Inevitably, not every chapter or great moment fromJ.K. Rowling’sHarry Potterbooks could make it into the movies.Most omissions are understandableand forgivable.One, however, is not: The Deathday party. The Deathday Party is a celebration that commemorates Nearly Headless Nick’s (John Cleese) death on June 20, 2025, a truly ghostly Halloween. There’s one chapter dedicated to this event inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but there’s not even a passing mention of it inChris Columbus’film adaptation! Let’s take a moment to give this chapter and Nearly Headless Nick the credit they’re due. Since Chris gave Nick a harsher cut than the executioner ever did.
Nick Threw His Own Haunted Party
The chapter begins with Harry Potter, played byDaniel Radcliffe, bumping into Nearly Headless Nick after Quidditch practice.Nick doesn’t make the cut for the Headless Hunt.After all, it “can only accept huntsmen whose heads have parted company with their bodies…it would be impossible otherwise for members to participate in hunt activities such as Horseback Head-Juggling.” The quintessentialdry, British humordehydrates every morbid word. Whether you’re a parent reading to a child or just a sharp muggle reader,it’s difficult not to laugh at the wit.Before Nick can tell Harry about his alternative celebration, a grumpy Argus Filch (David Bradley) arrives on the scene, scaring even the ghost away (though he maintains composure and doesn’t lose his head). Filch brings Harry to his cluttered, musty office, but before he can dole out medieval punishment (perhaps with the “highly polished collection of chains and manacles hung on the wall,")the poltergeist, Peeves, causes a ruckus, thus pealing Filch away. Harry escapes and finds Nick again, who invites him to his 500th deathday celebration. In these first pages of the chapter,readers can appreciate a dose of gallows-humor imagery that is yet to be seen in the books.
It’s Easier to Celebrate a Deathday…When You’re Dead
Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) arrive on the scene for Nick’s Halloween celebration. The other guests consist of “hundreds of pearly-white, translucent people” gathered in a dungeon where a “chandelier overhead blazed midnight-blue with a thousand more black candles.“The gothic imagery evokes scenes from Edgar Allan Poe.Complementing the sights that Harry and the gang absorb are also the smells of rotten food on display since ghosts require a strong flavor to taste anything. The vivid descriptions read almost like a set design in a screenplay. Thoughthe recently greenlit Harry Potter TV showmay include this scene, the sights and scents may forever remain within readers' imaginations (maybe that’s best with the smells).
No Matter What, That ‘Harry Potter’ TV Show Must Include This Missing Storyline
The movies forgot about this crucial backstory.
Once the gang is accustomed to (or accosted by, depending on perspective) the sights and smells, they meetMoaning Myrtle (Shirley Henderson).She proceeds to wail in keeping with her name after Peeves taunts her, and once all is settled, Nick begins a toast. Only to be interrupted!A headless horseman barges into the dungeon accompanied by other ghoulish riders.They begin to play, unsurprisingly, Head Hockey. In the havoc that ensues, Harry, Ron, and Hermione take the opportunity to leave the party; it isn’t quite all they hoped for. But trouble finds them soon enough. They stumble upon Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris, hanging petrified by her tail from a torch bracket.
The ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ Movie Filled in the Gaps
The movieHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsis certainly a highlight in the franchise. The omission of Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday celebration, glaring as it is, does not ruin the film.In fact, the direction is clever in rearranging the introduction of Myrtle’s character and the circumstances leading to Harry stumbling upon Mrs. Norris.Maybe it was more efficient to introduce Myrtle in her latrine abode.
The Deathday chapter does feature some of Rowling’s most creative imagery, though, and certainly would have been a sight on the big screen.It also might be the most macabre chapter in the first two books. Perhaps it’ll feature in the upcoming TV adaptation, or perhaps it’ll forever remain an image in ink. But thisHalloween, fans of all things Harry Potterwould be wise to keep their heads on a swivel, should the Headless Hunt happen to crash their party too.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The second installment of boy wizard Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A mysterious elf tells Harry to expect trouble during his second year at Hogwarts, but nothing can prepare him for trees that fight back, flying cars, spiders that talk and deadly warnings written in blood on the walls of the school.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsis Available to Stream on Max in the U.S.
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