13 Evil Places of Middle Earth | Lord of the Rings

[@middleearthtales]

You are right to ask where the Dead Marshes and Barrow-downs are. I left some places out to fit the number "13". After including those that would be too funny not to mention (like Mordor), I tried to strike a balance between well-known and lesser-known places. They will be in the second part, but I don't know when I will do that at the moment. :)

[@nigeljames5622]

That is fair enough and I meant to include the Dead Marshes and completely forgot lol. I think you might be reaching with Anfauglith but you have Ered Gorgoroth as well and possibly, although again a reach, The Helcaraxe

[@kylejones1828]

Fair lol

[@kylejones1828]

Made your like 13 for you

[@madnessontheisland]

Perhaps Erebor under the rule of Smaug is an honorable mention as well.

[@jakebishop117]

You forgot the head quarters of Amazon

[@middleearthtales]

that was good :)

[@tommythetrain1945]

Lol ! Nice

[@willnitschke]

You mean Facebook

[@gary7920]

Sow-Ron? BARAD-DO-ER? 😂😂😂😂

[@phishcatt]

Nice video, but can you try a bit with the pronunciation of names? It's an AI channel isn't it

[@DreZzBE]

Minas Ithil was actually never rebuild

[@farahahmed8201]

A little detail: Utumno was described as being the literal hell of Arda, many unnumbered and incomprehensible horrors lurked in its pits

[@kierencoats9077]

I wanna know more now omg that sounds fascinating

[@vexomnight3079]

That one illustration of Utumno with the web like terrain is nightmarish basically Nan Dungortheb on steroids The Lovecraftian nature of it all is deeply fascinating and upsetting

[@R0geR0sv0ld]

Utumno was also the place where Morgoth corrupted Ents into Trolls, using the same dark arts to corrupt the elves into orcs.

[@johnsmith1953x]

Like the Wizard of Yendor?

[@gandalfthegrey8236]

“Back to the pits that spawned you”

[@Edd25164605]

Great Video. One correction. The region of Mordor called 'Nurn' was not a barren wasteland but filled with vast fields of grass and Fertile land. While just as dangerous as the other regions or Mordor, Nurn was used to grow food to support Saurons Armies, worked by slaves and prisoners.

[@middleearthtales]

You are absolutely right. in the video I said it more for the plateau of Gorgoroth. I could not include some details because I wanted to keep the video short. but as you said, the eastern side of mordor consisted of lands suitable for agriculture.

[@Edd25164605]

I didn't mean to be overly critical. Sorry if I came across as a moody nitpicker

[@middleearthtales]

@@Edd25164605 Edd I thank you for allowing me to clarify this matter. 😀

[@4bschaum]

​@@middleearthtales its been a Long Time since i read the books but i think the Land around nurn was settled by the freed slaves of Mordor in the 4th age. Just nitpicking again ofc nice vid

[@Seriously_Unserious]

@@middleearthtales It's also important to note that during the transition from the 3rd to 4th age, when Mordor and its allies were defeated, and the forces of Gondor, and their allies reached Nurn, they freed the slaves and the former slaves continued to inhabit this place as free men into the 4th age

[@nevilleslightlylargerbotto1726]

@11:40 the witch king didn’t just leave Angmar of his own accord. He was soundly defeated by a combined force of elves, gondorians and surviving arnorians. He survived the defeat but make no mistake, he was MADE to leave angmar.

[@destinytroll1374]

Just couldn't stand up to Glorfindel lol never did either

[@Seriously_Unserious]

Don't forget the Rivendell and Linden elves, who also joined the war.

[@EricJamesRose]

I appreciate the effort and ultimately it was a cool video, but one thing that would make it better would be your enunciation of Sindarin names. I'm just joking here, but you sound like Siri mispronouncing everything. Huan is pronounced Hoo-On, not Juan spelled with an H lol. Utumno is pronounced Oo-Toom-No, not You-Toom-No, etc. The average Tolkien fan isn't going to care or know better, but those of us who do will definitely notice. Anyways, thanks for the video though :)

[@timoth7paul]

Your voice sounds a little computerized

[@kloas321schenk]

I thought it was AI generated.

[@timoth7paul]

@kloas321schenk I am guessing

[@filthiman]

Sow-Ron

[@johansmallberries9874]

They’re getting really good with natural cadence. It wasn’t until it said “I’m your guideDragon” instead of “I’m your guide, Dragon.,” that I pegged it as artificial.

[@jbbryson8047]

Bot voice. It’s everywhere. Contrived, manipulated, manufactured…. Great content but bot voice makes it almost unlistenable. Timing is way off. No one speaks like that.

