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.

READMORE: Edinburgh trains today as strike action causes travel chaos across Scotland

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).

Sign up for Edinburgh Live’s newsletter

Get all the latest news and headlines from Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians sent straight to your inbox twice a day by signing up to our free newsletter.

From breaking news to the latest on the coronavirus crisis in Scotland, we’ll have you covered.

The morning newsletter arrives every day before 9am and the evening newsletter, manually curated by the team, is sent at 6.30pm, giving you a round up of the most important stories of the day.

To sign up, simply enter your email address into this link here and select Daily News.

“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?

READ NEXT:

Edinburgh bar worker groped by politician on stag do while she served drinks

Edinburgh Airport bar sorry after drinker fumes at ‘horrible barmaid’ and state of pint

Edinburgh fund manager attacked ex-wife at £1m mansion during ‘toxic break-up’

Popular Edinburgh coffee house giving away free coffee for a year

Puzzled Edinburgh residents forced to walk through ‘dark underworld’ to get to destination

Weekend highlights

Colorado Shakespeare Festival: “The Alchemist” is hitting the stage for a one-night-only performance of Shakespeare contemporary Ben Johnson’s satire on  Tuesday. To get on the waitlist of the sold-out production, visit cupresents.org/2022-the-alchemist-waitlist. It will be on stage at Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU, Boulder; $25-$56; cupresents.org.

The Arts Hub: Youth actors hit the stage with “Matilda Jr.,” Roald Dahl’s story about a girl with telekinesis who navigates life’s obstacles; 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette; $10; artshub.org.

The Spark: Catch a comedic retelling of the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling in this stage play “Puffs,” where not saving the world is OK too, July 30-Aug. 7, The Spark, 4847 Pearl St. B4, Boulder; thesparkcreates.org.

On stage

All’s Well That Ends Well: Coming-of-age romp set in 1950s France, through Aug. 6, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, University Theatre, CU, Boulder; $20-$67; cupresents.org.

Amelia’s Big Idea: New musical about 10-year-old Amelia who wants to build a dog park, through Aug. 7, BETC’s mobile Theatre Truck will be in Broomfield at Community Park at Second Avenue and Main Street at 10 a.m. Aug. 3; free; betc.org.

The Book of Will: Contemporary play that pays tribute to the friends who helped publish Shakespeare’s plays after his death, through Aug. 6, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU, Boulder; $22-$81; cupresents.org.

Cinderella: Musical version of the fairy tale about how it requires a handsome, wealthy and powerful man to make a young woman happy, through Sept. 4, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown; $29-$66; coloradocandlelight.com.

Coriolanus: Shakespeare’s political drama about a soldier, common people and polarizing times, through Aug. 7, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, University Theatre, CU, Boulder; $19-$64; cupresents.org.

Dance Nation: A primal scream of a play about a group of girls on the precipice of adulthood as they prep for a dance competition, through July 30, Square Product Theatre, ATLAS Black Box Theater, 1125 18th St., Boulder; $15-$25; dancenation.brownpapertickets.com.

Dorothy’s Dictionary: A high school student meets a book lover who’s losing her eyesight; BETC’s mobile Theatre Truck will be at Echo Brewing, 600 Briggs St., Erie, at 7 p.m. Sunday and at NoBo Arts District, 4949 Broadway, Boulder, at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 5; free; betc.org.

Father Featherbottom’s Forgotten Fairytales: A heart-warming romp through 21st-century fairy tales, Saturday-Sunday, Audacious Theatre, Hudson Gardens, 6115 S. Santa Fe Dr., Littleton; pay what you can; audacioustheatre.com.

Pride and Prejudice: Modern spin on the romantic novel, through Aug. 6, Firehouse Theater Company, John Hand Theater, 7653 E. 1st Place, Denver; $25; firehousetheatercompany.com.

The Spongebob Musical: The power of optimism shines through in this musical based on the hit cartoon, through Sept. 3, BDT Stage, 5501 Arapahoe Road, Boulder; $70-$75 (includes meal); bdtstage.com.

The Three Little Pigs vs. The Apocalypse: It’s 2520 and things are crazy as three pig people escape a mad scientist’s lab and head for a safe haven in the Rocky Mountains, through Aug. 7, Arts in the Open, Chautauqua Picnic Shelter, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder; $16-$21; chautauqua.com.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Two pals find themselves at odds over the same gal, through Aug. 7, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU, Boulder; $22-$81; cupresents.org.

