Paths of the Dead
| Paths of the Dead | |
|---|---|
| J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium location | |
| Type | Passage under the White Mountains |
| Location | From Dunharrow in Rohan to the Morthond Vale in Gondor |
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Paths of the Dead were a haunted passage under the White Mountains.
The Paths of the Dead started at the Dark Door at the end of the long valley of Harrowdale, beyond the Firienfeld and the forest of Dimholt, wedged in between the mountains Irensaga, Starkhorn, and the Dwimorberg.
After the Dark Door, the Paths went under the Dwimorberg, past another door where Aragorn and company found the remains of Baldor, son of the second King of Rohan, Brego. The Paths then continued past forgotten cities, emerging at the southern end of the White Mountains in Morthond vale, near the Stone of Erech.
The Paths had been constructed by the Dead Men of Dunharrow in the Second Age.
In adaptations of The Lord of the Rings
The Paths of the Dead is a playable level in EA Games' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It differs from the story in that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli must fight skeletons which have been brought to life by the spirits of the Oathbreakers. In the next level, the "King of the Dead", Aragorn must defeat the King so that he will fight for Minas Tirith.
In Peter Jackson's film The Return of the King, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas travel the Paths of the Dead and are able to conjure the undead. However, as they emerge from the mountain, they find themselves directly above a river upon which a fleet of pirates is sailing towards Minas Tirith. Thus the plotline diverts from Tolkien's novel, where the stone of Erech is located about 300 miles from the river Anduin and the corsairs.
The area was added to Lord of the Rings Online in the summer of 2014 with the "Paths of the Dead" update.
See also
References
- Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), ISBN 0-395-08256-0