The Witching Hour
| Name: | The Witching Hour | |
| Dates: | October 6-10, 2005 | |
| Frequency: | ||
| Location: | Salem, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Type: | fan con | |
| Focus: | Harry Potter | |
| Organization: | HP Education Fanon, Inc. | |
| Founder: | ||
| Founding Date: | ||
| URL: | ||
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | ||
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The Witching Hour was a fan-run Harry Potter "symposium" that was held in Salem, Massachusetts, from October 6 to October 10, 2005.[1] It was run by HP Education Fanon, Inc.
Theme
In the darkest hour of the night, where fair is foul and foul is fair, there is no good or evil.
"The focus — or spirit, if you will — of The Witching Hour is an exploration of the darkness within each of us, the choices that may turn our paths and the moral ambiguity that confounds us."[2]
Programming
Programming incorporated the usual convention fare, but was tailored for a Harry Potter aesthetic. For example, all attendees were sorted into Houses, and points were awarded or deducted throughout the convention.
- academic presentations and panels
- roundtables and workshops
- a "drabble" booth, "beta" booth, and "sketch" booth, staffed by beta readers, fan writers, and fan artists
- an Art Show
- a quidditch tournament
- Wizard Rock performances by The Weird Sisters and Harry and the Potters
- Hallowe'en Ball
- "House Cup," awarded to the Hufflepuffs at the Leaving Feast
- Muggle Fashion Show
- "Rooms of Requirement" meetups
- fan writers reading their fanfic aloud
- a Dueling club
Resources
A website was created for the convention, but has since been taken offline: www.witchinghour.org (retrieved from the WayBack Machine)
LiveJournal Communities
As of October 10, 2008, most of these communities are no longer active:
- twh_diaries
- thespicerack
- twh_fanart. Scans of fanart created at the convention
- muddy_quidditch
- hpef_news. HP Education Fanon's official newsletter.
Media
YouTube videos of the leaving feast
Mud and Blood and Quidditch in October. NPR piece on the Quidditch tournament (contains text, audio, images)
Gallery
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References
- ↑ The Witching Hour. Available at The Internet Archive. (Accessed October 10, 2008)
- ↑ Theme. The Witching Hour [website]. Available at The Internet Archive. (Accessed October 10, 2008)
