The Harry Potter Effect

[David Roomes]

I read the Harry Potter books and I loved them. I have all seven sitting on my bookshelf. I've also seen the movies. They were good. I've got no complaints.

However, I've noticed one weird side effect from the Harry Potter craze that the average person probably hasn't encountered. Over the last few years, I have been receiving an increasing number of emails from people all over the world who want to join my "wizard school". I'm not joking. I can only assume these are people who see a Harry Potter film and then jump online and stumble upon Khoras. When the first such email arrived, I thought I was dealing with a very disturbed person who couldn't tell reality from fantasy. Then a second one arrived. And a third. I thought these people were either REALLY taking their fantasy gaming too far or they had some mental problems.

Over the past few years, I have received dozens and DOZENS of these emails. From people in all parts of the world - California to Egypt. Australia to Russia. All ages too. Kids, teenagers, adults.

The emails are usually quite short. They ask for an application or ask how they can join. Sometimes they ask if they will get a wand or if there is a dress code.

It's possible that some of these people are being facetious. But most of the time, they seem quite sincere. I always write back. I start off by telling them that Khoras is just a work of fiction... just an exercise in imagination. I then usually try to say something encouraging based on what they wrote or asked. Some of these people REALLY want to believe in magic and I feel like I need to let them down gently. So I encourage them to funnel that interest into something else - an education or a hobby or a passion. The world is what we make of it.

Some of these people are devastated. Others don't believe me and insist that I'm testing them. Some twist my words around and try to make what I said fit into their delusion. Others just don't understand and ask again.

The sheer number of these emails is starting to wear me down. Perhaps I should put a disclaimer on the wizard school pages. I hate to "break the fourth wall" on the web site, but I'm getting tired of writing the same "sorry, magic isn't real" letter over and over.

The reason I'm mentioning this now is because I got TWO of these emails tonight. Two in the same night. Does anyone have any ideas on how to response to such a request? Has anyone ever gamed with someone who believed the game or that magic was real? At first I couldn't believe that there were so many people who believed in magic. I thought they were joking. But now, after having received almost a hundred of these emails, I am beginning to think that there are a LOT of people out there who believe in magic. Or maybe they just WANT to believe in it.

There's a television show on here in the States called "Ghost Hunters". There was a commercial on for it the other night that started off by saying something like "1 in 3 Americans believes in ghosts...". I'm not sure if that's an accurate statistic, but if it is, it's scary. If that many people believe in ghosts, probably a lot of them also believe in magic.

Regarding the title of this post, yeah, I think the Harry Potter craze has something to do with this. The frequency of these emails has been increasing over the years. I think people come out from the movies, their heads filled with the special effects they've just seen and they jump online looking for a Hogwarts that they can join. They come across Blackwell's or Ornisem's Academy and they think it's real. I thought the FAQ made it pretty clear that Khoras is just a work of fiction.

Not sure why I'm posting this. Just thought I would share. Comments are welcome. I'm not sure what to do with these emails except to keep doing what I have been. I wonder if other world builders get emails like this?

[Melchior]

I think this is a great opportunity to expand on all the wizard schools in Khoras and write a story or two about one. Spotlight of the month!

Very weird, though. I've never encountered such a person, not even online. Very, very strange. I wouldn't put any 'out of character' disclaimer on those pages, though. You'd have to do it on every single page, and it's just, well, annoying. I don't want to be reminded every single page that it's only fiction. I already know that, and I like to get lost in fantasy worlds.

[David Roomes]

I agree. I don't want to put anything out of character on the pages. I, too, like to get lost in a fantasy world. I'll keep the pages as they are. Perhaps I'll add a new FAQ though.

[Drul Morbok]

Wow, this gave me a lot to think about, and it took me some time do do so.
I'd never have even thoguht about such things happening, and first of all, I like it that you didn't siply put "magic school" on your spam filter ;-)
On topic, I think I met people who might by coincidence stumble upon the "magic school" section of Khoras.net, and take it serious. For example, some years ago I met a young woman in a train, and after chatting a bit she told me that she was a vampire, but from a clan that was prosecuted by two other clans that secretely controlled everything, so she had two keep it secret.
Now, as a pure rationalist, this leaves me with two possible conclusions:
Either vampires do exist, or for almost everything, there's someone who believes in it...

OK, this was vampires, but following the second conclusion I expect there a lot of people who instead believe in being a secret wizard or sorcerer instead. And I just imagined them reaching the following section of this page by coincidence and out of context (=google):

Magic is a force that few can master. For those with the necessary talent and drive, it can be a powerful ally - a tool, a weapon... a means of artistic expression. But first, they must master it's complex rules. Those who teach magic are rare and great halls and academies where spell mastery is taught are rarer still. What follows below are some of the larger and more prestigious schools of magic. This list is not comprehensive, but these schools do represent a good cross section of such institutions throughout the world. [...]

To be honest - out of context, this might sound as if it was real. I don't think you're in any way responsible for what people might think after reading one section out of context, but if you want my analysis, that's the relevant section - or maybe one of few of them. So I don't think you need to plaster everything with "caution - not real" disclaimers, just one or maybe three - unless there's also other people that want to buy tickets for a Kalgamorra match ;-)
And maybe it don't have to be actual dislaimers...maybe there's a more subtle way of mentioning that it is within the context of a fictional world.
Hope thet helps,
Drul

[David Roomes]

Yeah, I agree. Google grabs a chunk of text like you quoted and people read it out of context. It's easy to stumble upon a Khoras page if you're googling some specific element of fantasy. Some of the pieces of Khoras have been online long enough that they actually show up fairly high on a google search. If you do a Google image search for the word "ogre", the picture from the Khoras ogre race page ranks pretty high.

I guess I'm not going to worry about it. The FAQ makes it pretty clear that this is all a work of fiction. And even if people do stumble upon just one page out of context, there's a link on the bottom of every page that takes you to the Khoras site (frames and all).

Once I transition the site away from frames to something more standard, this "page out of context" thing should be less of a problem. They'll get all the links and everything instead of just the page.

Anyway, enjoyed your story about the vampire girl. Thanks for sharing.

[tanis]

Yeah, basically. I mean, I found the site while nerding out and trying to find the superlative metals in different categories, such as hardness and Chromium, melting/boiling point and Tungsten, etc. And this was something like seven years ago. So, never underestimate the ability for Google to take you rare and wondrous places. XDDD

[Delbareth]

As everybody I presume, I was very astonished the first time I've red your story. But now that I know that vampires exist, nothing can surprise me anymore!
Concerning a solution, I think Drul is right when he speak about a more subtle way. In fact I see two ways. First you can include in the problematic sentence some geographical references in the Khoras world. If you cite words like "Ithria continent", "kingdom of Arkalia", "Carrikos theocratie" they could perhaps realize that you speak about a fictionnal world.
For those who would be deeper in their mental troubles and who would believe that these names would be the magic counter part for USA, France or asian continent, you can use another trick. Just try to include the fact that it's a medieval world, for instance by saying that "in such a medieval world where technology is primitive, magic is a way to bla bla bla". It should make them realize that you do not speak about the Earth.

[David Roomes]

That's an interesting idea. I can be subtle and weave "clues" into the fabric of the narrative without breaking the 4th wall. Not bad. I'll have to review the wizard schools and try rewording things a little.

It's curious that the wizard schools are the ONLY part of Khoras that people seem to write about. I never get emails about magic swords or exotic plants and dangerous animals. Just people wanting to go to school to learn magic.