JK Rowling has taken to Twitter to reveal where she began writing the Harry Potter franchise, stumping fans who believed for decades that Edinburgh was its birthplace.
While the Elephant House Cafe in the Scottish capital is widely regarded as the place where the 54-year-old novelist began writing the fantasy novels, with her being known to frequent the location during the early days of her writing career, yesterday Rowling disclosed that she actually started penning the series in London, in a flat above a sports shop in Clapham.
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Referring to the sign on the Elephant House Cafe which reads "birthplace of Harry Potter", Rowling tweeted: "I’d been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so it’s not the birthplace, but I *did* write in there so we’ll let them off!”
She then proceeded to share a picture of a Clapham flat where she first started writing. "This is the true birthplace of Harry Potter,” she said. “If you define ‘birthplace’ as the spot where I put pen to paper for the first time."
"I was renting a room in a flat over what was then a sports shop. The first bricks of Hogwarts were laid in a flat in Clapham Junction."
She added: “[But] If you define the birthplace of Harry Potter as the moment when I had the initial idea, then it was a Manchester-London train.”
"I’m perennially amused by the idea that Hogwarts was directly inspired by beautiful places I saw or visited. because it’s so far from the truth."
Rowling also shared a picture of a bookshop in Porto, Portugal, which cites itself as an inspiration for Harry Potter. "I never visited this bookshop in Oporto", she claimed. "Never even knew of its existence! It’s beautiful and I wish I *had* visited it, but it has nothing to do with Hogwarts!"
Harry Potter is one of the biggest franchises on the planet. As a book series, it captivated millions across the world and its audience only grew once it was adapted into a series of movies. For a generation of children, it became a go-to subject that everyone can speak about. However, it wasn't just millennials obsessing over the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione, but parents too - no doubt roped into reading it to their children but becoming as captivated as their offspring were.
With such a passionate fandom comes a fair amount of theories to go with it - many of which the author may not have intended, with some being completely bonkers. There have been some theories that have been confirmed by J.K. Rowling herself, who has a significant presence on social media to communicate with fans of the series and speak up on issues that are close to her heart.
However, not everything she tweets out is going to make people happy - and in this case she has disappointed many fans by debunking a myth that has sprung out of the series. Those who study at the University of Exeter in England had their dreams crushed when they found out that a location from the Potterverse was not inspired by their local.
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Rowling, in fact, confirmed that The Leaky Cauldron pub was not inspired by the Old Fire House in Exeter at all. It had long been rumored that the favorite location for any wizard or witch visiting Diagon Alley, which many in the area latched onto. The pub has now become a favorite spot for Exeter students, being the right age to have grown up with the Harry Potter books and movies as a central part of their childhoods. The university's official Harry Potter society even hosts events there.
Once a news story about the property spread over the internet, the author weighed in and disappointed a lot of people. Not only did she inform us all that the story was fabricated, but revealed that she has never even visited the Old Fire House. “If you want real fantasy, go to an estate agent,” Rowling wrote on Twitter. “Never visited this pub in my life.”
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Rowling received a wide range of responses from fans online, especially those who had studied there. The Potter society responded, "Why would you crush our dreams like this".
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In one humorous exchange, Whats on Devon Live tried to salvage the story, only to be taken down by a Harry Potter reference that fans may recognize:
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Many joked about how people believe unsubstantiated claims, worrying that what estate agents tell them about their property may be fabricated when it comes down to things like this.
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While it is a great little fact to get excited about - maybe next time double-check the truth before you start spreading false trivia like this. After all, all it will do is break the hearts of obsessive fans.
JK Rowling has revealed that she was mocked by Harry Potter readers after secretly joining a fans' forum.
The 57-year-old controversial author of the wizarding franchise entered a chatroom anonymously while she was writing the fourth book in the series: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Rowling spoke to Megan Phelps-Roper - the host of The Witch Trials of JK Rowling podcast - which examines the criticism of the Edinburgh-based author's beliefs on gender identity.
Speaking about the internet frenzy surrounding her beloved books in Chapter 3: New Pyre, the writer revealed that she entered a forum and "chose a random name that was not a Potter-related name".
