- This show is sponsored by BetterHelp therapy online.
Being happy is great.
Moments of joy are great.
But being whole and complete is the real life goal.
Visit betterhelp.com/super
and get on your journey to finding wholeness.
Hey brother!
Snape, Snape, Severus Snape.
You're welcome!
We all know him, the potions master, the Half Blood Prince,
the least showered person at Hogwarts, probably.
And also a vampire.
- Obviously.
- Now, while they're fairly uncommon within the series,
we do know for a fact that vampires exist
within the wizarding world.
There is of course Sanguini, who actually shows up on page
in Slughorn's party during Half Blood Prince.
Blood flavored lollipops, which are available at Honeydukes
and Hermione expects are actually meant for vampires
and Gilderoy Lockhart couldn't have gotten very far
with what is supposed to be very real events
during "Voyages with Vampires"
if the people within the Wizarding World
weren't aware of the fact that vampires are real.
And honestly the list really does go on.
But the question for today is whether or not
the pale, hook-nosed figure that resides
in the potions dungeons and also roams the castle
all throughout the night is in fact a vampire.
And I will be completely honest with you guys,
I have seen this idea thrown around before
and at first I was really unsure how I felt about it
but after I started digging in,
I was blown away at how much I found.
So today we examined the mountain of evidence
that supports the idea that Snape is a vampire.
(upbeat music)
Hey brother!
Okay, Snape vampires.
First things first, let's lay a little bit of groundwork
as to how this idea could function.
Throughout the series, it is not uncommon
for characters to have like traits or hints
as to other characteristics of their character.
For example, we know that Sirius Black
has the ability to turn into a dog
and his name is a direct reference to the Sirius star,
which is also known as the Dog Star.
His laugh is frequently characterized as a bark
and his primary driver for most of the series is loyalty.
- I would've died!
I would've died rather than betray my friends!
- At one point during a flashback,
James points out Snape to Sirius
and the way he reacts is literally just compared to a dog.
"Sirius's head turned.
He had become very still,
like a dog that had scented a rabbit.
And one of his best friends, Remus Lupin,
is very much the same.
Once again, his name is a direct reference
to the mythology of Romulus and Remus,
who founded Rome and were raised by wolves.
Then Lupin comes from the Latin word lupus,
which just literally means wolf.
Beyond that, Lupin's better qualities
still mimic those of wolves.
Like, for one, he's incredibly intelligent
and, on top of that, like in contrast to Sirius'
more combative or competitive attitude towards things,
Remus is a lot more known for being
calm mind or open to negotiation.
This is pretty symbolic for how dogs tend to fight
for dominance versus the more democratic nature,
if you will, of wolves that actually
peacefully form a pack unless they're threatened.
Moving on from the Marauders, we also have Rita Skeeter
who is also animagus and can turn into a beetle,
which is pretty perfect when paired with
her career of gotcha journalism.
- What?
- Gotcha!
- And the idea that bugging a line
is the same as listening in on other people's conversations.
- In what way?
- That way.
You put gotcha on my face.
- But I bring all this up because, if there is one creature
that Snape is constantly compared to throughout the books,
it is the one that is most associated with vampires, a bat.
This first comparison comes from, of all people,
Professor Quirrell when Harry discovers him
in the chamber under the school
trying to recover the Philosopher's Stone.
"Yes, Severus does seem the type doesn't he?
So useful having him swooping around like an overgrown bat.
Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor
st-stuttering, P-Professor Quirrell?"
And this one's kind of interesting
because of another detail that we know
about Quirrell in particular.
When Harry and Hagrid first run into him
in the Leaky Cauldron in Philosopher's Stone,
he excuses himself from the conversation to
"I've g-got to p-pick up a new book on vampire's m-myself."
And you might just think that this
could be an excuse to leave the conversation,
that Quirrell may have wanted to leave
for other, much more obvious reasons,
but I don't actually think so
when you consider what Harry discovers
on his first day of class with Professor Quirrell.
"His classroom smelled strongly of garlic,
which everyone said was the ward off a vampire
he'd met in Romania and was afraid
would be coming back to get him one of these days."
Okay, so clearly it seems like
he is trying to ward off vampires.
But also, one, Quirrell is not actually afraid
of everything and everyone, he's just putting on an act,
and two, who is actively keeping an eye on Quirrell
for all of year one?
"Dumbledore turned a page and said, without looking up,
'Keep an eye on Quirrell, won't you?'"
Yeah, Dubledore's of course talking to Snape
in that situation, but do you see what I mean?
Like, Quirrell is not actually paranoid.
His real concern here is that Snape is onto him
not that he's just generically afraid of vampires showing up
and also, in just a real bit of irony,
later on in the same story it's Quirrell who we see
sucking blood from a dead unicorn.
But either way, that's not really the point.
The point is, if he's not actually afraid of vampires,
then what's up with the garlic smell?
