7 Places from The Lord of the Rings universe you don’t want to set your foot in

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was brought to the screen by Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy, where we first experienced the incredible world-building of Tolkien’s fantasy tale. After the story of the War of the One Ring, the LOTR universe began to grow with The Hobbit, and then Prime Video’s The Rings of Power.

Furthermore, with these different narratives and characters, we were introduced to different places in Middle-earth, some looked welcoming and warm, like the Shire, while some, due to being in the grips of evil, looked scary and dangerous. These places were infested with dark magic, Orcs, and trolls, which made them unsafe for anyone to visit, as we had seen in the movies with many ending up being fatally injured or even dying.

Here’s a list of 7 places from The Lord of the Rings universe that you would think a hundred times before setting foot in any one of these places.

Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

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7 Places from The Lord of the Rings universe you don’t want to set your foot in:

7) Mirkwood

The largest forest in Middle-earth, Mirkwood, was a dangerous place if you didn’t follow the Elf-path. As described by Gandalf in The Hobbit movies, the forest was enchanted by evil magic, including the stream, which was enchanted by a dark spell. When Thorin and his party couldn’t manage to follow Gandalf’s instruction, Thorin succumbed to the enchanted air of the forest and led his company down the wrong path.

Monsters and gigantic spiders threatened the lives of Thorin’s company until Legolas and other elves came to their rescue. Hence, Mirkwood would definitely be a place from The Lord of the Rings universe to avoid, unless you find a companion like Gandalf, or better, Legolas himself.

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6) Shelob’s lair

Giant spiders have always caused a problem in The Lord of the Rings; in The Hobbit, they attacked Bilbo’s companions, and in the LOTR movies, due to Gollum’s betrayal, the giant spider, Shelob, almost killed Frodo. Shelob’s Lair was located in the labyrinth in the path to Mordor, where Shelob resided and devoured anyone who tried to cross the labyrinth.

In the LOTR films, Gollum lured Frodo to Shelob’s lair, to let Shelob kill him so that he could have the ring, his precious, to himself. However, his plans did not materialise as Sam came just in time to save Frodo, who was paralyzed by Shelob. And so, Shelob’s lair is another of those places that should be avoided at all costs.

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5) Barrow-downs

Barrow-downs was another of those places that should be avoided in The Lord of the Rings universe as they are home to the barrow-wights, or also known as the undead. We got a glimpse of the place in season 2 of The Rings of Power, when Galadriel, Elrond, and their company were attacked by the undead.

While on their way to Eregion, the Elven group comes across the place where the Barrow-wights resided and discovers that the messenger that was sent to Celebrimbor to tell him about Halbrand’s true identity was killed here by the wights. Later, they are also attacked by the undead and are barely able to survive, making it another deadly place in Middle-earth.

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4) Khazad-dûm (Mines of Moria)

Khazad-dûm, or later known as the Mines of Moria, used to be where the dwarves of Durin’s folk used to reside. However, through The Lord of the Rings films and The Rings of Power series, we found out how dangerous the place became after the corruption and darkness of the ring that was created by Halbrand/Sauron.

In the Prime Video series, we saw how King Durin III’s greed after wearing the corrupted ring awakened the Balrog. In Fellowship of the Ring, we discovered that the place, now known as the Mines of Moria, has become infested with Orcs and trolls, who attack the fellowship and even injure Frodo. Furthermore, the Balrog still resided in the depths of Moria, and it was there that Gandalf the Grey fell into the depths.

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3) The Dead Marshes

The Dead Marshes, through which Gollum took Frodo and Sam in their quest to destroy the Ring, were another dangerous place to avoid. In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dead Marshes were shown as foggy ponds with jets of fire on them. While Gollum asks them to avoid looking at the water as they might see the dead faces that are stuck there, Frodo still gets enchanted and falls into one of the ponds. Gollum later saves his life by pulling him out of the pond.

The faces are said to be of the Galadhrim elves who were killed during the Battle of Dagorlad and buried near the marshes. However, as the water grew in the marsh, the bodies began floating in the water and were preserved, which resulted in them becoming Loicolícuma.

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2) Minas Morgul

Once a part of Gondor, Minas Morgul later became the hive of dark arts as the Nazgûl began residing there. Due to it being a hub of evil powers, Frodo is often seen drawn to the tower in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, while Sam and Gollum hide him from being discovered.

This dark and evil place is also shown for a short moment in The Fellowship of the Ring when the Ringwraiths depart the fort to go to the shore to look for the ring. Therefore, as Minas Morgul is a place for Nazgûl, the place has to be one of the most dangerous places on Middle-earth.

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1) Mordor

Mordor, Sauron’s realm, might be one of the most dangerous places in The Lord of the Rings universe. Due to its geography of having mountain ranges on three sides, his fortress, Barad-dûr, was well protected, as the only way for an army to enter Mordor was through Minas Morgul, home to the Nazgûl.

Due to its geography and Sauron’s hold around the area through his dark magic and other creatures like the Nazgûl and Shelob, Barad-dûr was not to be messed with until the Battle of the Black Gate, which gave Frodo a chance at destroying the ring, resulting in the fall of Mordor. While it is one of the darkest places in Middle-earth due to various reasons, the most terrifying thing would definitely be Sauron’s eye.

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