House of the Dragon’s Harrenhal, and all haunted history that comes with it

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episodes 3 and 4.]

House of the Dragon is no stranger to the supernatural. Not only does the HBO fantasy drama series boast plenty of low-key magic — not to mention, y’know, dragons — but it’s also the prequel to Game of Thrones, a show loaded with snow zombies and smoke monster babies. Clearly, this is a universe where otherworldly forces are at play. Even so, Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) unsettling stopover at Harrenhal in season 2 arguably marks House of the Dragon’s most overtly supernatural subplot to date.

Everyone’s favorite sassy sadboy prince sets up shop at the supposedly cursed castle in episode 3, and strange goings-on start stacking up soon after. By the time the credits roll on episode 4, “A Dance with Dragons,” Daemon’s contended with bizarre visions, inexplicably rattling doors, and ominous premonitions. It certainly seems like he’s caught up in Westeros’ answer to Ghost Hunters, but is he (and everyone else) just jumping at shadows? Just how cursed is House of the Dragon’s Harrenhal, really?

Why does everyone think Harrenhal is cursed?

Image: HBO

One of the few things Westeros’ high- and lowborn folk seemingly agree on is that there’s been a curse upon Harrenhal since its foundations were laid. Why? George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, House of the Dragon, and Game of Thrones chalk up Harrenhal’s dubious reputation to two main factors.

The first is the Olympic-level arrogance of Harrenhal’s founder, King Harren Hoare, in the lead-up to the castle’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. Harren made a big deal of how invincible his generations-in-the-making fortress was going to be — and, on paper, his boasting made sense. Harrenhal is almost comically supersized, and its battlements (allegedly made from mortar mixed with Harren’s blood) can theoretically shrug off any conventional attack.

The bad news for ol’ Harren was that dragons are decidedly unconventional. King Aegon I Targaryen and his sisters swooped into Westeros literally the day Harren moved into Harrenhal and promptly torched the joint. The Targaryens’ dragons barbequed Harren and his sons during the assault, and Harrenhal itself was never the same again. Unsurprisingly, rumors that Harrenhal was cursed, haunted, or both sprung up soon after.

The second factor contributing to Harrenhal’s shady rep is that almost everyone who succeeded Harren as lord of the castle didn’t fare much better. We saw some of this misfortune in Game of Thrones’ eight-season run: Tywin Lannister, Janos Slynt, and Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish wind up shot dead on the toilet, exiled and then beheaded, and Pez dispenser-ed, respectively. House of the Dragon season 1 adds Lyonel Strong and his boy Harwin to the Harrenhal curse’s supposed victims as well.

Frankly, it’s hard to blame folks for believing the place is jinxed!

What happens at Harrenhal in the Game of Thrones books?

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Both the core A Song of Ice and Fire novels and House of the Dragon’s source text, Fire & Blood, stop short of showing any outright paranormal activity at Harrenhal. Sure, we hear legends of the fortress’s various horrors, such as the flaming phantoms of Harren and his kids, a child-eating ghoul named Mad Lady Lothston, rafters full of raven spirits, and household staff crumbling to ashes in their sleep. We never actually see any of this stuff, though.

At one point, Littlefinger complains about Harrenhal’s ghostly lodgers; however, this is probably just the ex-Master of Coin’s signature snark. Similarly, while various characters (including Jaime Lannister and Arya Stark) acknowledge that apparitions of Harren and his sons supposedly roam the castle’s corridors, nobody actually witnesses this phenomenon firsthand. What’s more, Westerosi rumblings that Harren’s ghost bumped off a pair of Lannister-affiliated lowlifes in A Clash of Kings are flat-out wrong; Arya’s mentor, Jaqen H’ghar, is the one actually responsible. There’s a similarly prosaic explanation for the eerie shrieks that emanate from Harrenhal’s aptly named Wailing Tower: It’s just wind blowing through cracks in the walls.

Even so, Fire & Blood also details other, less easily hand-waved supernatural chicanery on Harrenhal’s grounds. Notably, the castle’s Heart Tree not only has a scary-looking face, but also “bleeds” from dragon claw marks in its trunk every spring. Admittedly, Heart Trees are a whole separate branch (pun fully intended) of magic in A Song of Ice and Fire lore, and don’t necessarily fall under the curse umbrella. Yet this definitely fits the definition of “spooky” — and arguably confirms there’s something fouler afoot at Harrenhal.

So, is Harrenhal really cursed? Or is that just Westerosi superstition?

Photo: Theo Whitman/HBO

Honestly? No one knows for sure. Ambiguity is a key part of Martin’s take on magic, the supernatural, and religion in A Song of Ice and Fire. As such, the specifics around all three — including curses, real or imagined — is intentionally fuzzy. Harrenhal could be haunted by a malevolent force out to destroy Daemon, but don’t hold your breath expecting House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal to say for sure.

Certainly, nothing in episode 3 or 4 categorically confirms or rules out Harrenhal’s curse. Yes, Daemon sees his bedchamber door shaken by unseen forces; however, Harrenhal is drafty as fuck. Our guy’s (admittedly messed-up) visions of younger Rhaenyra aren’t exactly reason to call an exorcist, either. For one thing, Rhaenyra’s still alive (so this ain’t a ghost), and for another, season 2 is littered with clues Daemon is losing his grip. It’s the classic “Is this all in his head?” trope.

What about Alys Rivers’ (Gayle Rankin) prophetic claim that Daemon will die at Harrenhal? Even if she’s right (Fire & Blood readers already know; TV-only fans will have to wait and see), that doesn’t automatically mean Alys is tapping into some unseen power within the castle’s walls. Daemon has a massive target on his back — you don’t need to be a witch (as Alys is rumored to be in the book) to have a shot at accurately predicting his death. Again, it’s a bit murky.

But even though Harrenhal’s curse remains up for debate in House of the Dragon season 2, one thing’s clear: Haunted or not, the castle is Westeros’ least desirable vacation spot.