The New American Hogwarts Is So New England and We Love It
Turns out there’s been an “American Hogwarts” on top of Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts all this time. Who knew? Let us show you around…
By Bethany Bourgault|Aug 08 2016|
View From Mt. Greylock in Adams, MA
Credit: Bethany Bourgault
A sign welcomes visitors to Mt. Greylock, the New England home of J.K. Rowling’s American Hogwarts.
Credit: Bethany BourgaultCredit: Bethany Bourgault For those of you who’ve been following the story less obsessively than I have, here’s the gist: J.K. Rowling is trying her hand at screenwriting, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will hit theaters on Nov. 18, 2016. It’ll be set in America, specifically 1920s New York City – meaning that the world of magic extends across the Atlantic. With a whole new country of young witches and wizards needing magical educations, Rowling had to invent some sort of “American Hogwarts.” She called it the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she put it in Massachusetts. We here in the NewEngland.com and Yankee offices were incredibly excited to get official confirmation that our favorite region – New England, of course – is magical. (We’ve always suspected it, but it’s still nice to have proof.) After some further investigation, we saw the “American Hogwarts” is full of New England essence, too. Here are some of our favorite New England details about the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
How about that for a view from your dormitory?
Credit: Bethany BourgaultCredit: Bethany Bourgault Its history is deeply intertwined in New England’s colonial history. Ilvermorny founder Isolt Sayer was one of the first Europeans in what would later become the Massachusetts Bay Colony. With genealogical connections to Slytherin and a sinister upbringing to match, she took her fate in her own hands and boarded the Mayflower, fleeing for the New World like the rest of her fellow passengers. Her alias, Elias Story, appears in our muggle accounts of history too. Story was a real pilgrim who sailed to America as a servant and died with scores of others during the first harsh winter. However, in the magical history version, Elias didn’t die, Isolt simply suspected that her fellow settlers wouldn’t take too kindly to her magic and ran for the hills. Literally. She hiked on foot from the Plymouth Colony to Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. Along the way she met the people who’d soon become the school’s other three founders – two young wizard boys and a muggle man – also all former members of the Plymouth Colony.
A relief sculpture at the bottom shows the enormity of Massachusets’ highest peak.
Credit: Bethany BourgaultCredit: Bethany Bourgault The American Hogwarts is built out of granite. If there was such a thing as a regional rock, New England’s would be granite. From Barre, VT, the self-proclaimed granite center of the world and Rockport, MA’s world-famous granite on Bearskin Neck to pretty much everything in New Hampshire (a.k.a., “the Granite State”), New England has got granite covered. It’s only fitting that if the North American wizarding school is going to be in New England, it should be built out of granite. Also, at the top of Mt. Greylock and visible to muggle eyes is a 92-foot memorial tower made primarily of granite. Could this be part of Ilvermorny’s disguise? Suspicious…
This image is part of a display at the Mt. Greylock visitor center – the tower is currently undergoing renovations and will reopen in 2017.
Credit: Bethany Bourgault
Thank you for this wonderful article (complete with pictures). I now know where I should head to next for my road trip!
Very cool. Can’t wait to see the movie. Wonder what will be the impact on visits to Mt. Greylock, which is a perfect name for a magical place.
I am putting a trip to the mountain on my fall trip list
Delightful!
Oh my!
Hello, Was Elias a female or a male? You mention her in the story yet the obit reads “he”. Thanks
All seasons are magical on Mt. Greylock, but the best time to enjoy it in all its colorful glory is not later than the first week of October. As the fall progresses the color is lost first from the higher elevations.
I would like to add that not everyone shares in the sentiment. There is a strong pushback from some in the Native community regarding both the colonizing storyline, the characterization of Indians as magic, and the appropriation of many cultural figures.
It truly is a magical place.