Harry Potter's setting wouldn't be complete without all the magical creatures that populate it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's adventures are often defined in large part by encounters with dragons, Acromantulas, Dementors, and many other monstrous denizens of the Wizarding World. It's natural, then, that magical creatures will play a major role in Hogwarts Legacy, an official Harry Potter video game in development at Avalanche Software. Trailers indicate that this Hogwarts adventure features no small number of magical creatures that players will interact with. Knowing the history of Hogwarts, it's practically confirmed that ghosts will join the list of magical beings in the game.
In the world of Harry Potter, when a witch or a wizard dies, they might resist passing into the afterlife over incomplete business. If they do, they might become a ghost. The Harry Potter books feature plenty of ghosts; Hogwarts is famously and thoroughly haunted. Hogwarts Legacy may take place about a century before Harry Potter's time, but there's still plenty of major ghosts that will probably show up. Many of Hogwarts' most famous ghosts joined the castle's ranks many hundreds of years before the events of Hogwarts Legacy, meaning some recognizable restless spirits can become NPCs in the game.
Certain Ghost Sightings in Hogwarts Legacy
There are a couple of ghosts who are all but confirmed to be in Hogwarts Legacy, considering their very important roles in a student's life at Hogwarts. For instance, the four Houses of Hogwarts each have a ghost associated with them. Gryffindor's Nearly Headless Nick, Ravenclaw's Gray Lady, Hufflepuff's Fat Friar, and Slytherin's Bloody Baron could all make appearances in the game. In fact, Nearly Headless Nick even offers an excellent picture of their potential roles in Hogwarts Legacy. Nick often gives information and advice to Harry and his friends throughout the books. Similarly, Hogwarts Legacy could select a ghost as a quest giver and guide to players based on the Hogwarts House that the player joins at the start of the game.
The Hogwarts House ghosts aren't the only Hogwarts spirits who are many hundreds of years old. There's also Peeves the incorrigible poltergeist, a spirit who's haunted Hogwarts' halls since the inception of the school. Peeves would definitely play a different role in Hogwarts Legacy from the House ghosts, considering his mercurial nature. Sometimes he might create obstacles for Hogwarts Legacy players to amuse himself, but alternatively, Peeves could offer players quests where they get in on his mischief. If Hogwarts Legacy does have a morality system, then maybe Peeves will take a liking to player characters that cause trouble of their own.
Hogwarts Ghosts Beyond the Veil
A couple of Hogwarts ghosts have more doubtful fates when it comes to Hogwarts Legacy. For instance, Moaning Myrtle definitely won't be involved in the game. Myrtle famously dies at Hogwarts in the 1940s, which is about half a century after when Hogwarts Legacy take place. As famous and influential as she is in the books, she won't be involved this time. Another ghost that could be missing is Professor Cuthbert Binns, the famously dull History of Magic teacher. Although he taught at Hogwarts for many years before dying and continuing to teach in his unlife, it's unclear if Professor Binns' tenure extends back far enough that he could appear in Hogwarts Legacy as a ghost.
There are also questions about several dubious canon ghosts that could make an impact on Hogwarts Legacy. For example, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery introduced plenty of characters, including some ghosts that never appeared in the Harry Potter books. One of Hogwarts Mystery's sidequests involves Erling the Great, a ghostly storyteller and a dear friend of the Fat Friar. New, relatively unexplored characters like Erling could get expanded influence through Hogwarts Legacy, but at the same time, Avalanche Software could very reasonably decide to focus on Hogwarts' most famous ghosts.
Although there are questions about which ghosts will be in Hogwarts Legacy, there's no doubt that the undead will leave a mark on the game's plot. Ghosts of the Wizarding World may not have much power to interfere with the living, but they can share plenty of wisdom and knowledge, which opens plenty of storytelling threads that Avalanche can expand into plot points and sidequests. Seeing how carefully Avalanche tends to the lore of Hogwarts so far, fans of the castle's many ghosts should feel optimistic about their potential involvement in the game.
Hogwarts Legacy is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.