10 Deadliest Spells In The Harry Potter Universe

4. Engorgio Skullus

Voldemort Avada Kedavra
Warner Bros.

What does it do? Swells the skull (and any surrounding tissue) of its victim. Ouch.

Given how potentially deadly this particular hex could be, it's surprising we don't see it used more often throughout the Harry Potter series.

Engorgio Skullus is a variation of the Engorgement Charm, a spell that (you guessed it!) causes the target to increase in size - seen on-screen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Alastor Moody uses it on a rather unfortunate spider.

But, where the Engorgement Charm will enlarge the target as a whole, Engorgio Skullus will specifically target the skull and any surrounding tissue - giving the victim a head that will be vastly out of proportion with the rest of their frame.

And obviously, the consequences here would be dire. The head would likely collapse, its weight unable to be supported by the normal-sized neck, causing blood to stop flowing to the brain, depriving it of oxygen and leading to a rather unpleasant death.

Engorgio Skullus may not be as common as some of the other spells in the Potter-verse, but it's as effective as any.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.