Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Unraveling the Unknown

Episode Title: The Basilisk

Hello Curious people and welcome to a world of mystery.

You are listening to Unraveling the Unknown with your hosts Lily and Tessa.

In this episode of Unraveling the Unknown, the Podcast we will discuss: The Basilisk.

• One day on a farmhouse in ancient times, a farmer was shaken awake by loud screams and croaks from his farm animals. He dashed out of bed and rushed outside.
• Eyes adjusting to the light of morning, he glanced around, spotting an abnormally large chicken egg cracked and broken on the ground. The farmer looked around at all the commotion, roosters running around, feathers and dirt flying in the air. The horses, cows, and other livestock were spooked, breaking fences and crying out.
• He saw dead black grass near where the chicken egg was hatched, and dead livestock littering the ground around it. Then, following this trail of death, he looked up, meeting the gaze of a huge rooster-like creature with the characteristics of a serpent. He gasped, Immediately falling over, face banging against the muddy ground. He was petrified, dead.
• This creature was a basilisk, a Serpent-like creature with the ability to turn things into stone with its glance- even in a reflection, causing immediate death. The basilisk also is extremely venomous. It originates in Ancient Greece and Rome and is often thought of as the King of Serpents. Basilisk is also the name of a genus of small lizards, The Green Basilisk, also called plumed basilisk, is often called the "Jesus lizard" for its ability to run on the surface of water. They are roughly 2.5 feet in length, so relatively small, and kind of cute.
• There are a lot of variations and species that originate with the basilisk. For example, Medusa is a side species of basilisk - a lot of legends of the basilisk involve a mixture of a snake or serpent combined with other animals.
• Medusa is an example of this because she is part snake and part human. Other combinations can often include farm animals like cows, roosters, etc.
• Basilisks have haunted legends and terrorized kings, kingdoms, and people all over the world since ancient times.
• The only two weaknesses of a basilisk ever recorded are hearing the crow of a rooster and seeing its own deadly gaze in a mirror.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

• HARRY POTTER- the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has a basilisk as its main enemy.
• When Harry Potter discovers the chamber of secrets and Voldemort plans to resurrect himself, he goes into the chamber, preparing to destroy a powerful notebook with the basilisk venom.