I was thinking... For obvious reasons, such as the shops dealing in Dark Magic and some dodgy individuals hanging out there, parents generally wouldn't want their kids going near it, but - how dangerous a place is Knockturn Alley? I came to think of the second book, Harry was lost, and this (albeit not immediately friendly-looking) old witch asked if he was lost. The movie exaggerate the scene, making it look like he's surrounded by crooks or something, but in the book, this one witch asked if he was lost. In all likelihood, what Harry saw as a 'leer' from her was probably an attempt at a reassuring smile. I mean, realistically, if Harry, or any other kid in that situation, honestly explained they got lost in the Floo Network and needed to get back to Diagon Alley, how likely is it that this old witch (or any other person roaming the streets of Knocturn Alley for that matter) would NOT simply point them in the right direction and wish them luck with finding back to their family? Harry weren't really in any kind of danger, Hagrid hadn't needed to push the trey of whatever she carried (doubt it actually was human nails) out of her hands. Feel like Knockturn Alley is subject to some baseless prejudice from so-called "decent" people, just like Slytherin House.

 

Canon Knockturn Alley is a bit shady but a neighborhood that Hagrid can easily get some insect repellent. Fanon has it being some underground criminal place. It does have a bad reputation in canon but that may be true even with Harry an Hagrids bias, the old lady 'Hag' may actually have nails.

 

I always thought Knockturn as being a poor area of the magic world where most of the magic raised peoples live or work, like a bad estate with few jobs/shops and a high unemployment rate, a few poor dark familys might live there giving the place a bad rep though I am sure a few decent people live there but there trapped due to circumstances, no money to move out, lack of oppotunities etc.

Knockturn isn't fleshed out much in canon and Harry has had a limited view of the place but I would say it could be considered somewhat dangerous like a bad muggle estate, safe in the day but not somewhere to go of a night.

 

It can't be all that bad, It's not like they would allow an alley where you would get kidnapped on sight next to diagon.

 

Knockturn Alley sounds like some streets you have in every city of a certain size. In my hometown are a few of those, streets with shady shops. You CAN get there all the legal stuff but you know that they also sell a bit more illegal stuff. Of course in our world this means drugs or something like that. The fact that it is sold there is pretty much common knowledge, yet "everyone knows it" isnt a very convincing argument in a court, so the police cant do much.

Knockturn Alley sound like such a street, you find much legal stuff, many things that might be hard to find somewhere else, and yet everyone knows, if you want something shady, it is still you first stop. But they are either not important enough to be a problem for the authorites or they simply cant find a proof to justify a warrant.

 

If it was truly bad, it wouldn't exist in such a well known place.

 

It's where the pawn shops are, that smell of desperation, greed, and broken dreams.

It's where the adult bookstore is.
And in the back, there are cubicles that each contain two basins.

One basin is a pensieve, containing the pearly essence of a memory: The memory of a young witch being mounted by something on which Newt Scamander probably once wrote. In the other basin is a pearly essence of much more mundane origin.

For 10 galleons, you can put your face in the basin and view the memory.
For 15 galleons, they'll tell you which basin is which, first.

Only paying 10 takes a lot of spunk. :fire

 

I see it as the shady part of town. The place you don't go into after dark unless you absolutely have to. And even then it's not a good idea to go alone.

 

If one takes the point of view that Knockturn Alley is the equivalent of mid-19th century London, it's a dangerous place indeed. Cut-purses, drunkards, prostitutes would tend to congregate in such an area, and would be reluctant to inform on other locals who would commit crimes. There's a good chance that you would simply disappear were you to wander into the alley without due preparation.

 

If one takes the point of view that it's like mid-2016 Aleppo, it's also a pretty dangerous place, but there is very little reason to do so. It is a dodgy street but it is barely a minute's walk from the busy, respectable and safe commercial centre of the wizarding world. I'd consider it more like the slightly sketchier parts of Soho used to be, more rundown and seedy than the polish of Oxford Street, and certainly not anywhere I'd want a 12 year old to be wandering around. That said the worries are the wizarding equivalents of pickpockets and sex shops, not murderous Victorian villains.

