We know that Salazar Slytherin and Herpo the Foul both had Basilisks. Did anybody else create one, or was it just those two? It doesn’t seem difficult – hatching a chicken egg under a toad.
asked Jul 27, 2014 at 20:05
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2 Answers
It seems almost certain that there were others.
There are no other named examples in canon, but in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the entry for “Basilisk” reads:
Herpo the Foul’s Basilisk is believed to have lived for close on nine hundred years.
The creation of Basilisks has been illegal since medieval times, although the practice is easily concealed by simply removing the chicken egg from beneath the toad when the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures comes to call. However, since Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths, they are as dangerous to most Dark wizards as to anybody else, and there have been no recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain for at least four hundred years.
Herpo the Foul’s Basilisk would already be dead, and nobody knew about Salazar Slytherin’s.
This wording naturally implies that there have been recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain, hence other Basilisks have existed.
As for why nobody did it, it would be exceptionally foolish unless you were a Parselmouth, because it would probably kill you as soon as it hatched. (Well, as @SeanCondon points out, you could get clear first. But I don’t think it’s something most people, even most dark wizards, would consider.)
answered Jul 27, 2014 at 20:19
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I can think of many reasons why a Dark wizard might want to breed a basilisk even if they couldn't control it ... the trick would be getting out of the danger zone before it hatched! Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 20:47
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According to "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", although the creation of a Basilisk is relatively simple, it's not something that most witches or wizards would contemplate due to the fact that it's...
- Illegal
- Stupid
The quote from the book is that
"The creation of Basilisks has been illegal since medieval times"
and that any attempt to breed one will likely result in a visit from the
"Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures"
On top of that,
[Since] Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths, they are as dangerous to most Dark wizards as to anybody else, and there have been no recorded sightings of Basilisks in Britain for at least four hundred years.
Prior to this, it seems likely that there would have been other attempts to create them. None of those attempts are recorded canonically but in order for there to be an understanding of the traits of the basilisk (and sightings in Britain) there must have been at least one other.