And I think the answer is
that he's trying to repel a specific vampire, Snape.
And what's even more interesting about Quirrell
in particular being the first person
to compare Snape to a bat is that he does so
standing in front of the Mirror of Erised.
Which also offers another curious layer to this idea
because do you know who can't see their own reflection?
Vampires.
It would make Dumbledore's decision
to use the Mirror of Erised in particular
even more clever than it already is
because, if this is true
and you can't see your own reflection,
then it would all but prevent you
from ever being able to successfully use the mirror.
Now, we do of course all know that Dumbledore trusts Snape
but we also know that he never lets him
actually teach defense against the dark arts,
which means he might have the tiniest little worry
that there could still be a concern there.
And I guess I shouldn't say that he never let Snape
teach anything defense against the dark arts related
because just in the next year, Chamber of Secrets,
he does teach Harry expelliarmus.
It's during Lockhart's dueling club
where Snape steps in with a recommendation of his own.
"'A bad idea, Professor Lockhart,' said Snape,
gliding over like a large and malevolent bat."
This is obviously a very brief lesson that he teaches Harry
as they only ever seem to do the dueling club once.
- Tut, tut.
- But then there is also Harry's third year
where Snape does step in for Lupin while he's out.
In this particular instance,
he's not specifically referred to as bat-like,
although we do know that he likes the room
nice and dark for class.
He is obviously super petty
during this particular time though,
basically outing Lupin's werewolf status to Hermione
by jumping ahead to...
Which page was it again?
- 394.
- Oh yeah, how could I forget?
The point is he is placing every available clue
before Lupin's own class as to his true condition.
Honestly, it's a super jerk move
but it does make this next scene 10 times better
when you have this particular idea in the back of your mind.
It happens when Lupin steps in
on Snape's discovery of the Marauders Map.
"'Well!' said Lupin, clapping his hands together
and looking around cheerfully.
'That seems to clear that up!
Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?'
He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes.
'Harry, Ron, come with me,
I need to word about my vampire essay- excuse us, Severus-'"
Snape assigns them an essay about werewolves
and Lupin responds in the most marauder way possible,
the exact same thing.
He assigns an essay on vampires.
Also, also the fact that this feud exists in the first place
is even more telling because vampires and werewolves
are just classically adversaries of one another.
Also, also, also, also Dean and Seamus
close out their school year with the following exchange,
"'Wonder what they'll give us next year?'
said Seamus Finnegan gloomily.
'Maybe a vampire," suggested Dean hopefully."
I mean you're close boys.
Give it a couple years though.
- Prepare yourself.
- Guys, we need to take a quick pause
to give a huge thank you to today's sponsor, Bespoke Post.
You guys might be well aware by now that Bespoke Post
is one of my absolute favorite brands
to work with here at Super Carlin Brothers.
One, because I have been
a long time subscriber to the product,
long before they ever sponsored the show,
and two, because they partner with small businesses
to put together all of their amazing boxes of awesome.
Here lately, I have just been absolutely loving
all of the little do dads from the Point box,
especially this gold pen which I've been using
just every single day since I unboxed it.
You know how when something just has the right weight?
This has the right weight.
I've also found the blanket
from the Cocoon box incredibly versatile.
I used this at the hospital when my daughter was born
and on a backpacking trip just a couple of months ago.
But the next box that I am super stoked for,
as cozy season is upon us, is the Flame box
which comes with, wait for it, an indoor fireplace.
Like, what?
Just that combination of words gets me excited.
You know anything about me, you know that I absolutely love
a good old fashioned outdoor fire pit
and this brings a fire pit right inside.
But if that's not your jam, then absolutely no worries.
Bespoke Post really has something for everyone
and that's thanks to releasing a ton of new boxes
every single month across a huge variety of categories.
A pro tip here is that for the holidays
if you want to gift somebody this particular subscription
order them one box that you can actually give them
as the gift
and then let them choose the next couple of months.
And if you're not sure what's right for you
they do have a handy quiz
over at boxofawesome.com to help you decide.
It is free to sign up
and you can skip or cancel at any time.
But plus, get 20% off your first box
when you head on over to boxofawesome.com
and use promo code super at checkout.
That's boxofawesome.com promo code super at checkout
to get 20% off your first box.
One last time, boxofawesome.com promo code super
link's in description down below.
Either way though, that will bring us to Goblet of Fire
where once again, there's a fair bit of a hint.
Remember how Hermione ultimately discovers
how Rita Skeeter is going about getting
all of the private information from private conversations?
First, we have this exchange.
"'No!' said Hermione stubbornly.
'I want to know how she heard me talking to Viktor!
And how she found out about Hagrid's mum!'
'Maybe she had you bugged', said Harry."
And it's not until way later in the book
on the train ride home that we finally discover
that this is actually what tipped Hermoine off.
"'How did you find out?' said Ron, staring at her.
