# What Kind of Sorcery Is This? What Kind of Sorcery Is This?, also written as What Kind of Wizardry Is This?, is a catchphrase people slap on anything baffling or inexplicable. It bounced from mid-century TV scripts into Harry Potter fanfiction in 2008 before image-sharing sites like MemeCenter picked it up as a go-to caption for optical illusions and rage comics[1][2]. ## Origin The exact origin of the phrase predates the internet. The Joker, played by Cesar Romero, uttered a version of it on the January 27th, 1966 episode of Batman, and Goliath used it on an October 25th, 1994 episode of Gargoyles[4][5]. Online, the earliest documented appearance is a February 3rd, 2008 Harry Potter fanfiction titled 'Order of the Phoenix Rewritten,' posted by Fanfiction.net user Potterfan3002, where a character delivers the line in dialogue[6]. From there, bloggers started adopting it as a reaction caption, with WordPress user behula using the phrase in an April 1st, 2011 post about a woman whose appearance they found inexplicable[7]. - **Platform:** Fanfiction.net / MemeCenter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2008 ## Overview What Kind of Sorcery Is This? works as hyperbolic shock, pretending that whatever just happened is literal witchcraft because no ordinary explanation will do. Users pair it with optical illusions, physics-defying GIFs, weird photographs, and strange animal behavior, treating the mundane like a magical mystery[1]. The wording shifts between 'sorcery,' 'wizardry,' and the shorter 'What sorcery is this?,' but the beat is the same mock-medieval astonishment. On image boards and comic sites, the line often shows up as the punchline of a rage comic panel or as the overlaid caption on a trippy image[2]. Urban Dictionary's own entry frames it as something you say 'when you don't have a clue what you've just witnessed' and reach for a supernatural answer out of ignorance[3]. That self-aware, slightly dramatic register is why it stuck as a reaction caption rather than fading into regular slang. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is What Kind of Sorcery Is This?? It is a catchphrase used as a mock-dramatic reaction to anything bizarre, treating it as if it were literal witchcraft[1]. ### Where did What Kind of Sorcery Is This? come from? The line appeared on TV in 1960s Batman and 1990s Gargoyles before showing up online in a February 3rd, 2008 Harry Potter fanfiction by user Potterfan3002[6][4]. ### What does What Kind of Sorcery Is This? mean? Urban Dictionary describes it as what you say when you have no idea what you've just witnessed and reach for a supernatural explanation instead of a scientific one[3]. ### How do you use What Kind of Sorcery Is This?? People typically overlay it on optical illusions, strange GIFs or confusing photos, and some early uses dropped it into rage comic panels on MemeCenter[2]. ### Is What Kind of Sorcery Is This? still popular? It is a classic reaction caption from the early 2010s meme era, still used informally but no longer trending the way it did during the rage comic peak[8]. ## References 1. [https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4052357/1/Order-of-the-Phoenix-Rewritten]() 2. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519453/?ref_=tt_ch]() 3. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0585813/?ref_=tt_ch]() 4. [https://behula.wordpress.com/2011/page/5/]() 5. [https://www.memecenter.com/fun/105843/What-Kind-Of-Wizardry-Is-This]() 6. [https://www.memecenter.com/fun/113702/WHAT-KIND-OF-SORCERY-IS-THIS]() 7. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=What%20kind%20of%20sorcery%20is%20this%3F]() 8. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-kind-of-sorcery-is-this]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/what-kind-of-sorcery-is-this Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library