Ghosts are a lot more than just dead people in the world of Harry Potter. The ones who inhabit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry all have their own unique personalities, stories, and restrictions. Some even communicate with students on a daily basis.

One of the more obscure ghosts in Hogwarts, yet likely the most integral to the series’ plot, is Moaning Myrtle. When we meet Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she’s haunting the abandoned girls’ bathroom in Hogwarts castle and takes quite a liking to Harry.

Throughout her appearances in the films, she assists Harry on multiple occasions, but one thing you may not be aware of is exactly how Myrtle met her fateful end and why she wound up haunting this specific bathroom in the first place.

How did Moaning Myrtle die?

Moaning Myrtle was killed by the Basilisk under the control of Tom Riddle during her time as a student at Hogwarts.

According to the Harry Potter Wiki, Myrtle was a Ravenclaw who had been hiding away from other students in the girls’ lavatory. While crying in one of the stalls, Myrtle heard a man’s voice and when she exited the cubicle to confront him, she locked eyes with the Basilisk, which killed her instantly.

It isn’t clear if Riddle intentionally sent the Basilisk after her. More likely, Myrtle was in the wrong place at the wrong time and wound up becoming his first victim.

Following her death, she continued haunting the girl’s lavatory, where she could be found crying in the cubicle, flooding the bathroom, and crushing on our main man Harry.

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