An Edinburgh TikToker has proved a connection between many of the most popular characters in Harry Potter and the capital, despite JK Rowling insisting the link isn’t real.
Earlier this month, the author of the fantasy series hit out to deny that any of the names in her novels were based on real places in Edinburgh. However, a TikTok user has seemingly debunked these claims by showing off a number of direct comparisons between graves in Greyfriars Kirkyard and popular characters from the books.
The video on the social media site shows plaques and graves in the capitals most famous graveyard, which include a number of names of characters in Harry Potter, including: McGonagall, Moodie, Thomas Riddle and even one that says Sirius Black. While the last of these names seems to be a later piece of graffiti, the rest are startling coincidences that seem to lend weight to the common myth that Rowling used inspiration from Edinburgh when writing her books.
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Recently, the author took to Twitter to insist that none of the names in her book had been inspired by Greyfriars Kirkyard or that Diagon Alley was inspired by Edinburgh’s Victoria Street.
She said on social media: “No real street inspired Diagon Alley, I’m afraid. It came out of my head! I’ve never seen 99% of the places that claim to be the inspiration and I’d never seen Victoria St when I created DA (I have since, obviously, as it’s in Edinburgh, where I live).
“I know the graveyard you’re talking about because unbeknownst to me, one of my children was at a loose end one afternoon and went on one of those Potter walking tours with their best mate for a laugh. They came home with a ton of information that was news to me.”
You can see the full TikTok here.
What do you think? Are the names of Harry Potter characters inspired by this Edinburgh graveyard?
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