North Carolina's Great Dismal Swamp Seems To Swallow People Alive
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A Phantom Graveyard Appears To Those Lost Within The Woods
People have definitely passed on in the Great Dismal Swamp, but you don't have to be deceased to accidentally end up in the swamp's most notorious graveyard. As the legend goes, there is a graveyard in the swamp that only appears to those who have lost their way. Explorers looking for the graves won't find them; they can only be discovered by those not explicitly searching for them.
Some believe this is the work of benevolent spirits trying to warn the lost they've strayed from their path. The graveyard is not locked to one location and can theoretically appear anywhere in the swamp as long as a lost soul is in the area.
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Hunters Have Watched As Their Prey Vanishes Before Their Eyes
The Great Dismal Swamp is purportedly so haunted that even the animals are spooky. There are plenty of ominous rumors about the swamp, but that hasn't stopped hunters from taking their chances anyway. There are stories that say even the most successful hunters can go home empty-handed when preying upon the animals of the swamp. Wounded and deceased animals are said to vanish without a trace, leaving hunters confused and perturbed.
Stories of bears and deer being shot only for the hunters to find no hint of the animal - not even blood - are common. This could be related to the story of the cypress trees in the swamp, as legends tell that some animals can transform into these trees when pursued by hunters.
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Numerous People Have Entered The Swamp And Never Returned
Creepy stories may be true or false, but you can't argue with the facts. According to the park manager, the swamp has a long history of swallowing up explorers. People enter and just seem to vanish, and it's not entirely clear why. It might be part of the nature of the swamp, as there are those who say the swamp has a habit of making one confused and frightened. It's easy to get lost and near impossible to find your way again.
One story about William Drummond, a colonial pioneer after whom the swamp's Lake Drummond is named, entered the swamp with a large hunting party. History tells us the group got lost, and after several days in the wilderness, the only person to emerge alive was Drummond himself.
- 486 VOTES
A Spirit Called The Lady Of The Lake Roams The Area
The Great Dismal Swamp is home to many legends and myths, including the sad tale of the Lady of the Lake. This Native myth refers to a young bride-to-be who passed on shortly before her wedding. Her suffering soul now resides in the swamp, paddling a white canoe aimlessly through the marshes.
During the dark nights, she can be seen by the light of her lantern. Inside the lantern is said to be a collection of fireflies she uses to light her way. Reports of lights are common throughout the area, leading some paranormal enthusiasts to believe the Lady of the Lake might be real.
- 588 VOTES
The Swamp Is Completely Dark At Night
If you think the swamp is creepy during the day, just wait until night falls. The Great Dismal Swamp is known to get extremely dark at night, so much so that park officials have gone on record to caution people about it. A park manager described nighttime in unequivocal terms: "It's pitch-black dark. It's scary dark."
The park is closed at night for obvious reasons, but it's open during the day to anyone brave enough to explore it.
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The Waters Of The Swamp Can Be Deceptively Deep
You don't have to be captured by a ghost to disappear in the Great Dismal Swamp. It's a treacherous place, even for those survivalists who know what they're doing. Snakes, bears, and other wild animals call the swamp their home. Even the water itself is lethal, as parts of the swamp are much deeper than they seem.
It's possible to get stuck in a boggy mire and find yourself unable to crawl out of the water. Many people have drowned over the years, adding fuel to the fire that this swamp is haunted.
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Another Native Legend Tells Of A Witch Escaping Ravenous Dogs
Photo: Rebecca Wynn/USFWS / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0There are quite a few terrifying tales about the swamp that were passed down from Native cultures. One such story centers around a mysterious cypress tree along the shores of Lake Drummond. There are at least two different versions of the tale, but both tell of a creature fleeing from vicious predators. In one telling, the story follows a deer being chased by hunters. While the deer ran in terror through the swamp, the swamp decided to intervene. It turned the deer into a tree, leaving the hunters confused. They halted the chase, but the deer was forced to remain a tree forever.
The other version of this story is about a witch coming across a group of hunting dogs in the swamp. She teased the animals, but they quickly turned on her. They chased her into the lake and, as a last-ditch effort, she turned herself into a tree. Unfortunately, she was unable to reverse the trick.
- 858 VOTES
People See Ghost Lights Within The Swamp
One of the most widely reported phenomena in the Great Dismal Swamp is the appearance of ghostly lights at night. Even today, reports of lights are fairly common from those brave enough to enter the park after dark. There are all sorts of explanations for these lights, including the Lady of the Lake and UFOs. While these eerie explanations are great for campfire stories, the real reason behind the lights is likely rooted in science.
There are three leading theories about the origins of the swamp lights. The first is foxfire, a bioluminescent phenomenon that occurs when wood is decomposed by certain species of fungi. The second explanation is that methane gas from decomposing plant matter will occasionally ignite and create transient flashes of light. The last explanation: Smoldering peat moss is responsible for the lights.
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The Lady Of The Lake Has Inspired Numerous Artists, Including Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Gorey, And Thomas Moore
The eerie tragedy of the Lady of the Lake is a haunting tale, one that inspires a lot of emotions. Famed writers Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Gorey, and Thomas Moore were all so taken by the story, they decided to create their own renditions in tribute.
Moore's poem, "A Ballad: The Lake of Dismal Swamp," captured the ghostly essence of the swamp so well it instigated a flood of tourists visiting the region. His version suggests the Lady of the Lake's lover took to the swamp in grief to search for her, only to become lost himself and reunite with his lost love on the other side. Gorey worked on adapting Moore's poem into an opera, but passed before it could be completed. Poe's poem, "The Lake," was featured in the collection Tamerlane and Other Poems.
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Despite Its Creepy History, The Swamp Was A Haven For Runaway Slaves
Photo: David Edward Cronin / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainThe swamp has a long and complicated history with humans. It was originally inhabited by Native Americans, but with the era of colonialism came great changes. One of the most significant changes was the arrival of slaves from Africa, and the Great Dismal Swamp became massively important to them. It became a wilderness refuge for escaped slaves, and they set up hidden communities in the mire.
Living off the land, they were able to thrive away from their colonial masters. They were known as Maroons; Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote about them in her novel Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp.