[@HerrrLuna]

Utumno, together with the abyss beneth Khazad-dum, are the two scariest places IMO!

[@dingleberryhandpump5033]

Generally nice video, but if I recall correctly Minas Morgul was destroyed after the War of the Ring and it's not known if the city was ever rebuilt.

[@samanyupalthi]

Yeah it is said that the evil of the Minas Morgul would take forever to cleanse and it was ultimately destroyed as none could dwell there!

[@krzysiekp.9555]

Hey, just found this channel. If you ever do an updated version of this list or maybe a part 2, I think Gundabad might also fit. Anyway great video, keep up the good work.

[@bradyweed4124]

Gundabad is so cool. Started as a holy place but was turned into an Orc outpost. So sick.

[@wandrinyew]

Gundabad, Umbar, the Withered Heath, Isengard, the lair of the Great Goblin

[@rofflestomp684]

Very good! Very concise. I might venture to add Ungoliant's lair in the south of the undying lands. There are other places too, but I enjoyed this. Thanks! Edit: Not really sure if Southern Aman counts as Middle Earth though.

[@bigbadseed7665]

"These locations are not ranked by their wickedness." "We will begin with the most chilling."

[@haunter1306]

What do you expect from AI generated text and speech?

[@Yehoshua66]

@@haunter1306the text is not AI, this is clearly a manmade script narrated by an AI generated voice. I assume the owner of this channel just isn’t a confident narrator so he uses AI to read his scripts.

[@richardsanchez5444]

I don't think the ones who walked the paths of the dead were the dunlandings. Weren't they a separate people? The dun were the ones who inhabited the land of Rohan before the rohirrim

[@rolly1648]

This was great! Thank you! I’m wondering why Isengard wasn’t included. That was an evil location for a while too.

[@middleearthtales]

thank you. i saved it for the second part of this video. actually i removed some of them to make it "13" otherwise there are more of course

[@haunter1306]

Ask the AI who wrote this.

[@Evri500]

I'm sorry, I cannot take an AI voice narrator seriously and the sound of it is exhausting.

[@joshuasmith3677]

Just in reference to Mordor. You state that nothing grows there.. actually to the far east of Mordor beyond the waste of Orodruin there are vast farmlands kept by slaves.

[@shokmusic_AC]

Solid video entry. I do want to offer a little advice though. When using text-to-speech AI, you might have to spell out names and certain words phonetically vs the correct spelling. Don't worry about misspellings because we (the listeners) can't see it. You might also consider slowing down the reading speed from 0 to somewhere between 8 - 15. It will sound more natural. Your pauses were well placed in the script and the AI voice fit the project. Overall, nice job.

[@gantz862]

Oh god I thought I was going crazy. It was an AI after all 😅

[@shokmusic_AC]

@@gantz862 Lol yeah, the text-to-speech AI is getting better and better every month. There are some platforms like LOVO and Murf that are almost impossible to detect. And new tools and platforms are popping up every week. I know that there are some people that hate text-to-speech applications but I think they are solid tools if used correctly.

[@JPMitreN]

So, the rings of power tv show occurs in the year 1000 of the second age?

[@middleearthtales]

It is not clear exactly what year Amazon's Rings of Power takes place in, because it is not faithful to the lore. The making of the rings and Numenor at the end of this age are set in the same time period. But Elendil and Isildur lived at the end of 2nd age, and in fact their ancestors were alive when the rings were made.

[@MrScrubs94]

Another AI Acount -.-

[@momsberettas9576]

Don't use ai, just read it with your real voice dude

[@blankface5052]

You mention angmar as a region, but not the barrow downs?

[@comradebismarck]

You know how cool it would be if they actually make movies about this! Like proper 2 - 3hr movies about this. Blarogs, battles, Morgoth, Sauron, spiders, it would be absolutely amazing!

[@annethropophagy]

Great video! I really enjoyed your attention to detail. Just a few things though: We do know if people lived in Mordor after the war of the ring. Mordor was not just the plain of Gorgoroth. There were fertile regions towards the south and east, and these were worked by slaves in order to keep the armies of Sauron fed and his economy going. After the end of Sauron Aragorn freed these slaves and gave them possession of the land they used to toil on. So they became the new inhabitants of Mordor. Also you said Minas Morgul had no vegetation. But Frodo and Sam see pale, sickly, luminous flowers growing in Morgul Vale.

[@miseryfps6447]

The artworks are sick dude, a great video🔥

[@lilitharam44]

Great video, you could have added the "Towers of the Teeth" or the Black Gates themselves but you did a great job. Fangorn Forest or the Old Forest could be thought of as semi-dark or the Barrow Downs also but much lesser.

