What’s the Hodag’s connection to Harry Potter?

Stories of the Hodag have traveled far and wide since its discovery in the 1890s. In 2017, the Hodag reached an even bigger audience, showing up in the expanded mythology of the Harry Potter universe, thanks to world-famous author J.K. Rowling.

An expanded edition of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”—the book about the magical creatures that populate the Harry Potter series, supposedly written by famed magizoologist Newt Scamander—was released in 2017 and included an entry on the Hodag.

Scamander’s description of the Hodag matches previous accounts, identifying the creature as roughly the size of a large dog and horned with a frog-like head and glowing, red eyes. The books entry also says that “like the Snallygaster, the Hodag is a North American creature whose antics have excited considerable Muggle interest and curiosity.” (Ain’t that the truth?)

Learn about the Hodag’s appearances on television. (Fun fact: he’s even been in an episode of Scooby-Doo!)