 

General rule of thumb would be to always keep one hand on your money pouch at all times. And it wouldn't be a good idea to flaunt that you've got a lot of money either.

 

I never liked that idea.

The trick is not to be nervous, too well dressed, or show you have anything of value.

Be nonchalant, avoid eye-contact if you're not looking to pick up a "date", stuff like that would help.

As long as you know where your money pouch is, and as long as it's in a location where you'll know when someone is reaching for your money/goods it shouldn't be a problem.

In the end, it all comes down to attitude. Act like you belong somewhere and you won't be noticed by the hoodlums running up and down the street seeking easy prey that is showing where their money pouch is with their hand.

Unless it's out in the open and in their hand... well you're just asking to get robbed at ritual knife/wand point.

Spoiler

The knife thing was a joke, as a parody of those ritual knives in fices that you can only buy in Knockturn Alley

 

Canon Knockturn Alley is a slightly disreputable, rundown area that has its uses -- especially when you need to acquire or offload some sketchy items. You won't die in a mugging if you go there, but you're not exactly going to brag about your visit.

That's about all that's known of it.

Fanon Knocturn Alley is full of hookers, magical STDs, and misery. It also forms a one-stop-shop for all your nefarious needs.

 

It's just the shitty side of Wizarding London's heartland. It's like China Town and Bay Street here in Toronto - only a few minutes' walk away, except in one place you're liable to find a junkie ODing on fentanyl in the bathroom as you buy your $6 pitcher of beer and in the other you're probably going to see a bunch of banks and nice stores. It's hard to get the sort of Ridiculous disparity you see in fanon within walking distance, in most places. You're never going to get Detroit on one side and a Family Friendly Place of Wonder and Affluence on the other unless it's a decent commute from one to the other.

 

Knockturn alley is the place where you could probably get illegal potion ingredients or cursed or dark objects and is sketchy because the clientele it attracts.

 

Indeed. Reminds me of the stories about how pickpockets would actually put up "Beware of pickpockets" signs, because people would see those signs and immediately check their wallets and let the pickpocket know where to look.

 

You get exactly that in Rio, where the favelas are close to the affluent areas exactly because it's walking distance away; the poor working for the rich can't afford long commute, and the traffic is horrible enough that using private helicopters is actually a thing.

As for Knockturn Alley, I'd say the level of danger depends a lot on who you are and what you are doing. If you are a local just minding your business and not doing anything stupid, there's basically no danger; if you are a curious outsider looking for excitement or something mildly illegal, you are fine as long as you keep an eye on your surroundings and don't do anything outrageously stupid; if you are a rich fool staggering around drunk, you are likely to get robbed; if you are a low level ministry bureaucrat trying to enforce regulations on cauldron bottom thickness, you are going to get hexed and laughed away.

On the other hand, if you are an auror trying to tackle organized crime, you better have plenty of back up on call or you might get killed.

 

I have a semi-related query. How is there enough business to support the shops in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Knockturn Alley? Is it possible that people from the Continent go there to shop due to lax regulations about what happens due to a shortage of Aurors?

 

The short answer to that is that no one knows what the population of wizards really is. Maybe there's enough to support those wizarding communities and have there be more that we've never even heard of, or maybe as you suggest wizards from outside of Britain congregate there too.

But we don't see many foreign wizards around unless we know what they're there for, typically, so I'd lean towards the former explanation.

The shorter answer is that the question of the population of the wizarding world has always been a massive plot hole, so if you're writing a fic just go with what you want to.

 

I think its just a low end, run down and a bit shady sister alley to the Diagon. its depiction as crime central by most fanon is a bit of a stretch keeping in mind its location and ease of access to children from Diagon Alley.