Coming soon

The Children: Humorous and timely eco-thriller, Sept. 15-Oct. 8, Butterfly Effect Theatre Company, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder; betc.org.

Hadestown: Tony Award-winning musical that tells a contemporary love story, Aug. 30-Sept. 11, DCPA Broadway, Buell Theatre, 13th and Curtis streets, Denver; $35-$125; denvercenter.org.

Into the Woods: Stephen Sondheim’s dark musical that looks at fairy tales, Sept. 9-Oct. 9, Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada; arvadacenter.org.

Legally Blonde, the Musical: Based on the popular film starring Reese Witherspoon, Aug. 5-14, The Spark, 4847 Pearl St., B4, Boulder; thesparkcreates.org.

Newsical The Musical: Long-running off-Broadway show that spoofs the news, Sept. 7-25, Garner Galleria Theatre, DCPA, 14th and Curtis streets, Denver; denvercenter.org.

Pretty Woman, The Musical: Broadway tour of the musical based on the popular movie of the same name, Aug. 2-14, DCPA Broadway, Buell Theatre, 13th and Curtis streets, Denver; $35-$120; denvercenter.org.

Theater of the Mind: David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar-created immersive theater piece world premiere, Aug. 31-Dec. 18, DCPA, York Street Yards, 3887 Steele St., Denver; theateroftheminddenver.com.

Did we miss your production? Email the entry with “theater listings” in the subject line to features@prairiemountainmedia.com. 

A “Harry Potter”-inspired pop-up bar near Findlay Market will hold its grand opening Friday, and yes, there will be butterbeer.

Located on 1834 Race St. right down the street from Findlay Market in the back of the Cosmic Gorilla comic book shop and bar, Pennifold’s Pub will be open for the next two months on Wednesday through Sunday. It will be a Quidditch-themed bar, from the fictional sport on broomsticks in the “Harry Potter” books and movies.

And keep an eye out for Quidditch tryout posters scattered around: Those will lead visitors to Pennifold’s Pub.

People of all ages (or witches and wizards, to stay on theme) are welcome in the bar before 9 p.m. It will serve eight fall cocktails with the names of “key Quidditch plays,” according to a release, in both an alcoholic and nonalcoholic version. Pennifold’s Pub will, of course, also serve frozen butterbeer.

Here are the hours for Pennifold’s Pub:

• Wednesday and Thursday: 3-10 p.m.
• Friday: 3 p.m. to midnight.
• Saturday: Noon to midnight.
• Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.

New hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo:‘American Idol’ star Fritz Hager III wants you to name Bibi’s baby hippo after him

JK Rowling has denied that locations in Edinburgh inspired places and characters in her Harry Potter books. Fans of the novels flock to the city’s Victoria Street as it is thought to have been the inspiration for the wizarding world’s Diagon Alley.

However, the author has insisted she had never visited the street at the time she created the cobblestoned street where Harry and his Hogwarts friends stock up on their supplies.

Victoria Street is featured on many Harry Potter walking tours of Edinburgh as well as Greyfriars Kirkyard where Rowling was said to have used names on gravestones for characters in the books, report the Record.

READ MORE: Mum hits back at ‘intrusive’ neighbours’ ‘lack of boundaries’ that ‘drives her mad’

However, the writer said that story is also bogus and she only discovered it after one of her children went on one of the walking tours with a friend. Although real-life locations such as London’s King’s Cross feature in the books, Rowling said the only “wizarding world” place which has a real-life inspiration is Harry’s home at 4 Privet Drive.

The 56-year-old said it was based on the second home she lived in as a child. Replying to a fan on Twitter who asked what inspired Diagon Alley, she said: “No real street inspired Diagon Alley, I’m afraid. It came out of my head!

“I’ve never seen 99 per cent of the places that claim to be the inspiration and I’d never seen Victoria St when I created Diagon Alley (I have since, obviously, as it’s in Edinburgh, where I live). I feel bad for the tourist boards saying it, but all locations in Potter are entirely imaginary bar one, which is the most boring.

“It was only when I’d written the first three books that I realised I’d given 4 Privet Drive exactly the same layout as the second house I lived in as a child (which did have a cupboard under the stairs). Dull but true: I haven’t even been to many of the cities containing the self-proclaimed ‘real’ Diagon Alleys.”

