"Harry Potter" Jump Scares Ranked From "Scared, Potter?" To "You Wish"

Accio jump scare warning!

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When you're a kid, any loud noise can count as a jump scare, and wow, do the Harry Potter movies offer plenty of jump scares for kids that made you...FLINCH!

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*Flinch, not Filch...never mind.

Here's my ranking of what I found to be the most "flinch-worthy" jump scares from the eight Harry Potter movies:

*Note* I am basing this list off when I was a kid, seeing these films for the first time. My memory isn't fantastic, so please comment any jump scares I might have missed or just don't remember that made you jump as a kid.

15. Helena Ravenclaw yelling (Deathly Hallows Part II)

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Inside voices, please. Harry Potter is just having a conversation with the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, which flips into her screaming in his face about her diadem being defiled by "dark magic."

A lot is squeezed into the final installment of the Harry Potter saga, but this might be the last good scare. It is a good one to start this list, too, emphasizing "jump scare" and not just "scary moments" or anything like that.

14. Hagrid arrives with a bang! (Sorcerer's Stone)

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A loud sound warning should be incorporated on this list, because most of the jump scares incorporate loud noises or music.

Hagrid's first appearance to non-baby Harry is something out of a home invasion horror. Here comes this giant slamming on the door and waking up the Dursleys. Apparently, magic is illegal in the wizarding world, but breaking and entering's "perfectly league-well."

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13. Mandrakes need to Man-Stop (Chamber of Secrets)

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Nothing says cheap jump scare like the crying-wailing-baby-plant. The Mandrakes scene was predictable, especially if you read the books, but I don't think anyone in theatres was ready for these things to be so darn loud.

"It's cry can be fatal to those who hear it," and Professor Sprout (how did I forget her name? It's literally Sprout) was just like, "LOL, Longbottom must have been playing with his earmuffs." What?! I know she says they aren't as lethal or something, but he might be dead on the ground... Oh, he just fainted. Haha. Seriously, CALL SOMEONE FOR HELP, SPROUT! Teacher of the Year. -_-

12. Voldemort's ghost...head (Sorcerer's Stone)

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Harry picks up the stone, only for the entity of Voldemort to be forming behind him. It then cuts to a shot of Voldemort's face attacking the camera. The suddenness of it is flinch-worthy, but not the scariest of jump scares in this film. 

11. Cursed (Half-Blood Prince)

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Katie Bell, offscreen, touches an opal necklace that turns out to be cursed. The whole moment is jumpy, the way she is whipped around, her friend screaming offscreen to signal something is wrong in the first place.

Overall, well-orchestrated, haunting, but not too hardcore of a jump scare.

10. Screaming egg (Goblet of Fire)

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Don't open it! A cocky Harry Potter eggs (hehe) his fellow housemates on about opening his precious golden egg he had retrieved in a tournament he shouldn't even be a part of in the first place, which leads to an ear-piercing scream that ruins everyone's night.

As far as "loud jump scares," this one isn't as good as some others. 

9. Dementor over your shoulder (Order of the Phoenix)

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Running from a dementor, Harry and Dud-ems hide in a tunnel. A dementor pops over Harry's shoulder and gives the crowd a decent jump scare right out of the gate.

This to me is still one of the weirdest openings of any of the Harry Potter movies, but the scare was solid.

8. That old "reaching-into-the-water" scare (Half-Blood Prince)

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Classic horror. Unknowing fool reaches into something, while the audience remembers someone warning them not to do that very thing. So, what do you get? A violent, grabby hand!

I enjoyed this whole scene in both the movie and the book. I wouldn't say it was the most creative jump scare though.

7. Chomp-y book Part II (Prisoner of Azkaban)

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An immediate follow-up jump scare from a chomping book about monsters. This one isn't as good as Part I (which you will scroll down and discover shortly). Harry looks under the bed and sees a seemingly calmer book hiding, but — MEH, IT'S ME — the book comes charging forward...chomping away.

How better to top off a jump scare than a back-to-back jump scare!

6. Dementors at a quidditch match (Prisoner of Azkaban)

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Harry Potter can't just have a game of quidditch without making it about him. Dementors swarm the pitch and the skies, leading to Harry's POV of a dementor leaning in and doing that dementor face-suck thing.

I loved this one personally; even though it is not the top-dog on this list, the way it is shot is still very effective. No cheap high-pitched music, just the inhaling of the dementor.

5. Bathilda Bagshot (Deathly Hallows Part I)

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Harry and Hermione are hanging around what they think is Bathilda Bagshot (the greatest name ever). But surprise! It's Voldemort's snake, and totally not a Horcrux, Nagini!

The scene is really more creepy than a jump scare, but the suddenness of it might be deemed "flinch-worthy" by me, myself, and I. The votes are in. Unanimous. It's on the list.

4. A little spider on Ron Weasley's window (Chamber of Secrets)

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After thinking they evaded Aragog's nest, a giant spider breaks through Ron's window and starts attacking him. It is loud, sudden, and after a faraway shot of the spider-less car, completely unexpected.

I love the practical spider, but the jump-cut to Ron makes it a little less of an effective jump scare.

3. The shrieking book (Sorcerer's Stone)

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In the Restricted Section of the library, Harry sneaks around looking for a book on Nicolas Flamel. He picks up a book and opens it, where, instantly, a face (Freddy Krueger-style) starts bellowing off of the page.

This one easily could have been number one, but I don't love it as a scare, even though it is pretty effective.

2. Chomp-y book Part I (Prisoner of Azkaban)

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Harry Potter takes a look at a book titled The Monster Book of Monsters and proceeds to ignore that the book is fury, has teeth, and has four eyes. Seriously, this kid questions everything throughout the first two movies, and here he is just picking up a clearly alive book? Oh, the book opens up and tries to bite him, by the way.

1. Hand of Glory (Chamber of Secrets)

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Harry yells "diagonally" and ends up inside a creepy store, so naturally, he snoops around. He goes near an old, crusty hand. When he touches it, the hand wraps its fingers around his hand and won't let go.

Maybe my favorite jump scare as a horror fan because it is practical and they stay on the shot, so when the hand grabs Harry, it is a great jump scare.

Did any of these moments make you jump as a kid? Comment below!

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