JK Rowling at the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Credit: PA Images / Alamy
"I was almost scared that I would somehow self-reveal," she continued, claiming that when she shared a "very bland" opinion about Harry Potter, she "got rounded on by users who told me in no uncertain terms to get out".
The author said she was told that she wasn’t "familiar in that room," and was described as "an idiot who doesn’t know anything," so she left.
"And I was thinking, I’ve written three and a half books where bullying is such a theme from the very first page, where bullying - and authoritarian behavior - is held to be one of the worst of human ills, and look what just happened, from these people who call themselves such fans of this franchise," she said.
"I didn’t care. I’m a pretty robust person. But what if I’d been some 12-year-old who was excited to go into this room, and was immediately, caustically chastised for not belonging?" Rowling continued.
"They just kicked someone out because they were new. I thought that was so interesting, that you’re passionate about these books and yet, in the course of living, you are behaving in a way that I depict as one of the worst and most stupid human behaviors," she added.
Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets (2002) Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy
In recent years, the British novelist has come under fire for several comments made that have resulted in people branding her transphobic - which she has denied.
The idea behind the term is that not all women have periods, for instance, trans women. And some trans men, as well as non-binary people, can have periods too.
Rowling told the podcast host that as a result of her alleged transphobic remarks, she has been subjected to "direct death threats," as well as people "coming to my house where my kids live," and has had her address posted online.
"I've had what the police regard as credible threats," she continued. "The pushback is often 'You are wealthy. You can afford security. You haven't been silenced.' All of that is true but that misses the point. The attempt to intimidate and silence me is meant to serve as a warning to other women."
Can you believe that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter?
Yes, it's been two decades since the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, landed on bookshelves. And to celebrate, the British Library in London has opened a special exhibit called Harry Potter: A History of Magic.
The exhibition features "centuries-old British Library treasures" as well as a collection of original material from the archives of the series' book publisher Bloomsbury and author JK Rowling herself. There's a sketch of Hogwarts, annoted by Rowling, Rowling's handwritten list of teachers and subjects at the school, plus original chapter drafts (even some chapters that didn't end up in the final books).
There's also the tombstone of Nicolas Flamel, who features in the first book and was a real historical figure:
A handwritten original draft of The Philosopher's Stone's chapter 17, The Man With Two Faces, written on lined paper with pen:
And an early artist's impression of the Hogwarts Express:
One of the most exciting things of all, though, is the original pitch for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that allowed the whole series to take off in the first place.
It's a crumpled, water-damaged collection of A4 pages, typed by Rowling in 1995 with words describing the very basic synopsis of the book-come-movie it phenomenon later became. Rowling took this pitch, along with the opening chapters of the first book, with her when visiting prospective book publishers, trying to convince them to offer her a book deal.
What's crazy about it all is that it took ages for a single publisher to accept the pitch and help realise Rowling's ideas into books. They clearly didn't see the potential the stories had. Everything in this synopsis will sound familiar to you, which makes it even more incredible to think that 12 different publishers turned it down before Bloomsbury eventually accepted Rowling's pitch. Those other publishers would be kicking themselves now!
Rowling's original pitch reads:
"Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin because his parents died in a car-crash — or so he has been told. The Dursleys don't like Harry asking questions; in fact, they don't seem to like anything about him, especially the very odd things that keep happening around him (which Harry himself can't explain).
"The Dursleys' greatest fear is that Harry will discover the truth about himself, so when letters start arriving for him near his eleventh birthday, he isn't allowed to read them. However, the Dursleys aren't dealing with an ordinary postman, and at midnight on Harry's birthday the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid breaks down the door to make sure Harry gets to read his post at last. Ignoring the horrified Dursleys, Hagrid informs Harry that he is a wizard, and the letter he gives Harry explains that he is expected at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a month's time.
