LONDON: Just in time for Halloween, J.K. Rowling has given fans a glimpse of what makes a wicked witch tick.

The creator of boy wizard Harry Potter published a 1,700-word essay Friday revealing the real-life inspiration behind one of her most memorable villains, the supernatural bureaucrat and Hogwarts teacher Dolores Umbridge.

An ice-cold inquisitor dressed in pastel pink, Umbridge first appeared in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth of seven books in Rowling’s multimillion-selling series. She was played by Imelda Staunton in the film adaptations.