The author was then asked by another of her 14 million followers whether there was any truth to the rumour about the Edinburgh graveyard.

She replied: “Afraid not, but 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.”

In 2020, Rowling questioned an Edinburgh cafe’s claim to be the birthplace of Harry Potter. The Elephant House proclaimed itself as the place where the boy wizard was dreamt up by the writer.

Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox

Rowling did write parts of the first Potter book at the cafe while a single mother on benefits in the 1990s. However, she said calling it the birthplace was wide of the mark and she had started work on the story long before she went there for cups of coffee.

She said: “I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter. 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!”

Rowling has said she first had the idea for Harry Potter while delayed on a train travelling from Manchester to London King’s Cross in 1990. Over the next five years, she began to plan out the seven books of the series.

READ NEXT-

Woman fumes over not being invited to sister-in-law’s hen party after husband ‘hides it’ from her

Urgent new travel advice issued to Scots heading abroad for summer holidays

Drivers warned of fines and penalty points for common motorway mistake

Shoppers praise environmentally friendly shampoo bars costing just £1

Scottish TikTok goes wild over ‘strange’ name for common clothing item

Author JK Rowling on Saturday said the police are investigating a potential death threat after a Twitter user hinted of a possible target on her in response to her posts on the stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie during a literary event in New York. Rushdie, who has long faced death threats for his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses,” was stabbed in the neck and torso by Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey. The incident took place 33 years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader pronounced a fatwa, or religious edict, calling upon Muslims to kill the novelist and anyone involved in the book’s publication for blasphemy.

Following the attack on the author on Friday, the “Harry Potter” author in a tweet expressed her disbelief on Twitter. “Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok,” she said.

Rowling later posted screenshots of replies to her tweet by user Meer Asif Aziz who gave information about the attacker Hadi Matar and said he is a “revolutionary Shia fighter followed the fatwa of late ayotallah rohullah khomeini”.

To all sending supportive messages: thank you 💕
Police are involved (were already involved on other threats).

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 13, 2022

In another tweet by the author on the attack on Rushdie, Aziz responded to Rowling stating, “Don’t worry, you are next.” Rowling tagged the Twitter support team and asked for assistance in view of the threat.

Shortly later, the British author thanked her well-wishers who had raised safety concerns and said she has received help and the police is looking into the threat and information. “To all sending supportive messages: thank you 💕 Police are involved (were already involved on other threats),” she wrote.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it was not involved in the attack on Salman Rushdie and had no additional information. “We don’t know anything about this subject so we will not comment,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The attacker, Matar, is originally Lebanese and his family hails from the south Lebanon town of Yaroun, Yaroun mayor Ali Tehfe told Reuters. The Matar’s parents emigrated to the United States and he was born and raised there, Tehfe said. When asked if Matar or his parents were affiliated with or supported Hezbollah, Tehfe said he had “no information at all” on the political views of the parents or Matar as they lived abroad.

Iranian state media has praised Matar following the attack on Rushdie. Kayhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote, “A thousand bravos … to the brave and dutiful person who attacked the apostate and evil Salman Rushdie in New York,” adding, “The hand of the man who tore the neck of God’s enemy must be kissed”. The headline of the hardline Vatan Emrooz newspaper read, “Knife in Salman Rushdie’s neck”. The Khorasan daily carried the headline, “Satan on the way to hell”.

Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak after the incident. His agent Andrew Wylie said that “the news is not good.” “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” he said in a statement.

Read the Latest News and Breaking News here

Take the proceeds straight to Gringotts: Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has sold out of Melbourne’s property market in a $2 million-plus deal.

The English actor had used the stylish Toorak apartment as a base when he was filming in Australia, but it became superfluous to his needs.

It was bought new in 2004 for $1.9 million by Radcliffe’s mother Marcia Gresham, records show, and then transferred into her son’s name just before his 18th birthday in 2007.

The actor listed the home for sale in 2015, when it had price expectations of about $2.5 million. Despite receiving three offers, he decided not to sell because he was expecting to spend more time in Australia for work.

A trailer has revealed Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) are also set to appear, alongside “many more”.

Charles, the longest-serving heir to the throne in British history, is now King. His apprenticeship as heir, lasting 70 years, has made him the best-prepared and oldest new monarch ever to take to the throne.

