Head Juggling

• Type: Ghostly Sport / Activity
• Participants: Ghosts with fully severed heads, primarily members of the Headless Hunt.
• Equipment: The participant's own severed head; spectral horses are often used.
• Effect: Participants remove their own heads and throw them to one another as part of a competitive game. This is possible due to the non-corporeal nature of ghosts.

Head Juggling, or a variant called Head Hockey, is a recreational activity exclusive to the ghostly community. The most notable instance of this sport was witnessed by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger during the Deathday Party for Nearly Headless Nick on Halloween in 1992. During the party, held in one of the Hogwarts Castle dungeons, members of the Headless Hunt made a dramatic entrance. Led by a grim-looking ghost identified as Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore, a dozen spectral riders galloped into the dungeon on their horses. They proceeded to play a game of Head Hockey, holding their own severed heads under their arms and throwing one back and forth between them as they rode. This spectacle served to highlight the primary reason Nearly Headless Nick was barred from joining their ranks.

The sole and non-negotiable requirement for participating in Head Juggling and other related activities of the Headless Hunt is that the ghost's head must be completely and cleanly severed from their neck. This rule is the source of great sorrow for Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, more commonly known as Nearly Headless Nick. Despite his name, his head remains attached to his body by what he describes as “half an inch of skin and sinew.” This disqualifies him from full membership in the Headless Hunt and prevents him from taking part in their games, a fact that Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore cruelly demonstrates by showing how Nick's head merely wobbles on his neck rather than coming off entirely.

The term “Head Juggling” is a literal description of the activity, which involves the juggling or throwing of a ghost's own head. The variant mentioned in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is Head Hockey, suggesting a version of the game that more closely resembles hockey or polo, especially given the use of horses.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Deathday Party sequence was filmed but was ultimately cut from the final theatrical release. The scene is available as a deleted scene on home media releases, and it depicts the Headless Hunt's arrival and their game of throwing a head amongst themselves. (film)