
January 21, 2025
Harry Potter | Hogwarts Houses | Slytherin House Information, Guide, & Facts
Ever wondered what the cunning house of Slytherin was like at Hogwarts? Check out this article to learn about Salazar Slytherin's house and more!


Buy: Harry Potter Merchandise & Gifts
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Table of Contents +
“Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.”
-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Slytherin House, one of the four houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is known for producing dark wizards, which has given it a bad reputation, but there is more to the house than that.
Continue on to learn more about known Slytherins, their common room, history, and more!
Attribute |
Details |
House Colors |
Green and Silver |
Mascot |
Serpent |
Head of House |
Severus Snape |
House Ghost |
Bloody Baron |
Founder |
Salazar Slytherin |
Slytherin | Information Guide & Facts
Character Name |
Date of Birth |
Starting Year at Hogwarts |
Blood-Status |
Draco Malfoy |
June 5, 1980 |
1991 |
Pure-Blood |
Vincent Crabbe |
1979-1980 |
1991 |
Pure-Blood |
Gregory Goyle |
November 2, 1979 |
1991 |
Pure-Blood |
Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort) |
December 21, 1926 |
1938 |
Half-Blood |
Severus Snape |
January 9, 1960 |
1971 |
Half-Blood |
Lucius Malfoy |
December 27, 1954 |
1965 |
Pure-Blood |
Bellatrix Lestrange |
August 1, 1951 |
1962 |
Pure-Blood |
Horace Slughorn |
April 28, 1882-1913 |
1893-1924 |
Pure-Blood |
Pansy Parkinson |
August 1, 1980 |
1991 |
Pure-Blood |
Millicent Bulstrode |
September 1, 1979 |
1991 |
Half-Blood |
Slytherin | Personality Traits
Witches and wizards sorted into Slytherin are known to have a certain set of traits that many perceive as negative. Students in Slytherin are cunning, ambitious, natural leaders, and focused on achievement at all costs. Slytherins are known to have an unusual fascination with the dark arts.
However, not all Slytherin traits are bad! Their resourcefulness knows no bounds and they're loyal. Many Slytherin students excel in Potions and Divinations. Their house is aligned with the element of Water.
Slytherin | House History
Slytherin House was founded by Salazar Slytherin, along with the other founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. Slytherin valued those with ambition and pure-blood. He built the Chamber of Secrets inside of the castle, which only his heir could open. Slytherin and his descendants could speak Parseltongue. He, along with the other founders, enchanted the sorting hat so that students would be sorted into their respective houses.
He believed in pure-blood supremacy. After having a falling out with the other founders, he left Hogwarts School. To this day, Slytherin has the least amount of Muggle-born students sorted into the house.
The Baron attended Hogwarts during the time of the founders. After Helena Ravenclaw ran away with her mother’s diadem, he was sent to find her. When she refused to return with him, he lashed out in rage and stabbed her. After realizing what he’d done, he turned the same knife on himself. He became a ghost at Hogwarts where he still wears the blood of Helena Ravenclaw as an act of penitence, earning him his gruesome moniker, the Bloody Baron.
The Gaunt family were the direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Merope Gaunt, a Squib, used a love potion on a muggle named Tom Riddle. While bewitched, Merope became pregnant with a child and Tom left once he was free of the love potion. Before she passed away, Merope gave birth to a boy who she named Tom and left him in an orphanage.
Tom Riddle grew up in an orphanage and began attending Hogwarts at the age of 11. When he was 16 years old, he opened the Chamber of Secrets, which resulted in the death of a Muggle-born student. Tom Riddle adopted the name Lord Voldemort and went on to become one of the most fearsome Dark Wizards in history.
Slytherin | Common Room
The Slytherin common room is in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle. A stone wall holds the secret entrance and can only be opened with the right password. A serpent will reveal the hidden doorway.
The common room is lit by golden lanterns and decorated with green rugs, chairs, and tapestries. Large windows sit at the far side of the room, letting in green-tinted light from the Black Lake. Half of the common room is underwater and students can sometimes spot the giant squid or a mermaid from the windows.
Stairs lead to the house dormitories and restrooms, separated by gender and year. The rooms are also decorated with Slytherin’s house colors, green and silver, and their mascot, the serpent, can be spotted throughout the space.
Buy: Harry Potter - Slytherin Merch
Buy:Harry Potter - Slytherin Merch
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any good Slytherins?
+Slytherins are not bad people, but many became dark wizards and Death Eaters. Horace Slughorn, the Potions Master in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was a Slytherin while he was at Hogwarts. Harry's son, Albus Potter, was also sorted into Slytherin.
Who is Slytherin's house ghost?
+The Slytherin House Ghost is the Bloody Baron, a ghost with silver blood stains on his clothes. He is the only ghost able to scare Peeves the Poltergeist.
Who is Slytherin's rival?
+Slytherin and Gryffindor House are rivals in academics and quidditch in the Harry Potter series. These two houses are usually neck and neck when it comes to house points and winning the house cup at the end of the year.
Which famous wizard in history was in Slytherin?
+The wizard, Merlin, was a Slytherin. Merlin was a student at Hogwarts not long after it was founded and is known to have ties with Ancient Magic.
Which Slytherins fought in the Battle of Hogwarts?
+Most Slytherin students were locked away during the Battle of Hogwarts. Many Slytherins had parents who were Death Eaters, so they weren't forced to pick a side. In the books, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle fight in the battle. In the movies, it’s Malfoy, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini.
Where is Slytherin's common room?
+Slytherin’s common room is located within the dungeons of Hogwarts. Part of it extends under the Black Lake and its tall windows let in sunlight filtered through the water, giving it a green tint.
What house was Dolores Umbridge in?
+It probably comes as no surprise, but Professor Dolores Umbridge was a Slytherin during her time at Hogwarts. With her cruel nature and hunger for power, she fits right in with the worst of the Slytherins.
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