas More said, “The devil…the prowde spirite…cannot endure to be mocked”. It is no wonder C.S. Lewis uses these quotes in his epigraph to The Screwtape Letters.

J.K. Rowling seems to recognize the power of laughter and mockery in overcoming fear. In Prisoner of Azkaban, we are introduced to a dark creature known as a boggart. A boggart, to quote Hermione, is “a shape-shifter” which “can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most” (133). When you encounter a boggart, there is already that fear element. The antidote, according to Professor Lupin, is laughter. This laughter is not a simple one; a nervous laughter will not work here. It “requires force of mind” because you need to “force it to assume a shape that you find amusing” (134). By saying the charm riddikulus and concentrating on what “ridiculous” shape you want the boggart to assume, the boggart will turn from your worst fear to something funny. This is a form of mockery at the expense of your fears.

The same concept is at play in Halloween. Many times we dress up as our favorite characters, but we also dress up as ghosts, goblins, zombies, and others. Many people are not afraid of these, but how about tombstones, skeletons, and the Grim Reaper? Are we making sport of death? I suppose, but keep in mind that even Paul mocks death when he quotes from Hosea 13.14, “O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?” Halloween is a time when we confront our fears and mock them. Jordan said that “the defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween.” Is it any coincidence that J.K. Rowling had Harry Potter defeat the Dark Lord on Halloween when his mother’s love and sacrifice protected him against murder? I think not.

Riddikulus.

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