Did Harry Potter Really Steal All These Story Ideas?

When Harry Potter became one of the world's most famous heroes, many people complained that J.K. Rowling had lifted chunks of the Potterverse from other sources. How true is this ?

Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Similarities: It's hard to imagine a modern fantasy book that doesn't owe a great deal to this classic. But there are a few parallels that can't be ignored. Use of rhyming verse to illuminate themes? ... Check. Giant man eating spiders that must be faced by best friends before they have to fight the big bad? ... . Occasionally disembodied Dark Lord? ... Check. An evil article of jewelry that not only contains part of the Dark Lord's soul, but needs to be destroyed to finish him off? ... Check. Creepy sycophant intent on destroying the good guys from the inside (who has worm in his name)? ... Check. Kindly old wizard with a beard who has powers that are only hinted at until revealed explosively? ... Check. Mobile and violent trees? ... Check.

Of course, in the game of who would beat who in a fight, your money should be on the medieval guys with armor and swords. For instance, Rowling's black-cloaked Dementors are clearly the Oprah generation version of the Nazgul. Dementors cause depression and unconsciousness that are dispelled with chocolate. Morgul-blade wielding Nazgul cause unconsciousness and utter terror that are dispelled with athelas herb. On the other hand, Dementors can be defeated with magical happy thoughts while the Witch King of the Nazgul has to be taken out by a Hobbit with an enchanted sword and shieldmaiden of Rohan.

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

Similarities: In this precursor to the Potter books, a young girl from a Mugg – uh – non-magical family attends a boarding school for witches. Which is in an ancient castle surrounded by an enchanted forest. While Mildred Hubble is enrolled at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, where she attends Potions, Broomstick Flying, Chants and Charms classes, she must deal with conflicts with her classmates, a cursed broom, and an attempt to overthrow the school. Also, Mildred and her friends make an invisibility potion. Here's an old Geocities page  listing more similarities, including the fact that there's a mean teacher who hates the main character, and a popular blond kid who gets off on the wrong foot with the hero on the very first day.

The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, and Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lily by Nancy Stouffer

Similarities: These books, published in the 1980s, feature a character named Larry Potter. And the word "Muggles," used to describe a group of mutants. And the main character, Larry Potter, is an orphan with glasses and dark hair, who's raised by a couple. When Stouffer started making claims that Rowling stole from her work, Rowling and her publishers pre-emptively sued Stouffer, and eventually won $50,000 in damages. Read a Washington Post reader chat with Stouffer, which gets pretty amusing as people take her to task .here.

Troll

Similiarities: This 1980s movie, best known for leading to the iconic "best worst movie" Troll 2, features a young boy named Harry Potter who learns to use magic and wields a spear. Director John Buechler filed a suit against Rowling and Warner Brothers for $20 million, but it's not clear if anything will come of it. Claims producer Charles Band: "I've heard that JK Rowling has acknowledged that maybe she saw this low-budget movie and perhaps it inspired her."

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Similarities: After Rowling sued the writer of the Harry Potter Lexicon, a guidebook to the Potterverse for copyright infringement, Card wrote that he feels like Rowling stole the plot of his famous novel:

A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorized extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who attack him with the intention of killing him; but he is protected by his loyal, brilliant friends and gains strength from the love of some of his family members. He is given special guidance by an older man of legendary accomplishments who previously kept the enemy at bay. He goes on to become the crucial figure in a struggle against an unseen enemy who threatens the whole world.

Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen

Similarities: Eleven-year-old boy off at wizarding boarding school defeats a bad guy out to destroy the school. Portraits move and ceiling full of stars twinkle, and the hero's best friends include a red-headed boy and a brilliant girl.

Is there a case? Yolen seems to think so, saying, "I always tell people that if Ms. Rowling would like to cut me a very large check, I would cash it." (So, by the way, would we.) But the fact of the matter is, the combination of those two staples if kid lit, the school story and the magical bildungsroman, can't be copyrighted. (Yolen also told an audience at WorldCon that lots of other books are derivative, too, but many of them are better written than the Potter novels in her view.)