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Were there any other lecturers who were ghosts like Professor Cuthbert Binns in any of the schools of witchcraft and wizardry?

Is there any reference or occurrence in Pottermore or the books?

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captainsac
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  • Probably no, but there's a werewolf and a half-giant professor. See http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/135646/4918 where J. K. Rowling claims he had plans for a vampire professors, but they got cut; and http://web.archive.org/web/20120112040334/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=95 for a professor with a trace of Goblin ancestry. – b_jonas Sep 06 '16 at 12:51
  • I hope there are some spirits and demons at Mahoutokoro, but who knows. .. also Binns when he was hired wasnt a ghost. He just quietly died and continued with his teaching. Maybe there were similar situations in the other 10+ schools in the past/present... –  Sep 06 '16 at 14:22

2 Answers2

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No, Binns is the only one.

According to this JKR piece on Pottermore:

The most productive ghost at Hogwarts is, of course, Professor Binns, the old History of Magic teacher who fell asleep in front of the staff-room fire one day and simply got up to give his next class, leaving his body behind. There is some debate as to whether or not Professor Binns realises he is dead. While his entrance to lessons through the blackboard is vaguely amusing the first time students see it, he is not the most stimulating teacher.

If he's the most productive ghost at Hogwarts, it stands to reason that he's the only one who's a teacher. Pretty much any other teacher, even another ghostly one, could hardly be less productive than the droning Professor Binns, who teaches the same course every year and whose students (except perhaps Hermione) can hardly focus on what he's saying.

This is confirmed explicitly by the usually reliable HP Lexicon:

Binns is the History of Magic teacher and the only professor at Hogwarts who is a ghost.

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  • Moreover, Binns teaches the only subject that does not require the instructor to demonstrate magic. – Buzz Sep 06 '16 at 23:40
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    @Buzz Not sure if Muggle studies, Arithmancy (or Divination as teached by Firenze) requires magic... –  Sep 07 '16 at 09:01
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Professor Binns is the only ghost teacher.

It’s explicitly stated that History of Magic is the only class in Hogwarts that’s taught by a ghost.

“Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him.”
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 (The Potions Master)

That means Professor Binns is the only ghost teacher, since no classes other than History of Magic are taught by ghosts, and it’s highly unlikely that Professor Binns shares the job of teaching History of Magic with another ghost.

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