Harry Potter’s Gonna Send Me to HELL (Controversy Explained)

Harry Potter Theory

Tv & Film

4.7 • 701 Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As far as works of fiction go, the Harry Potter books are pretty mild.

Sure, the books do get a LITTLE bit darker as the story goes on..But you’d never go so far as to deem it SATANIC or something..Right?

Well, as it happens, many people DO think this way (I know, nuts), and ever since the first book hit the shelves in the late ‘90s, there have been waves of controversies surrounding the series—including some truly outrageous claims… Like Harry Potter being somehow synonymous with devil worship.

And that’s just one of these flagrant claims.

One asserts that the Harry Potter books act as an “open doorway that will put untold millions of kids into hell”

Another claims that that the books are “worse than rat poison mixed with orange soda”

And one religious figure even made the bold proclamation that: "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.”

These are REAL quotes.

But..Now the question is: Are these assertions substantiated in ANY WAY?

Today, we’re going to be tackling this topic head-on—unpacking why so many people believed Harry Potter served as a gateway to hell, what unfolded in the wake of these controversies, and why, despite all the backlash, the series not only survived…But became a global phenomenon.

Let’s dive in to it.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The following podcast contains audio extracted from videos on the Harry Potter Theory YouTube channel.
0:06.0	As far as works of fiction go, the Harry Potter books are pretty mild.
0:11.0	Sure, the books do get a little bit darker as the story goes on,
0:15.0	but you never go so far as to deem it satanic or something, right?
0:19.0	Well, as it happens, many people do think this way.
0:23.5	I know, nuts. And ever since the first book hit the shelves in the late 90s, there have been
0:29.0	waves of controversies surrounding the series, including some truly outrageous claims,
0:34.2	like Harry Potter being somehow synonymous with devil worship.
0:38.9	And that's just one of these flagrant claims.
0:42.3	One asserts that the Harry Potter books act as an open doorway that will put untold millions
0:47.7	of kids into hell.
0:49.7	Another claim that the books are worse than rat poison mixed with orange soda.
0:55.3	And one religious figure even made the bold proclamation that, behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the
1:01.1	king of the darkness, the devil. These are real quotes. But now the question is, are these
1:08.0	assertions substantiated in any way?
1:11.6	Today we're going to be tackling this topic head on, unpacking why so many people believed
1:15.9	Harry Potter served as a gateway to hell.
1:18.7	What unfolded in the wake of these controversies and why, despite all of the backlash,
1:23.8	the series not only survived, but became a global phenomenon.
1:28.3	Let's dive into it.
1:30.3	Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
1:42.3	Over the past few decades, the Harry Potter books have helped shape the imaginations of millions
	...

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