What to Know
- Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle
- The evening spectacular will return to Universal Studios Hollywood for a number of select dates; March 25-April 9 is the show's first engagement
- Visitors to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter can also view it from May 27-29 and June 17-Aug. 13, 2023
You could instantly cite several classic springtime sights if you were called upon to do so, from flowering trees to baby birds to little droplets of dew and soft billowy clouds.
You probably wouldn't put nighttime frights, of the most fabulous and visual variety, in that category, and yet?
As is often the way with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of Southern California's most spellbinding realms, something rather surprising will be stirring just days into the start of springtime.
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It's the return of Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle, the evening experience that finds all sorts of scenes playing out, at large scale via luminous light, across the surface of the striking structure.
"As darkness falls on Hogwarts castle, Dementors, Death Eaters and other unspeakable creatures from Aragog and Mountain Trolls to Thestrals cloak the castle with sinister images from the darker side of magic — even conjuring the visage of Lord Voldemort himself, until the Patronus spell — one of the most famous, difficult and powerful defense of the Dark Arts charms in the wizarding world — is cast," is the ensorcelled summary from Universal Studios Hollywood, the theme park where Wizarding World materialized more than a few moons ago.
Dramatic orchestrations, inspired by the John Williams-penned scores so rousingly heard in the Harry Potter films, add to the presentation's eerie allure.
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It's an allure that achieves maximum magic-a-tude via not only projections and lights, but a host of special effects.
And seeing it? No separate ticket is required; your entry to Universal Studios Hollywood gains you admission to this otherworldly event.
But like all things magical that can intriguingly appear and then disappear in a seeming instant, Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle must materialize only for a limited time.
Fans can enjoy the shimmery show from March 25 through April 9, and again from May 25 through 27.
Then the Dark Arts will hold powerful sway for much of the summer season, running from June 17 through Aug. 13.
Universal Studios and NBC-owned TV stations operate under the same parent company NBCUniversal.
