Basic Information
Incantation	Stupefy (STEW-puh-fye)
Effect	Renders target unconscious and halts moving items
Emitted Light	Red

Overview

The Stunning Spell, or the Stupefying Charm, or Stunner for short, is a charm that stuns the target, rendering them unconscious. This charm is especially useful in duels, as it can quickly end a duel without causing lasting damage. It can also halt moving objects and damage things. Stupefy Duo is a more powerful variant of the spell, but the effect can be amplified by simply using multiple Stunning Spells (this might actually cause lasting damage).

The spell’s effect wears over time naturally even with no counter-charm. The counter-charm to the Stunning Spell is the Reviving Spell, and the Shield Charm can deflect it. Items can be bewitched to be resistant to it. Also, creatures like dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants are known to be resistant towards the spell, and the spell is ineffective against Matagots.

History

The Stunning Spell is one of the most commonly used spells, particularly in dueling and Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was used numerous times during all the battles and duels in the Wizarding World as one of the most basic ways of attacking. For this reason, only selected known uses will be listed here.

Harry Potter learnt this spell by practicing with Ron Weasley in 1995, during his preparation for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. He then actually used this spell on the Acromantula and Viktor Krum during the third task, aiding him towards victory. In the 1995-1996 school year, he taught the Stunning Spell to Dumbledore’s Army during one of the meetings.

Although the Stunning Spell is not intended to do any lasting damage, multiple spells cast simultaneously at the same target can greatly strengthen the effect. In 1996, while Minerva McGonagall was trying to protect Rubeus Hagrid from the Ministry employees, they attacked her with Stunners, and she was hit with 4 spells at once. She had to be hospitalized and took a long time to fully recover.

However, this might not work for some spell-resistant creatures. Being a half-giant, Hagrid was resistant to the spell and the Ministry employees couldn’t stun him no matter how they tried. For real giants, even combined spells may fail to work.

Credits/References

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Written by Erland Lundberg
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.