To the Dursleys' fury, Hagrid also reveals the truth about Harry's past. Harry did not receive the scar on his forehead in a car-crash; it is really the mark of the great dark sorcerer Voldemort, who killed Harry's mother and father but mysteriously couldn't kill him, even though he was a baby at the time. Harry is famous among the witches and wizards who live in secret all over the country because Harry's miraculous survival marked Voldemort's downfall.
So Harry, who has never had friends or family worth the name, sets off for a new life in the wizarding world. He takes a trip to London with Hagrid to buy his Hogwarts equipment (robes, wand, cauldron, beginners' draft and potion kit) and shortly afterwards, sets off for Hogwarts from Kings Cross Station (platform nine and three quarters) to follow in his parents' footsteps.
Harry makes friends with Ronald Weasley (sixth in his family to go to Hogwarts and tired of having to use second-hand spellbooks) and Hermione Granger (cleverest girl in the year and the only person in the class to know all the uses of dragon's blood). Together, they have their first lessons in magic — astronomy up on the tallest tower at two in the morning, herbology out in the greenhouses where the...
And this is where the front page ends. The rest of the synopsis is still on display, through tucked behind this initial page. This is the British Library's most popular exhibition to date, with over 30,000 tickets already sold (the most in-demand advance tickers ever). Rowling herself has high praise for the showcase, saying:
"The British Library has done an incredible job. Encountering objects for real that have in some shape or form figured in my books has been quite wonderful and to have several of my own items in the exhibition is a reminder of twenty amazing years since Harry was first published."
Now excuse me, I'd best be off to go join the queue with the thousands of other muggles hoping to catch the exhibition sometime in this lifetime.
The world is full of famous names. In fact, some are so ordinary that they unintentionally catapult regular people into a stardom of sorts for no reason other than they share that name with a famous person.
Now, one transgender woman has opened up about it was like growing up named "Harry Potter" after receiving the name before the beloved books were even published.
Ellen Potter captured the hearts of Twitter two days ago when she posted evidence of her legal name change on the microblogging site.
Addressing J.K. Rowling directly, she wrote alongside transgender flag emoji:
"So I was born named Harry Potter, before the books were published, it's just a coincidence but it's been challenging going through life with a famous name. anyway, I just got my legal name change approved."
After Ellen's tweet went viral, VT got in touch to learn more about her story, and what it was like growing up with one of the most famous fictional names in the world.
Ellen said she was set apart by her name when the first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001. She was five years old at the time and "everybody at [her] school had seen the movie."
She said:
"As a child, I was put in newspapers, on the radio, and even local tv news. I was treated somewhat like a celebrity for it, it really caused me to have an affinity with the character since we were in such a similar situation, being famous from a young age for no reason other than birth circumstances.
"Growing up, I was treated a lot like the character, people would react to my name in the same way characters would react to Harry Potter's. 'Merlin's Beard!' and stuff like that."
However, while Ellen's experience of being called Harry Potter was "harmless at first," after she left school "it became a bit more of a curse."
"I've been not taken seriously," she admitted. "I've had job applications torn up by potential employers upon seeing my name, I've had an ambulance not show up when I had one called for me following an injury from a bike accident, presumably thinking it's a prank call."
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Even though being called Harry Potter had its downsides for Ellen, she is a fan of the series, and the stories "have always greatly appealed" to her.
"I think despite the lack of meaningful LGBT representation, the stories really resonate with LGBT people," Ellen said. "This really not so subtle metaphor of young Harry coming out of the closet to find his true self and a new world really speaks to the community."
Ellen's parents also never regretted unknowingly giving her a name that would set her apart from her peers either.
"I don't think my parents ever showed any regret," she said. "For the most part, it wasn't damaging and was a harmless quirk. Maybe it would be different if I'd had the same name as somebody hated or evil rather than a beloved protagonist."
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Ellen said that she ultimately changed her name because she is a transgender woman and not because of the fame that Harry Potter brought her.
"The desire to change my name really only comes from me being a transgender woman," she explained. "I wanted a name that would more closely suit my gender identity as most trans people want.
"'Harry' never felt like my name anyway. Just a wizard that people associate with me."
In light of the recent transphobia allegations against J.K. Rowling, we asked Ellen why she chose to change her name now.
