Hogwarts and all things Harry Potter related have been popular throughout the last 27 years since its publication. We have seen the movie adaptations, dolls, comics and all other ways that fans have embraced their love for the franchise.
Harry Potter is the seven book series written by J.K. Rowling, and each novel has had a movie made from it. The first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” had its movie released in 2001. Since then, the six other books were adapted throughout the decade, with the final film premiering in July of 2011.
Students Erin Altenbach ’26 and Chahat Kumari ’25 founded the Hogwarts Hounds student-run organization to embrace the love for Harry Potter amongst students on campus.

“Since it’s the most popular book series of our time, we had hopes that people would show up. Our first meeting was in a Humanities room for the Harry Potter vibes. It was a room that could fit 17 to 20 people, but we actually started having to pull chairs in because it was so crowded,” Altenbach said.
Hogwarts Hounds focuses on the love of the series and novels. The meetings have consisted of trivia, wand making, and movie and craft nights. The club now meets on Monday or Tuesday of each week in its second semester.
“We already have like 100 Instagram followers, which is good. And we have like 85 members on The Bridge off the top of my head. So that’s good,” Altenbach said.
The club really gained popularity in its first semester. Their first meeting filled up a classroom in the Humanities Center. They have now started hosting their meetings in Fernandez.
During the first semester of Hogwarts Hounds, meetings included Harry Potter trivia, wand making, movie watching, and during December, the club hosted a Yule Ball type of holiday celebration.
Altenbach says you do not need to be a huge Potter-head to join the group, all are always welcome. The club’s population has grown each week in their meetings.
“I feel like just in common pop culture, everyone knows the vibe. So as long as you have the vibe of like cute little dark academia and you want to make wands with us and you want to drink butter beer…and you could experience the movies for the first time,” Altenbach said.
The popularity of the franchise is still booming today, as it is very visible from the student craze for the club. For more information about meetings, visit @hogwarts.hounds on Instagram, or the Hogwarts Hounds page on The Bridge.