The four houses at Ilvermorny, the North American wizarding school in J.K. Rowling’s fiction, are Thunderbird, Pukwudgie, Horned Serpent and Wampus. Introduced in Rowling’s 2016 writing, they represent a person’s soul, heart, mind and body, respectively. The descriptions below are story-world lore, not real-world personality findings.
What are Ilvermorny’s four houses?
Ilvermorny’s houses are named for magical creatures favored by the school’s founders. A June 2016 account in Tech Times describes each house as representing a different part of a witch or wizard:
| House | Symbolic part | Story-world description | Founder connection in the 2016 account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderbird | Soul | Adventurous and courageous students | Named for a creature favored by Chadwick Boot |
| Pukwudgie | Heart | Sharp-minded and fiercely independent students | The account says James Steward named it |
| Horned Serpent | Mind | Scholarly and intelligent students | Connected to Isolt Sayre |
| Wampus | Body | Warriors | Connected to William Boot |
These traits are fictional sorting descriptions; they are not a validated way to assess a real person. The house names and lore also should not be treated as accurate summaries of the beliefs of any specific Indigenous nation.
What does each house represent?
Thunderbird: the soul
Thunderbird is associated with adventurous, courageous students. In the 2016 account, it is named for the creature favored by founder Chadwick Boot.
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Pukwudgie: the heart
Pukwudgie represents the heart and is associated with a sharp mind and a fiercely independent spirit. The account attributes the name to founder James Steward.
Horned Serpent: the mind
Horned Serpent represents the mind and is linked with scholarly, intelligent students. The 2016 account connects the house to founder Isolt Sayre.
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Wampus: the body
Wampus represents the body and is associated with warriors. The account connects it to founder William Boot.
How does Ilvermorny sorting work?
The 2016 description says Ilvermorny’s sorting ceremony uses four enchanted figures, each representing a house. When a student stands before them, a figure signals approval for its house. If more than one responds, the student chooses between the houses that selected them. This is different from the account’s description of Hogwarts, where a magical hat sorts students.
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Are the Ilvermorny houses equivalent to Hogwarts houses?
No one-to-one match should be treated as canon. The 2016 Tech Times article offers Hogwarts comparisons as shorthand, but a contemporaneous search result reproduced J.K. Rowling’s statement that “there is no equivalence between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny houses.” The comparison can help readers orient themselves, but it does not establish that Thunderbird, Pukwudgie, Horned Serpent or Wampus is the counterpart of a particular Hogwarts house.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When were the houses revealed?
The houses were introduced in Rowling’s writing in 2016, with coverage appearing in late June that year. They are not a new 2026 development. Inside the Magic reproduced a Pottermore statement describing the ceremony: “The brand new Ilvermorny Sorting Ceremony was written by J.K. Rowling herself.” Its report was published in 2016: Inside the Magic. The original Pottermore story’s current availability has not been established here.
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