[@ohmyrod88]

Utumno looks like a black metal album cover. Awesome vid!

[@otakubancho6655]

Shelob was defeated more by the phial than Sting.

[@XAIRSIGIL]

Keep in mind he only actually broke out cause the siege was very weak and barely manned, it had been going on for so long many just kinda eh-ed away

[@Do27gg]

Would love a low stake middle earth horror series/movie

[@ddavidjeremy]

Pronunciation of Tolkein is paramount. Gonna have to find a way.

[@quinnosborn3441]

Not at all, easily understood

[@johanbothma8031]

Respectfully no, it is important if not for understanding then for respect of the source material and the fact that Tolkien went to great lengths in his books to explain the pronunciation. But in the same breath, spelling of his surname is too...!

[@ddavidjeremy]

@@johanbothma8031 mea culpa. The sad thing is I know exactly how to spell his name? I'm not sure what happened but I am ashamed. Lol

[@johanbothma8031]

@@ddavidjeremy 😂 happens all the time to the best of us! ✌️

[@Mephisto579]

Ah yes. Saurons brothers, sisters, cousins former roommate Sour-ron.

[@haunter1306]

This thing stinks of AI

[@quinnosborn3441]

Worrying about AI is so cringe its embarrassing

[@Mephisto579]

@@quinnosborn3441 Not being able to understand a joke is embarrassing.

[@quinnosborn3441]

@@Mephisto579 the lame joke was embarrassing

[@Mephisto579]

@quinnosborn3441 I think you need to lighten up, try touching grass and maybe try having a relationship in your life. Because seems you are so miserable because a woman had never touched you. Well done.

[@VaderPopsVicodin10]

Of all places in Arda, the pits of Morgoth's first fortress Utumno are the most evil, to me..and one of the most fascinating. What in the world could be down there??

[@richardmolloy6064]

Did you actually reads the books? More than a few mistakes here.... D- failed

[@cwidtsoe]

Maybe don’t call yourself “guide dragon.” It just sounds like one of those guys who says they are “level 113 master shadow warrior.” Other than that good video.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Not a fan of anime-inspired illustrations. The spirit of Tolkien's work is a totally different vibe from that. Impressionistic or Expressionistic artwork is more appropriate.

[@middleearthtales]

you are right, but I think there should be room for all kinds of imagination

[@nickpond9337]

I do not know what to say other than W , O , W ; I am one of those people that just follow the surface storyies PLUS i will NEVER be able to say there proper name ' s Great Detail ;

[@Mrwaffles-gr3so]

The picture of the blue dragon in your video looks to me to be Saphira from the Eragorn series

[@anadmirer8789]

This video was very well done! Thank you for posting this! 😀

[@middleearthtales]

Thank you! 😃

[@andrewperez28]

Take a shot every time he pronounces a word one way then changes it only seconds later... you'll die

[@sandorsbox]

The dead men of Dunharrow were not dunlandings. They were probably related, but not the same people.

[@GravesRWFiA]

for the love of arda get you pronunciations straight. I noted at least three different ways you pronounce Sauron. pick a version and stick with it

[@valentinomiller6251]

Is everyone turning to AI narration? All these mispronunciations are off-putting.

[@kairemeriniit]

Second volume might have Araman, Nargothrond, Numenor, Withered Heath, Goblintown, Gundabad, Barrow Downs, Dead Marshes, Lonely Mountain, Whittywindle valley, Umbar, Ettenmoor, Doriath.

[@middleearthtales]

Hi Kaire. appreciated I'll certainly consider these for the second video.

[@arderon5]

Oathbreakers were not Dunlendings, they were related to them and folk of Haleth. for Numenoreans they were Men of the Mountains. Also what about Withered Heath?

[@haunter1306]

Ask the AI who wrote this.

[@arderon5]

@@haunter1306 whut?

[@haunter1306]

@@arderon5 the whole video reeks of AI, it is almost definitely written by it.

[@planetherring8868]

Why is the pronounciation of names and places not consistent? Sometimes they are spot on correct and at the next occurance in the script completely different.

[@josehoxsey3839]

This sounds like ai reading it

[@KyriToe]

It is

[@StereOasis93]

Imagine having all the potential of the first age and just focusing on the second and third for movies games etc

[@middleearthtales]

The reason for this is that the Tolkien Foundation did not grant the rights to The Silmarillion. Since Tolkien himself sold the rights to Lotr and The Hobbit, it can be done to them.

