Harry Potter's original Lord Voldemort design was definitely way too scary for kids

Voldemort was never meant to look like a pleasant chap. Because he’s not. The big bad of the Harry Potter universe was meant to be a guy so terrifying that witches and wizards didn’t even want to say his name out loud - he obviously wasn't meant to look friendly.

It’s fair to say that the on-screen interpretation of Voldemort was already pretty creepy. Well, from the fourth film onwards, anyway. When we first saw the Dark Lord in The Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone, depending on where you live), he appeared as a weird CGI face on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head, and definitely didn’t seem nearly as intimidating as he did later down the line when he had his own legs. However, his appearance in the first film was apparently almost way more horrifying.

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As The Digital Fix reports, images of what's claimed to be Voldemort’s first ever movie design have been shared on the r/interestingasf**k subreddit, and it’s clear to see why the crew decided to tone things down in the end. Not only does Voldemort’s head protrude from Quirrell’s way more than it does in the final version, he also looks significantly more serpent-like. He has sharp pointed teeth, what appears to be a stretchy snake’s jaw, and stern eyes.

Reddit users are in agreement that this version of Voldemort would have given them nightmares: “Harry Potter and the HOLY HELL WHAT IS THAT,” obeekaybee7 commented. “Why hello sleep paralysis demon!” BludgeIronfist wrote. “I would have been terrified as a kid holy s**t,” Leg__Day added.

Despite the increased scariness of this design, many noted that the human element of Voldemort which was kept in the final version was, in its own way, far more chilling. Others added that the huge serpent-like head would have been much harder for Quirrell to keep hidden, and yeah, they have a point.