5 Fantastic Beasts You've Totally Met (and Where to Find Them)

Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser]. [Shmoop University Inc.] Hi, Shmoopers, Real talk: It's been five years since Part 2 of [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] swept audiences away for one last trip to Hogwarts. And now we're ready for another trip to the wizarding world. Luckily, J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut, [Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them], flies, slithers, and stomps into theaters this Friday. To prepare for the adventure, we did some digging into [Newt Scamander]'s encyclopedia of fantastic beasts. And in a revelation as shocking as re-shaped Toblerone chocolate bars, we discovered that some of these beasts aren't quite as fantastic as we thought. In fact, we're betting that you've even crossed paths with a few of 'em before. So we thought you should know what you're up against. 5 Fantastic Beasts You May Have Met 1. [Crups] Ever run into a Jack Russell terrier who was barking his head off? Well, he might not have been a dog at all. Crups are almost identical to the terrier breed, except for one thing: their forked tails. Oh, and they really hate Muggles. Hence the whole viciously barking at you thing. (Also, his owner was definitely a wizard.) 2. [Diricawls] Unless you found the Fountain of Youth and are actually four hundred years old, you haven't seen this one IRL. The Diricrawl is a plump, flightless bird that can vanish whenever it wants to. You've seen it in your biology textbook going by another name: the dodo. But since us Muggles still have no clue that the bird can just disappear, our records say that it's gone extinct. Oops. 3. [Erumpents] If you've been to the zoo, you've seen one of these beasts chilling in an enclosure labeled "rhinoceros." They look just like 'em from a distance. The twist? Erumpents' skin can repel all kinds of magic, and their horns are huge and filled with a kind of volatile liquid that will make whatever it's injected into explode. Just be glad there's some serious fence between you and this sucker. 4. [Knarls] You know your cranky neighbor's hedgehog that you just know is evil? Yeah, it's actually a Knarl. Knarls look just like hedgehogs…except they're way more suspicious of people. If a hedgehog finds food, it eats it. If a Knarl finds food, it attacks the family's garden. Sorry you took the blame for wrecking the yard. 5. [Mackled Malaclaw] These creatures may look like lobsters, but—trust us—you don't want to eat them...or you'll break out in a greenish rash. Oh, and if you get bitten by a Mackled Malaclaw, stay away from Vegas: one of the side effects is becoming extremely unlucky for about a week after the injury. Most other beasts are pretty obviously, well, magical. (Merpeople and centaurs, we're looking at you.) But now that you're informed and ready to spot the sneakier creatures, grab your broomsticks and head to the theater on Friday. Happy wizarding, [SUBSCRIBE TO SHMOOP] --------------------------------------------------------------- Quote of the Week "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." ~ [Albus Dumbledore] So we still have a shot at growing up to be wizards, right? Thanks for keepin' the dream alive, Alby. Copyright © 2016 Shmoop University Inc., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you registered as a user with good ol' Shmoop. Our mailing address is: Shmoop University Inc. P.O. Box 0935 Los Altos, CA 94023 [Add us to your address book] This email was sent by Shmoop. [Unsubscribe] | [Update Preferences]