The Dark Swamp

The Dark Swamp is a real-world location near Glocester, Rhode Island that was one of the early inspirations for H.P. Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space.
Lovecraft with his friend and "adopted son" (a humorous reference by Lovecraft) C.M. Eddy, Jr. went hiking to try and find The Dark Swamp but met with no success. Lovecraft described their exploration in detail (and poetry) in a letter to Frank Bellknap Long a week later. C.M. Eddy, Jr. wrote a fictionalised version of the trip as the unfinished novella Black Noon.
The Dark Swamp is the location of many local legends going back to before white settlement. The location is believed to be the home of a foul-smelling creature with flaming eyes and clam shell scales. Some say it breathes fire. It is referred to simply as "IT". There have been, as of 2021, recent reports of a skunk ape type creature wading in the swamp. It should be noted that due to the depth of the liquid mud and the thick screening foliage, passage into the swamp itself is all but impossible even in winter. A final real-world phenomenon remarked upon by visitors is that The Dark Swamp is a zone of silence - no bird or animal sounds are heard within its boundaries although they are common beyond it.
Recently, Lovecraft fans have explored the region and found the Dark Swamp location. It has contracted in size but still has standing water and thick woodlands surrounding it. There are also abandoned and collapsed nineteenth century buildings and an abandoned cemetery. The explorers and bloggers have also discovered that the direct descendants of the family encountered by Lovecraft and Eddy, the Law family, still live in the area and have family oral history and memories of the visit. Ruth Scott, the grand daughter of the grand daughter of the man Lovecraft spoke to at the time, has commented on blogs to this effect.
Recent exploration of The Dark Swamp: https://stonewings.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/417/
Radio broadcast describing Dark Swamp and its legends as well as the Lovecraft link: https://www.wpri.com/video/the-haunted-tale-of-dark-swamp/5985746/
Category:Real World