12 Most Deadly Spells In The Harry Potter Universe

4. Transmogrifian Torture

The minute you add Torture to the end of anything, you know you're looking at something particularly ominous and while the murky history of the Transmogrifian Torture curse, it's legend is even more disturbing than the Cruciatus Curse. Or at least, the implications of it are.

The only time it's ever mentioned in the Potterverse is thanks to Gilderoy Lockhart, who wrongly claims it's what probably killed Mrs Norris in The Chamber Of Secrets. He's wrong, because she's not dead, but it's key to qualify that while Lockhart is a liar, he's also a magical expert. Just because he's not particularly great at it doesn't mean he doesn't know it, so we have to assume the Torture curse exists.

All we know is that it tortures its target to death and the name suggests it's based on the word "transmogrify" - to alter to grotesque effect. In other words, twisting a body so much it changes shape and then kills you. Nice.