(1 Sep 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4052952
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Three new books to complement the Harry Potter series will be released next week (Sept 6) focussing on the stories and characters of Hogwarts.
But in Britain, Potter fans are already discovering an even darker side to the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry.
In the grounds of the castle where the movies were filmed lies a deadly tourist attraction, full of the world's most lethal plants.
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It's best known as the home of Hogwarts - a playground for the young Harry Potter in the first two feature films.
Alnwick Castle in north east England was built around 1000 years ago following the Norman conquest.
Today it's home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland who open it up to Potter fans and visitors between March and October.
But it's outside the castle walls that people discover an even darker and more mysterious side - a place where visitors risk death if they stop and smell the flowers.
Behind these gates lies the Poison Garden. It's home to around 100 different species of deadly and intoxicating plants.
Regular looking flowers like arum maculatum - also known as lords and ladies - have berries which can make you very sick or even die.
Chewing on the roots of phytolacea icosandra releases a slow acting poison that can have disastrous effects, on animals and humans.
And it's not just poison ivy you have to be careful of, common ivy can also lead some sensitive people down the wrong garden path.
Alnwick Head Gardener Trevor Jones says most visitors here are filled with a mixture of dread and fascination.
"We have a whole collection of plants, many of which are fatal. So before you ever enter the poison garden you're told not to touch, not to smell, not to stand too near the plants because they all have the ability to kill you," he says.
While many of the plants look harmless, they all have a toxic legacy.
Opium poppies sit alongside plants like deadly nightshade - it contains the lethal compound atropine which was commonly referred to in Agatha Christie novels.
Other shrubs are even more lethal, according to Jones.
"I would say the most deadly is ricinus communis because from that you can extract the deadly poison ricin of which there is no known antidote. But there are lots of other really good poisonous plants - again very, very common such as atropa belladonna which is a native plant to the UK. It's often called deadly nightshade but it will produce black berries which look like very sweet looking grapes and three of those are enough to kill a child," says Jones.
Because of the dangerous nature of the garden, it is under guard 24 hours a day and operates with a special licence.
Visitor numbers are restricted to groups of around 20 and a guide must be present at all times.
The Duchess of Northumberland created the garden in 2004 with the idea of educating people. Guides teach people about the science, myths and infamy of deadly and intoxicating plants, much like a herbology class at Hogwarts.
Visitor Kate Fessas says she didn't realise some everyday looking plants were so dangerous.
"Well it was really interesting. I was shocked actually about how harmful some of the plants could be. The children were good as well, they found it very interesting and I think it's quite educational to know exactly what is in the back garden."
The most dangerous and illegal plants are grown within metal cages to stop people taking samples, including marijuana plants.
Marijuana and other narcotics are grown as part of a UK Home Office program to warn teenagers about the perils of drug use.
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