|The Dead Marshes as seen in Peter Jackson's The Two Towers|
West of Dagorlad and East of the Emyn Muil lay the Dead Marshes, which had expanded throughout the Third Age and engulfed the graves of the Men and Elves slain in the Battle of Dagorlad. These graves became the Mere of Dead Faces. Many of the Wainriders defeated in the Battle of the Camp (TA 1944) were driven into the Dead Marshes, where they perished. It was said that when the will-o’-the-wisp lights flickered over the meres at night, anyone who looked into the pools would see the phantom faces of dead warriors; subsequently, anyone who tried to touch the bodies were likely to drown and join them.
On their way to Mordor, Gollum led the Hobbits Sam and Frodo through the Dead Marshes, warning Sam about the hypnotising effects of the flickering lights. Before he could touch the waters, Frodo’s trance was broken by Sam. In Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers, Frodo fell into the water in an attempt to touch one of the bodies; it was Gollum who pulled him out of the water.