Should you ever visit the gorgeous city of Porto, Portugal, the tide of tourism will eventually take you to the lovely Art Nouveau-style bookshop Livraria Lello. All who enter (and demand is so great that one must purchase a ticket to do so in advance) are aware that this is the spot that inspired J.K. Rowling‘s descriptions of Hogwarts. The store certainly leans into it, selling Harry Potter books in multiple translations.
The shocking news, however, is that Rowling says she never visited the store, never even heard of it, and that it has nothing to do with any wizard-related institution of learning real or imagined.
This dose of veritaserum came as part of a series of tweets from earlier last week debunking Potter origin myths, ruining lovely vacation memories for many.
The thread began in response to a fan, with Rowling clarifying that while she did do some writing in Edinburgh’s Elephant House coffee shop, it is hardly the “birthplace” of the beloved series as many (including the shop itself) seem to believe. She added that she first put pen to paper in her flat in Clapham Junction, after first dreaming up the character on a train.
“I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter,” the author wrote, adding that those visiting Edinburgh need not make a pilgrimage to a specific parking spot some claim was hers. “I can’t drive,” she said, saying that specific myth is her favorite.
As an olive branch, perhaps, to fans who would prefer to believe legends, Rowling followed up on Saturday with a “real Harry Potter inspiration alert,” a sign for Severus Road that she passed every day on the way to work. She says it must have subconsciously inspired her when naming Severus Snape.
While this may be bad news for some tour guides who need to update their brochures, it’s a friendlier kind of interaction from Rowling, whose online persona has caused sparks with some fans in recent months.
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