It’s Halloween! Time for some Potter-crafting!

The Harry Potter series is remarkable for the amount of fan activism and fan creativity it has inspired. Check out the first post in our new Creators’ Corner series, profiling crocheter Bumble and Be.

Whilst we can bake and knit and sew and paint and carve and write, etc., all year long, for many of us, Halloween raises our creative energy every year like zombies rising from their graves. Ok, perhaps zombies aren’t a great analogy for creativity, but you get the point that this first fall celebration can serve as an impetus for creativity that continues through the holiday season.

Are you making any Potterific crafts for Halloween this year? The pandemic means that some of us are stuck at home and separated from our usual Halloween activities, such as parties and trick-or-treating. Do you have more time for crafts this year? If not, are you determined to make something festive and fun for Halloween anyway, even if it’s no more than carving your usual pumpkin?

If you are looking for inspiration, Leaky’s website has a crafts section that you can skim for ideas and instructions. Click on the link or just look up at the menu bar above this post. It’s cold working in this drafty old pub, so I am planning to knit myself a pair of fingerless house mitts to keep me hands warm. Wrapping them around a mug of warm Butterbeer will also help to warm me up, so I think I’ll make some of that as well. Our recipe section lists several different versions, and also many Wizard sweets, which seem to fit well with Halloween, what with names like jelly slugs and pumpkin pasties. I wonder if anyone has developed a recipe for the blood lollipops that Hermione and Ron are considering as a treat to bring back for Harry from Honeydukes in Prisoner of Azkaban? When Harry sneaks up behind them and says “Definitely not” after Ron suggests Cockroach Clusters instead is one of my favourite little humorous moments. I can’t say I’m eager for a recipe for Cockroach Clusters but it occurs to me that one could substitute dates or pecans if one is not keen to eat real cockroaches.

We’d love to see and share your crafts! Please post them to social media with the hashtags #Pottercrafts and #leakycauldronhalloween.