[@farahahmed8201]

Imagine having a skyrim/Elden ring type game set in the first age with whole explorable Beleriand and then other games going into the second and third ages, why hasn't this been done by now? These would be my dream games

[@StereOasis93]

@@middleearthtales man that sucks. I'd love that material to be released but obviously into the right hands. I'd personally love to see it as an animation as it would be able to capture it so much better

[@shanetrades]

Is this ai or just dudes voice

[@Risu-sama]

What's with the AI voice? Really a put off for videos.

[@DruzaCardonikc]

It's so strange that bots can just make Tolkien lore videos.

[@majornugzzz5424]

I follow a couple other LOTR pages here, and I'd like to say thanks! There were a couple on this list that you provided a new thing to learn or something i didnt know. Im not knocking the other pages i follow, but you've done it! Easy to understand, clear and concise. Knowledgeable. And you seem down to earth. Heres your follow sir.

[@middleearthtales]

Thank you Major! this comment made me really happy🙏

[@georgehunter4261]

Can get used to your pronunciations and/or accents on different syllables

[@nikospan25]

I hate the generated voice. Sauron pronounced so wrong and more others.

[@JosePerez-dn3ji]

AI

[@anorsflame7970]

Your channel, unlike Tolkien's creation, lacks a soul.

[@rexbattles2498]

Just be you, not a dragon. You don't have the voice for it.

[@theblackflame4002]

Great video, and makes me think of my philosophy of good and evil. Every one of these evil places was destroyed because you know, in classic fantasy, good always wins. Thing is that when there is no more evil and evil places, what's the point of good? Tiring that evil no matter how powerful is always defeated, bad message to send. In the real world good doesn't win just because of all this pure of heart stuff.

[@middleearthtales]

Thanks!

[@sammcnamara4024]

As has been mentioned, the dead of dunharrow are not dunlendings.

[@sandracoombs2255]

Another fabulous video. Your channel is excellent. Great research! The AI voice is fine IMO - suits the subject matter. 😊 Please keep up the great work.

[@middleearthtales]

Thank you. We've only just begun!

[@lhadzyan7300]

There is missing the Withered Heath at the Grey Mountains from where Smaug came and seems to linger dragons after it. Or the deepest chasm of Moria witn the lake there and the labyrinthic burrowers done by the NAMELESS THINGS from which Gandalf doesn´t dare to speak on suspiciously on them.

[@Torstenn-b3x]

And Mount Gundabad the orc stronghold (where the Dwarven fathers first awoke), the Barrow Downs, the Dead Marshes, Ettenmoors, and a few others.

[@Endme264]

The ai generated pronunciation is giving me cancer

[@johanabigasova6770]

What about Old forest in Shire?

[@Kaminkaese]

Say sow ron once more, i dare you. I double dare you mf.

[@OnePrideTerry]

I think Mnt Gundabad should have been added as well

[@itsatrap1017]

Where is Tyrn Gorthad, the Barrow-downs?

[@TheTzuSun]

Minas Morgul was rebuilt? That is new.

[@WhiskeyTango0420]

Gandalf says Ul-doon. Change my mind.

[@ethanschoonbeck8519]

Jaun, the spanish hound of valinor.

[@AzulaFarum]

The pronunciations hurt my soul.

[@richnewman]

Wait, Sauron was also a werewolf?!

[@sauron6031]

12:00 can confirm my dad remembers it

[@ziondragon]

Isildur wasn't king of Gondor, that was Anarion. Isildur was King of Arnor.

[@middleearthtales]

Isildur was king of Gondor with his brother before his father Elendil died. After Elendil died, he left Gondor to his brother's son and became king of Arnor.

[@destinytroll1374]

​@@middleearthtales Precisely

[@XAIRSIGIL]

Vanquished “most” of his enemies??? Haun literally killed EVERY werewolf AND Sauron..that’s not most that’s called ALL

[@Seriously_Unserious]

Great video overall, but I have to issue a correction: The Paths of the Dead were NOT inhabited by the Dunlandings as you said, but by a different people known simply as the Men of the Mountain. The Dunlandings were the original inhabitants of Rohan, who were pushed out by Gondor and the later arrival of the ancestors of the Rohirim. Once pushed out, they migrated into the southern Misty Mountains and the lands just west of the Gap of Rohand and north of the Fords of Isen, in a territory that became known as Dunland. They remained hostile with Rohan into the War of the Ring and joined with Saruman and Isengard as allies against the Rohirim, but it seems the clemency of King Theodin towards Dunlanding prisoners of war after their defeat in the battle of Helm's Deep, the Rohirim and Dunlandings managed to mend their relations and enjoyed friendlier relations early in the 4th age. How long that lasted, it's hard to tell due to the lack of stories covering the 4th age and beyond, but at least at the start of the 4th age, they were at peace.

