Swamps Are Evil: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

There is an element of [[Truth in Television]] to this: Swamps were long regarded as dangerous and unsanitary. They tend to attract a lot of insects, which can spread disease; the sodden terrain can make traversing them on foot difficult; many swamps are prone to heavy fog because of all the water, which can make it easy to get lost; and some swamps are also inhabited by dangerous animals, such as alligators. More realistic depictions will have swamps as dangerous and unpleasant rather than outright evil. Expect lots of complaining about mud, leeches, and over-sized mosquitoes.

In a [[Video Game]] [[Bubblegloop Swamp|setting]], swamps will frequently be inhabited by zombies or carnivorous plants. Expect to find a lot of [[Grimy Water]] as a gameplay mechanic.

 

 

{{examples}}

 

 

* The Bayou in Disney's ''[[Princess and The Frog]]'' looks rather murky and is infested with nasty crocodiles.

* The swamp world of Dagobah in ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' and ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' certainly looks evil, and there's at least one big, nasty swam creature interested in eating you, but it [[Subverted Trope|also]] is the home of [[Badass Grandpa|Y]][[The Mentor|o]][[Older and Wiser|d]][[Old Master|a]].

** It also contains the strange tree-cave, which holds an unusual presence of the Dark Side of the Force.

*** And another swamp is home to [[Ethnic Scrappy|Jar Jar]].

* In ''[[The Adventures of Milo and Otis]]'', Deadwood Swamp is a desolate, terrible place. Just see [[I Don't Like the Sound of That Place|the name]].

** Later he also tries to adopt the princess by killing both his son and her father.

* The monsters of ''Attack of the Giant Leeches'' dwell in the swamps of Florida.

 

** There was also the insect-infested Midgewater Marshes in ''Fellowship of the Ring''.

* In ''[[Rowan of Rin]]'', one of the challenges Rowan's party faces is a swamp. It's covered in fog, every step needs to be probed with a pole lest you fall into the sludge and drown, and the images and voices of their loved ones appear to lure the heroes from the safe path.

* ''[[The Belgariad]]'' both uses and averts this with the swamps of Nyissa. When the main cast goes through them, they're hopelessly depressing, sinister, astonishingly dangerous, and full of a variety of narcotic compounds and poisonous plants. Later, they pick up a Nyissan ally, the eunuch Sadi, who is perfectly fond of his homeland and disheartened when they come across a cursed swamp. When asked why, he explains that a swamp is green and verdant with life, but that ''this'' particular swamp is nothing but death and decay.

** Further north from Nyissa there's the Fens in Drasnia (and part of Algaria). Their bad reputation comes from the countless midges and the fact that navigation is problematic at best. Much of what looks like solid land are in fact free floating mounds of vegetation that float around in the sluggish current. There are also fenlings, intelligent, otter-like creatures that have a reputation for changing channels around. They'd do it too, more out of a sense of mischief than maliciousness though.

* The ''[[Goosebumps]]'' book, and tv adaptation, of ''The Werewolf of Fever Swamp'' of course features the titular werewolf as the main antaganist. However the swamp itself is presented as a far greater [[Ultimate Evil]].

** While Mrs. Gogol is on the side of the protagonists, she's not completely morally white, having been the lover and supporter of the rather tyrannical Baron, until he was deposed by the even more tyrannical Lady Lilith.

* In ''[[The Art of War]]'', Sun Tzu advises the reader never to lead his army through a swamp, because that's the best place for the enemy to lay an ambush.

* The [[The Sword of Shannara|Mist Marsh]] is haunted by a Kraken-esque Wraith. The [[Elfstones of Shannara|Matted Brakes]] are a hellhole populated by The Things, which you will not see until they are on you. And the In Ju...the In Ju's on Morrowindl, a one-island [[Crapsack World]], and still manages to be one of the worst places to go ever.

 

* In the [[Rhapsody of Fire|Emerald Sword saga and Dark Secret Saga]], the Darklands where Akron rules supreme are surrounded by the swamps of Halgor, a dark, gloomy place with waters infested by ferocious sea serpents. Is also subverted in the Dark Secret saga, when our heroes hide in the swamp to hide from the living dead chasing them.

 

** Not to mention the card [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=660 Evil Presence]. Not happy with your neighbour's depressingly wholesome Tropical Island getting sunlight all over your yard? Slap an evil curse on it. Instant swamp!