This is a movie set in the same world as the cultural phenomenon and box office behemoth that was the Harry Potter series. It also shares the creative team. David Yates is at the helm of the franchise, just like he was with the last three Potter films. But for some reason, the franchise continues to be a case of diminishing returns.

At a budget of $200 million, Secrets of Dumbledore will have to earn around $800 million if it is to recover its budget, let alone earn profit. The film needs a miraculous recovery at the box office, driven by a never-before-seen section of fans to drive its business with positive word-of-mouth, who are now disillusioned with the franchise.

That, needless to say, is unlikely.

What is Fantastic Beasts?

The franchise is named after Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a book that is both real and fictional. Written by Magizoologist (a wizard or witch who studies magical creatures) Newt Scamander, it was also written by and released as an actual book by Rowling.

Played by Eddie Redmayne in the movie, the Hogwarts alumnus and Englishman Newt is extremely likable as a dorky but talented wizard. We find him in New York in the first film, ostensibly to release a trafficked thunderbird to its home in Arizona, but it is revealed in the sequel that he was sent there by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law essaying the younger version of future headmaster of Hogwarts) to keep an eye out for Gellert Grindelwald, the supervillain of the franchise and the most powerful dark lord in history until Voldemort outdid him.

The subsequent films and the franchise as a whole is leading up to the titanic duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, who is his former lover. The face-off will establish Dumbledore as the greatest wizard of his age.

So why is the franchise a failure?

The first film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, promised a return to the Wizarding World and was pretty well-made and received positive reviews (74 per cent on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes) and was a commercial success ($814 million worldwide box office).

But the follow-up, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was summarily panned by critics (36 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes) and was also a box office failure ($654.85 million). And now, Secrets of Dumbledore, though better received than Crimes of Grindelwald is likely going to be an even bigger disaster.

Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. (Photo: Warner Bros)

The franchise, some might say, has been doomed from the beginning. Harry Potter films worked because writers and directors had thousands of pages of source material at their disposal in the form of JK Rowling’s books. Fantastic Beasts, on the other had, did not have any concrete foundation from which to launch a franchise.

And the preliminary decision to divide the franchise into five parts, on the basis of outlines (perhaps) did not inspire a lot of confidence. The whole franchise smacked of cash grab by Warner Bros and Rowling, of trying to capitalise on the popularity of Harry Potter. The first movie was a success and the franchise should have gained popularity with future instalments. But Crimes of Grindelwald turned out to be a total mess with a plot that was at once too complicated and too simplistic. The film was overstuffed and overlong, and did not have many of those wow moments that peppered Potter movies.

It did not help that fans were not too happy about Johnny Depp, who essayed the supervillain of the film Grindelwald, being part of the cast. Depp had been accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife Amber Heard, and had become something of a pariah in Hollywood. But Warner Bros stuck with Depp, at least until he lost his libel case against UK tabloid The Sun that had called him a “wife-beater.”

But all hell broke loose when Rowling came under fire for her alleged transphobic tweets and statements. Her contention is that there should be a distinction between biological females and trans women, and that there are only two sex, as opposed to gender, which can be multiple.

She has angered transgenders, activists and their allies, many of whom have began re-evaluating the diversity quotient in her books. Once, she quote-tweeted an article whose headline read, ‘Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.’ She joked, “People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Not only her fans, but even stars of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films sent messages in solidarity for trans community, insinuating that they did not support Rowling’s comments. Emma Watson, Hermione Granger of Harry Potter series, tweeted, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”

Eddie Redmayne, who plays the lead role of Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts film series that falls under Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise, told Variety, “Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself. This is an ongoing process. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid.”

Can Fantastic Beasts recover?

The short answer is yes, but Rowling should probably remove herself as a screenwriter. I earlier said that Fantastic Beasts appeared to be a cash grab when it was announced, and it is true. But cash grabs have worked before. The Lego Movie, released in 2014, was the very definition of a corporate product, but its stellar creative team (Phil Lord and Chris Miller) made sure that the movie did not only justify its existence, it also proved that no matter what the subject matter is, great writers can always do wonders with it.

Rowling is certainly one of the greatest fantasists, of her age, the modern Enid Blyton, but as should be clear by now, she is not a good screenwriter. This is why Steve Cloves, who basically scripted the entire Harry Potter series, was invited to assist her with Secrets of Dumbledore. But even that was not enough. Perhaps Cloves should take up sold credit in future instalments — if, and this is a big if, the franchise has a future.