'Well, it was you really
who gave me the idea, Harry,' she said.
'Did I?', said Harry, perplexed.
'How?'
'Bugging,' said Hermione happily."
Let me just tell you, this might not be the only time
that Harry absolutely nails it in his fourth year.
Earlier in the story, they're trying to figure out
how it was possible that Snape
could have gotten to the forest before Harry.
"'Hang on-how fast d'you reckon
he could have gotten down to the forest?
D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?'
'Not unless he can turn himself
into a bat or something,' said Harry.
'Wouldn't put it past him,' Ron muttered."
Do you see what I mean?
It's like the same literary tricks.
We just never actually get the true payoff.
Which I do think might actually ultimately come
if we fast forward for just a minute
to the battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows.
McGonagall and Snape are having their epic dual
and it ends when Snape launches himself out of a window,
except he doesn't fall to his death.
"With a tingle of horror, Harry saw in the distance
a huge, batlike shape flying through the darkness
toward the perimeter wall."
Exactly two people can fly unsupported like this
and it's Snape and Voldemort, and it's always been assumed
that Snape learned this particular skill from his master.
But who's to say it's even the same version
of unsupported flight?
I mean, we have descriptions of Voldemort flying
and it's not considered batlike at all.
Let's pause there for just one second
and head back to Half Blood Prince
because Snape is officially
defense against the dark arts teacher
and he's making the room nice and cozy for himself.
"Harry looked around as they entered.
Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already;
it was gloomier than usual, as the curtains had been drawn
over the windows and was lit by candlelight."
To be fair to Snape, he's actually pretty good
at instruction where he immediately gets the class started
on nonverbal magic where...
"He swept between them as they practiced,
looking just as much like an overgrown bat as ever,
lingering to watch Harry and Ron struggling with the task."
Aw bats, he's at it again!
The thing is though, this should come as no surprise.
Snape has always been this way.
Over and over and over again,
he's compared to the infamous creature of the night
and you might just think he's had a pretty tragic life.
He's dark and shadowy.
It just sort of fits with his character.
And that's all well and fine,
but Snape really has always been like this.
Again, back in Deathly Hallows, after Snape dies, spoilers,
he gives Harry a memory.
A memory that will help Harry understand everything.
And when we go inside of that memory, what do we find?
Snape as a young boy.
"'No!' said Snape.
He was highly colored now,
and Harry wondered why he did not take off
the ridiculously large coat, unless it was because
he did not want to reveal the smock beneath it.
He flapped after the girls,
looking ludicrously batlike, like his older self."
Here's the thing, Snape is constantly being described
as pale with sallow skin, thin with greasy black hair
lying like curtains in front of his face.
He is always dressed in all black.
He can constantly be found roaming the castle
in the middle of the night.
Time after time, he is compared to a bat
and he is capable of unsupported flight and,
similarly to real bats which are considered to be
as smart as dolphins or horses,
Snape is incredibly intelligent.
Something I didn't actually know about bats
prior to researching this video
and somehow not even the most interesting thing
that I uncovered.
This last bit was like the icing on the cake for me,
as most creatures within the animal kingdom
are highly distinguishable from one another in embryo form.
There is one really odd exception.
According to "National Geographic",
it is incredibly difficult at this stage
to tell the difference between bats and,
wait for it, snakes.
Or should I say Snapes?
Am I right?
Thank you.
Bats and snakes are not even remotely close to one another.
Bats are mammals and snakes are reptiles.
But this is the ultimate analogy, right?
Because Snape is the ultimate triple agent.
He is undercover with Voldemort's Slytherin-minded regime.
Might look and act like a snake
but ultimately he's a bat.
Now, I want to end this video with the caveats.
I started this video with
two particular pieces of information in the back of my mind.
One is that, in an article on Pottermore,
JK Rowling actually acknowledges the fact
that she had originally intended to have a vampire
be a member of the Hogwarts staff, a character named Trocar,
but later discarded this idea.
Two is that, in that same article, she also says that,
while Snape bears resemblance to a vampire, he is not one.
But honestly, as I found more and more information
that was supporting this particular idea,
I was finding it harder and harder to believe that,
on some level, Snape wasn't intended to be one.
Book after book, there are just
so many allusions to this idea.
He fits so many of the classic vampire tropes so well.
So, despite this particular piece of insight
from the author of the story itself,
I personally still find myself fairly convinced.
But for my question of the day,
I want to know what do you think?
Did I convince you that Snape could possibly be a vampire?
Let me know in the towel section down below.
(dramatic music)
But guys, as always, thank you so much for watching.
Be sure to like this video
and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already.
If you'd like some more Harry Potter speculation from us
you can check out this video right over here
where we talk about whether or not
Filch could be a Poltergeist.
I have always felt so strongly about that particular theory.
Go and check it out.
Otherwise, until next time, bye!