* The Yozi Metagaos in ''[[Exalted]]''. His entire body [[Genius Loci|is a swamp]], and he's fond of snacking on anything that enters him. And when we say anything, we mean ''[[Extreme Omnivore|anything]]'' - he eats mortals, demons, time, space, identity, [[Auto Cannibalism|himself...]] If you manage to survive a trip through him, you'll probably wish you hadn't, because you'll be infected with numerous diseases that will [[Viral Transformation|turn you]] into an outgrowth of Metagaos.

** Three of Creation's major [[Mordor|shadowlands]] are based around swamps, the largest of them (and one of the biggest in the world) being the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Bayou of Endless Regret]].

 

* ''Monster Mansion'' at Six Flags in Atlanta, where you meet all kinds of friendly, silly monsters until you make a wrong turn. "Stay out of the marsh," indeed.

* Averted with the Blue Bayou resteraunt at several [[Disney Theme Parks]].

 

* In the forgotten PC game ''[[Princess Maker 2]]'' if you set adventure to the forest you might find a few swamps in there, not really evil but it has a shortcut trap that you'll least expect...

** It gets worse: This particular swamp is also home to Error 52, the most infamous [[Game Breaking Bug]] of the series.

* In both ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' and ''[[Ultima]]'', swamps deplete [[Hit Points]] and sometimes inflict the "Poison" [[Standard Status Effect]].

* A swamp appears in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. The enemies that often appear on the map are almost always undead or flying (or both), and thus [[My Rules Are Not Your Rules|aren't effected]] by the highly poisonous water. You are, though.

* In the ''[[Exile]]'' series and the remake, ''[[Avernum]]'', you are poisoned by walking through swampy terrain.

* While the Black Marshes from ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' are not necessarily evil as well as the Bitter Coast from ''Morrowind'', they ''are'' inhospitable. Also, the Black Marshes are populated by [[Lizard Folk|Argonians]] who, despite being friendly and benevolent, are fiercely territorial and will never let the Empire rule them.

** Not just hillfolk and ghouls, but the ''[[Demonic Spider|goddamn hillfolk who automatically dole out 35 damage regardless of armor or stats in addition to their weapon's base damage, and Feral Reavers]]''.

** But to be fair, the swamp is only worse because there are dead trees blocking your view, aside from that everything in the DLC could be considered normal for the wasteland. Also the place was apparently fairly nice, even if there were corrupt bastards in it, before the bombs fell, partially subverting the trope.

* ''[[Secret of Evermore]]'' had the Bugmuck, a swamp home to a gigantic (like the size of a small village!) bug carcass and bone dragons.

* The two swamps in ''[[Summoner]]'' are both pretty evil places, though in different ways. One was actually a lovely forest kingdom before the reigning monarch decided to halt [[Human Sacrifice]]s to the local river god, at which point every single person was [[Taken for Granite|turned to stone]] and the entire place allowed to degenerate into swampy monster-infested ruins. The other is filled with a malign fog which inflicts a nasty [[Standard Status Effects|Status Effect]] on the entire party, and is the home of [[The Fair Folk]]; even so, it's perhaps not quite entirely evil, because it provides protection of sorts for a sacred shrine.

* Dooms Mire from [[Brutal Legend]]. there's a grove of hanging-trees about midway through, so if people become lost they can commit suicide instead of drown or rot. Or get eaten by laser-shooting panthers.

* In the [[Neopets]] console game, ''The Darkest Faerie'', the village of Bogshot is located in a swamp that houses the Plague Serpent Kastraliss, a minion of the titular Darkest Faerie. Everyone in the village comes down with disease when the swamp is turned by the Darkest Faerie's magic.

* [[Heroes of Might and Magic]] I and II have the Warlocks, who seem to be vaguely on the side of evil, prefer hanging out in swamps. III, on the other hand, have the swamp be home to the Fortress, which is neither good nor evil. In IV swamps are again associated with a vaguely-evil faction (Chaos).

 

* [[Roza]] [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2011-05-18 thinks otherwise, and gets an explanation.]

 

* The ''[[The Slender Man Mythos|Slender Man's]]'' home dimension is described by some to be a marshy [[Dark World]].

 

* ''[[The Magic School Bus]]'' does an episode about wetlands where the kids start by believing in this trope but eventually learn the importance of a swamp in the ecosystem.

 

* The Great Dismal Swamp, in the eastern USA. Or the name at least. It actually isn't evil. It isn't even that ugly.

* Two of the visible markings on the Moon were named "Palus Putredinis" and "Palus Epidemiarum". Although they're not really swamps, names like "Marsh of Decay" and Marsh of Epidemics" show that astronomers aren't immune to this trope.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Settings]]

[[Category:Obviously Evil]]

[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]

[[Category:Video Game Settings]]