10 Things Harry Potter Fans Probably Didn't Know About Voldemort
3. He Created More Horcruxes Than Anyone Before Him
Voldemort was interested in the idea of splitting his soul into pieces and imbuing them in magical objects to obtain immortality from a very young age. He queried Professor Slughorn on it while still at school, who told him that a wizard who wanted to do this would have to commit murder first and use the evil power generated to tear off a part of their soul. They could then place this part of themselves inside a magical object and create a horcrux.
Slughorn was horrified at Tom Riddle's curiosity about the possibility of splitting a soul into seven pieces, a totally untested and deeply horrific act that would leave the person less than human. Still, Slughorn naively believed that this was just academic curiosity.
Riddle created his horcrux not long after while he was just sixteen years old, placing the first part of his soul in the diary that would later be held by Ginny Weasley. He eventually succeeded in creating seven, getting him closer to immortality and, as Slughorn predicted, making him much less human than he once was.