"I'd been aware that it was going to happen eventually since coming to terms with my gender identity some five-six years ago, but was at the back of my mind the whole time," she said. "It didn't become an imminent reality until I started my medical transition at the start of this year."
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While being named after a famous fictional character was a "challenging" experience for Ellen, she chose the name of another one when changing her name.
"My new name, Ellen, comes from my favorite character from my favorite movie, Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver from Ridley Scott's 1979 movie, Alien. I just kept my original surname," she said.
Ellen also had some words of wisdom for any Harry Potter fans who have been left feeling disillusioned after its author's alleged transphobia.
"Hogwarts always felt safe and welcoming to all people, but unfortunately with Joanne's transphobic views surfacing recently, along with some other problematic allegories in the stories, I understand people no longer feeling safe or welcome," Ellen said.
"I don't really know where the community goes from here, I suppose it's up to each individual to decide whether it's time to move on or to accept that it's the fans who make the fandom, and to not let hate creep in."
Since being posted on September 27, Ellen's tweet has received over 87.7K likes and 10.8K retweets, prompting an outpouring of love from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
One Twitter user remade the Harry Potter logo with Ellen's name.
A second wrote: "In an alternate reality where James and Lily had a daughter... they name her Ellen... she was the girl who lived... This is her story... #TwitterStory time."
A third Twitter empathized with the struggles that can come from having a famous name.
"I am so happy for you Ellen!" they wrote. "I am sorry you had to go through that, people can be cruel. My first name is Forrest and I was born before the movie Forrest Gump came out, but I got teased for it. Much love to you and your life!"
Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: "Congrats on the name change. Ellen is a great name! And also congrats on one hell of a flex. Life sure is a wild ride sometimes."
Ever since the release of the first Harry Potter book back on 26th June 1997 (nearly exactly 21 years ago to the day), the world has been obsessed with The Boy Who Lived. And, six more books, eight films, and several other spin-offs later, JK Rowling - the series' author - continues to be beheld by many as someone who puts a lot of time and effort into engaging with her fanbase.
Despite having 14.5 million Twitter followers, Rowling very often uses her social media platform to interact with people who have questions and observations about the HP series. What's more, she's always happy to help someone out when she can.
So, when Sabbah Haji Baji, the director of Haji Public School in Jammu and Kashmir, India, reached out to the author back in April, she was hopeful for a response.
"Please can you send me Kulsum's full name by DM?" she asked. "I'd love to send her something."
At the time, the author did not elaborate on what it was she was planning on sending, but fans who were familiar with her philanthropic good deeds could already tell that she had something fantastic up her sleeve.
"Wow!! Mam you are a wonderful human being and i cant even imagine how happy that little girl would be feeling," commented one fan. "Massive respect for you mam. Big fan of your works."
"God I love you. Keep making the world a better place!" added another.
Now, a couple of months later, Baji has posted a Twitter update to let the world know what Rowling sent to Kulsum and her fellow students - and it's truly magical.
Inside a huge cardboard package, Rowling had sent over individually wrapped parcels of Harry Potter goodies: books, toys, games - the lot! And it's evident from the students' faces in the pictures that they were utterly thrilled to receive such a generous gift.
And, once again, hundreds of Potterheads chimed in to thank the author for her outstanding generosity.
"You are such an amazing person," said one grateful fan. "Not only inspirational and creative but classy. You have done so much for children's reading in general."
One other person commented: "So thrilled just reading this! Happy for Kulsum, her classmates. What a fantastic life lesson for her, that it’s possible to connect to everybody in the world and reach out."
As anyone who follows Rowling's work will know, though, this is just the tip of the iceberg of her charitable good nature. For decades now, the author has been contributing to causes that specialise in eradicating poverty and promoting children's welfare, and actually founded her own charity, which is named Lumos after one of the spells from the Harry Potter series.
Her gift to Kulsum and her friends was an undeniably good deed - but Rowling should be acknowledged for all the fantastic work she does off social media, too. Her books may have brought happiness to millions of children, but her kind nature has changed the lives of perhaps even more.
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