The world of Harry Potter hosts dozens upon dozens of amazing and fantastic creatures. The newest movie franchise, Fantastic Beasts, has given these creatures more of a chance to come into focus. However, in some cases, they’re not as threatening as one might expect. Many of the creatures included within Harry Potter lore are actually based on real lore throughout the world. And, more often than not, these creatures have been tamed somewhat. This was probably done to make them more child-friendly.
Kelpie
![Harry Potter: 11 Fantastic Beasts That Weren’t As Terrifying As They Should’ve Been In The Movies](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kelpie-Fantastic-Beasts.jpg)
Newt is shown tending to a Kelpie in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. However, had this Kelpie been more similar to the ones in lore, his assistant would be having bigger problems than an injured hand.
Kelpies are shapeshifting water spirits, and they are best known for offering rides to unknowing strangers, only to drown them and, presumably, eat them. They are not friendly creatures and are also associated with human sacrifices. Nowadays, their tales are usually told to keep children from wandering too close to the water, especially when unsupervised.
Grindylow
![Concept art for a Grindylow in Harry Potter](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Grindylow-from-Harry-Potter.jpg)
The Grindylow are a nuisance in Harry Potter, but only if you’re diving deep into a lake. Otherwise, they seem pretty harmless. Well, except for their numbers, perhaps. Grindylow are an English monster, and, like the Kelpie, are associated with dragging people into the deeps. Though they prefer children in this instance. They also tend to linger around bogs as well as lakes. Clearly, they’re not picky, which just means you have to be careful around any and all waters.
Giant
![Harry Potter Giants](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Harry-Potter-Giants.jpg)
Giants are terrifying and formidable, and, admittedly, the novels do a slightly better job of portraying their dangers. Not only did they tell us more of Hagrid’s tale going up against these brutes, but they showed them fighting during the Battle of Hogwarts.
We probably don’t need to explain why giants would be so dangerous. Their size and hunger alone are reasons enough to avoid them. We should also probably just be grateful that they weren’t more graphically portrayed in the movies.
Kappa
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Harry-Potter-Kappa.jpg)
Kappas are yet another water-based creature you’d rather not come across, given the chance. We’ve only seen a Kappa in passing during The Crimes of Grindelwald, but they seemed relatively calm, all things considered. Perhaps that’s because they were clearly caged at the time. Kappas are Japanese water spirits and are infamous for assaulting people in the waters. It’s believed that they would happily remove a specific organ from their human targets. However, they can also be appeased with cucumbers, so that’s something, at least.
Oni
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Fantastic-Beasts-Oni.jpg)
Oni are another creature from Japanese lore. They fall into similar categories as demons and the like. They’re large and intimidating, and they really are not the sort of creature you’d like to stumble across. Not even Newt would have enjoyed meeting one of these guys.
Since the Oni have only made their appearance in poster form so far, we don’t actually know how they would behave. Still, it seems risky to be hauling one around as a simple attraction, don’t you think?
Zouwu
![The Zouwu and Newt Scamander in Crimes of Grindelwald](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fantastic-Beasts-Crimes-of-Grindelwald-Zouwu-Newt-Scamander.jpg)
Remember that adorable and oversized cat-like creature that Newt tamed with the bell toy? That’s a Zouwu. And actually, they did a pretty decent job with the way they’re portrayed. Really, the only thing that could be considered off about them is the way people reacted to them, because these beautiful creatures are kind of a big deal.
Redcap
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Redcap.jpg)
Professor Lupin had the students face off against Redcaps as part of their finals for the year. Had these been the Redcaps of lore, a lot of students would have died, and Lupin would have been out of his job a lot faster. Redcaps fall into the fae category, and not the pretty fairy type either. They’re brutal, and get their names for their blood-soaked caps. They’re a form of goblin, which probably says enough right there—at least where the lore is involved.
Centaur
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Harry-Potter-Centaurs.jpg)
When it comes to lore, Centaurs don’t exactly have the best reputation. Sure, Harry Potter got their looks right—though it is a bit hard to mess that up—but they didn’t show all the brutality that they’re capable of. You see, Centaurs are just as varied as humans are. Meaning that some of them are kind, while some of them are truly vile monsters. We got a bit of an idea in that in the books, but the movies cut back on a lot of that.
Sphinx
![Artwork depicting the Sphinx inside the Harry Potter Triwizard Tournament maze](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Harry-Potter-Sphinx.jpg)
The Sphinx is one of those magical creatures that didn’t even make it into the Harry Potter movies despite its appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. We’re going to have to simply talk about the book version in this instance, for lack of a better option.
In the book, Harry had to answer a riddle in order to continue on with the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament. We were given the impression that Harry would have lost the chance to get the cup had he answered wrong. Meanwhile, had this been a classic mythological tale, the Sphinx would have happily devoured Harry for answering incorrectly.
Boggarts
![The Snape Boggart in Prisoner Of Azkaban](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Snape-Boggart.jpg)
Boggarts almost seem like the joke of the series. In the movies, they’re a nuisance, but not really a dangerous one. And, while a darker scene was included in the books—the one where Molly kept seeing her family dead—that’s really not the same sort of threat we’re talking about here.
Boggarts are malicious little monsters, and they’re not confined to cupboards or closets either. Hiding under a bed would suit them just fine. In fact, that would give them more room to mess with people, so it’s even better for them.
Cerberus
![Fluffy baring his teeth in Harry Potter](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Fluffy-Harry-Potter-e1559841069520.jpg)
Fluffy is very clearly based on Cerberus, the three-headed dog of ancient Greek lore. Both obviously have three heads, and both are distracted by music. However, perhaps it’s Hagrid’s influence over the matter, or perhaps it’s the name itself, but Fluffy doesn’t seem as intimidating as its ancestor. We know that it’s more than capable of hurting a human (Snape can prove that), but would Fluffy have happily killed or eaten a trespasser? Dumbledore certainly thought so… but we’ll never really know.