Little Hangleton

• Type: Muggle Village
• Location: England, located in a valley near the larger town of Great Hangleton.
• Owner/Residents: Historically home to the pure-blood Gaunt family and the wealthy Muggle Riddle family. Key residents included Tom Riddle Sr., his parents, Marvolo Gaunt, Morfin Gaunt, Merope Gaunt, and Frank Bryce.
• Key Features: Contains the derelict Riddle House on a hill, the hidden Gaunt Shack, a church, a graveyard, and a pub named The Hanged Man.

Little Hangleton is a small village nestled in a valley between two steep hills. For most of its history, it was an unremarkable Muggle settlement, known locally for the prominent Riddle family who lived in a large, handsome manor on the hill overlooking the village. Unknown to the other villagers, it was also the ancestral home of the Gaunt family, a destitute and violent line of wizards descended directly from Salazar Slytherin. The village's dark history began when Merope Gaunt became infatuated with Tom Riddle Sr., the handsome son of the local squire. She used a Love Potion to bewitch him into marrying her. When she became pregnant and ceased giving him the potion, he abandoned her and their unborn child, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and returned to his family in Little Hangleton. Years later, a sixteen-year-old Tom Marvolo Riddle traveled to Little Hangleton to seek out his maternal family. After a confrontation with his uncle, Morfin Gaunt, he proceeded to the Riddle House and murdered his father, grandfather, and grandmother using the Killing Curse. He altered Morfin's memory to make him confess to the crime, framing him for the murders. The Riddles' gardener, Frank Bryce, was initially the prime Muggle suspect but was released due to lack of evidence. The murders became a source of local legend and mystery for the next fifty years, and the Riddle House fell into disrepair.

Little Hangleton is a pivotal location in the series, directly linked to the origin and rebirth of Lord Voldemort.

• In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the story opens in Little Hangleton. Frank Bryce, the elderly gardener, investigates a light in the abandoned Riddle House and overhears the disembodied Voldemort and Wormtail planning Harry Potter's capture. Bryce is discovered and murdered by Voldemort. The climax of the book occurs in the Little Hangleton Graveyard, where Wormtail uses a bone from Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave, his own flesh, and Harry Potter's blood to perform a dark ritual that restores Voldemort to a physical body. The subsequent duel between Harry and Voldemort results in the Priori Incantatem effect, which allows Harry to escape.
• In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Albus Dumbledore takes Harry into a Pensieve memory of Bob Ogden's visit to the Gaunt Shack in Little Hangleton. This memory provides a crucial look into Voldemort's maternal ancestry, revealing the pride, squalor, and instability of the Gaunt family. It is during this memory that Harry first sees two of Voldemort's future Horcruxes: Marvolo Gaunt's Ring and Slytherin's Locket. Dumbledore also shows Harry a memory of Voldemort's return to the village to steal the ring and frame Morfin Gaunt for the Riddle family murders.

• Riddle House: A once-grand manor on a hillside overlooking the village. After the murders of the Riddle family, it became derelict and was the temporary hiding place for Lord Voldemort and Wormtail.
• Gaunt Shack: A small, dilapidated hovel hidden in a copse of trees off the main road. It was the home of the last of the Gaunt family.
• The Hanged Man: The only pub in Little Hangleton, where the villagers discussed the mysterious deaths of the Riddles.
• Little Hangleton Graveyard: The village cemetery containing a prominent marble headstone for the Riddle family. It was the site of Lord Voldemort's rebirth ceremony.

The name 'Hangleton' may be a play on the word “hanged,” fitting the grim atmosphere of the village and its pub, The Hanged Man. The contrast between “Little” Hangleton and the nearby “Great” Hangleton emphasizes its small, isolated nature. In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Little Hangleton Graveyard is depicted with a particularly gothic and menacing design, featuring a large, ominous statue of the Angel of Death, which is not mentioned in the novel (film).