Author J. K. Rowling just killed off a Harry Potter-related urban legend.
Locals in Exeter, southwest England, have for years boasted that The Old Firehouse pub in the city provided the inspiration for the fictional The Leaky Cauldron in Rowling’s hit fantasy novels.
But there’s a slight problem. As Rowling herself revealed via Twitter on Wednesday, she’s “never visited this pub in my life.”
Rowling dispelled the legend in response to an article on the Devon Live news website about the sale of the pub, which touted the venue’s supposed literary connection.
Rowling did attend the city’s Exeter University in the mid-1980s, so it’s easy to understand how such a myth may have taken hold.
After all, the university’s own Harry Potter Society held a banquet at the pub in 2017, and multiple websites have heralded the (now debunked) connection.
Rowling’s revelation stunned the city’s students and alumni, including the Harry Potter Society, which asked her “why would you crush our dreams like this.”
The Old Firehouse did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment. But Rowling later doubled down on her statement by listing the drinking establishments she had frequented during her time in the city:
