The basilisk is a deadly creature of enormous power, known as the "King of Serpents"; this giant snake is very closely related to Lake Serpents, though darker in tone due to the dark nature of their creation, like the wands they become the core of. Basilisk wands are incredibly rare, as the beasts are rare to begin with and hard to kill. Due to their rarity, they are often passed down from generation to generation. Like the River Serpent, Wands of basilisk horn are said to be sensitive to Parseltongue, which is the language of serpents. They are capable of performing robust and potent magic through commands given in the ancient language, such as being taught to 'sleep' when so instructed, becoming inactive and unable to perform magic until commanded otherwise.