[@timbutler4756]

Here's the bit I've never got about Dol Guldur.,.. it was renamed fro Amon Lanc.... So at what stage did the free people not just en masse attack it early!!

[@MrChristophSteininge]

An adumbration of Umbar would be interesting. The capital of the black numenoreans.

[@ferdburgman818]

The pronunciations here are just too far off. I like my lore videos playing in the background, but couldn’t do this one. Clearly research was done, but more is needed.

[@jonasscherman9522]

Umbar, Numenor, Isengard, Erbor

[@jonalbright7200]

It’s because it is an ai voice

[@U.M.75]

Is this video made by AI

[@destinytroll1374]

Don't let all the critiques of your pronunciation get you down, some of these names are hard! You'll get it 😁

[@vousandi8673]

This narrator sounds like he was hired to read this. He mispronounces loads of stuff, and even changes his pronunciation of the same word(s) throughout the video.

[@ddhyd18]

Great vid…but some of the pronunciations kinda bugged me, small note. 😅

[@WiseOwl_1408]

Middle earth is flat?

[@scheppy5855]

The Barrow Downs?

[@rijancaffe]

AI voices are shit

[@briandaly6868]

So when National Geographic does an episode of Drain the Ocean we can more fully explore those lost places of the First Age

[@benkosakladen5349]

Dude, I know you're American and these little things can be tricky, but Tolkien was a linguist. An inventor of fantasy languages. The pronunciation of these names and places is critcally important and you murdered many.

[@martangousfilble3361]

Don't be a douche

[@middleearthtales]

Thank you for your comment. I have my reasons. If you are not overly disturbed at the moment you are welcome, if you are that is the best I can do, thank you anyway.

[@benkosakladen5349]

@@middleearthtales That’s ok. I’m just in a bad mood. Who cares anyway. You only missed a couple anyway. And besides the old bugger kept changing his mind about lore. Keep up the good work. I have no idea why I waste my time with this stuff.

[@kevinhermi9861]

Lol bad mood so you make other people as unhappy as yourself?

[@benkosakladen5349]

@@kevinhermi9861 Yeah fair call. Kinda like what you’re doing here though.

[@BenSmith-od8fc]

Wasn't minas morgul levelled? As it was so corrupted by evil?

[@nigeljames5622]

Missed a few I think, Orthanc of course, The Barrow Downs also, Erebor or The Lonely Mountain, home to Smaug, possibly Fangorn Forest as well

[@ZDProds-c8p]

sow Ron

[@gerradfoster8777]

Excellent video. But, like all the other nitpicking nerds of the ring, Golem survived Shelob’s lair when escaping Mordor. Though he bargained his way out, I’d count that as surviving Shelob’s lair.

[@Lonestar_Hero]

Fornost, The Lonely Mountain, Gundbad, Goblin Town, etc.

[@willnitschke]

No Gundabad?

[@holzbierproductions9153]

The Orc-Theory you told, was not Tolkiens favourite one. It's in fact the most controversial because many lore-problems come with it.

[@laomei1855]

No Dead Marshes? No Barrow Downs? Restart your AI voice and continue the video.

[@middleearthtales]

bzzztt, czzzzt - why can't these be done in another video? - bzzzt

[@laomei1855]

@@middleearthtales Unless you can think of 11 places more to add to the list, I don't think a second video would be nearly as compelling. I'll see if I can think of some, but they aren't coming to mind.

[@middleearthtales]

@@laomei1855 Let's think about it. gundabad and other orc cities in the misty mountains, orthanc at the end of the 3rd age, Hyarmentir, the temples of sacrifice in numenor, gollum's lair. if we add the 2 you mentioned, that's already 7!

[@laomei1855]

@@middleearthtales You're winning me over! I would also add Nan Dungortheb, Morannon, and maybe the Caves of the Forgotten. I'm with you now.

[@Samsarix]

@@middleearthtales How about the houses of lamentation? Seems to be one of the worst places one could end up in the 3rd. age. Even though it's not mentioned anywhere apart from the short "conversation" between the witch king and Eowyn, if the the witch king's words are true... It would literally be hell on arda. No sudden death, no dying by/after torture, just torture for tortures sake until every fragment of the mind is broken. Being hit by a rock in Gollum's cave pales in comparison imho.

[@funkysanta9052]

What about the deep dark places of the earth inhabited by nameless things older than Sauron that Gandalf talked about after being brought back to life by the Valar?

[@Hero_Of_Old]

Not really a place though