MYTHTERY: “Cursed Child” Is a Spinoff of “My Immortal”

Mythtery

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is actually a spinoff of the fan fiction My Immortal.

Evidence

No art exists that is completely original. Each time someone creates, they are taking what they know, what they’ve already experienced, and shaping it into something new. Many popular works are actually direct spin-offs of other creations. For example, Fifty Shades of Grey is a spin-off of the Twilight series. The Hours is a spin-off of Mrs. Dalloway. And within our very own wizarding world, Fantastic Beasts could be considered a spin-off of Harry Potter.

Pull up a stiff-backed chair, have a biscuit, and let us give you the facts

There is, however, another much less commonly known but equally verifiable spin-off within our fandom. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the production that has taken the fandom by surprise and created both super-fans and super-skeptics, is a spin-off of the popular and timeless work of fan fiction known as My Immortal.

Yes, you read that right! My Immortal – a story about a young 17-year-old vampire named Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way – inspired one of the largest recent developments in the wizarding world. For those who may not be familiar, the “plot” of My Immortal is hard to pin down. Essentially, Ebony (sometimes written as Enoby, Eboby, or Egogy) dates Draco Malfoy but later learns that Draco used to date Harry Potter himself (who, in this universe, is also a vampire). In learning this, Ebony becomes so upset that she runs into the Forbidden Forest, straight into Lord Voldemort, and he asks her to kill Harry. After a number of unexplained events, Ebony realizes she must travel back in time to stop Tom Riddle from becoming Voldemort by seducing him.

Fans of Cursed Child will immediately see a number of connections between My Immortal’s plot and the plot of their beloved play. The time travel connection is a highly significant common theme between the two works. In My Immortal, Ebony is tasked with traveling back in time using a Time-Turner to defeat Tom Riddle before he can become Lord Voldemort. Professor Sinister gives her some advice.

You see, you must go back in time. When Voldemint was in Hogwarts before he became powerful he gut his hearth broken. Now do you fink he would still become Volxemort if he was in love? U must go back in time and sedouce him. It is the only way. If he is still evil then you must kill him.

In a similar way, the time travel element in Cursed Child is introduced by Amos Diggory, who asks Harry to go back in time to save Cedric. Although Harry doesn’t accept this quest himself, Albus and Scorpius later decide to do it for him using a Time-Turner they find hidden in Hermione’s office. Amos says, “Let me use that Time-Turner. Let me have my son back” (1.6.18).

Another strong similarity between the two works is the presence of an emo female character who seems to appear from nowhere. In My Immortal, this of course takes the form of Ebony/Enoby, our trusty narrator. In Cursed Child, we have Delphini. Little explanation is given as to why either woman is part of our wizarding world and how they came to be there. Their parentage is either unknown or never brought up at all, at least at first. Strikingly, they share physical similarities and both are described as having long multi-colored hair.

A number of plot points in Cursed Child seem to come from nowhere and don’t make very much sense at all. For example, the whole Trolley Witch situation. I’m not really even sure what to say about that. Similarly, in My Immortal, Tom Bombadil (a Hobbit from The Fellowship of the Ring) appears in the final battle, as does Marty McFly in his Delorean (from the Back to the Future series). Nothing against either of those characters, but it seemed a little odd since they hadn’t been part of the story up until that point.

It is clearly undeniable that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was inspired by the long-loved and long-mocked fan work that is My Immortal. Both works will go down in history as some of the most questionable decisions the collective Harry Potter universe has ever made.

– Myth Managed 

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