Deep within the White Mountains, under the shadow of the peak of the Dwimorberg, lay the dark wood known as the Dimholt. Within that wood was a glen leading towards the roots of the Haunted Mountain, and at the glen's head was a sudden wall of stone. In that wall was the Dark Door, the northern entry into the Paths of the Dead, made and used by the shades that had dwelt within since the end of the Second Age.
It was first discovered by the living long afterwards, when Baldor son of Brego of Rohan came across it. He found it guarded by an ancient and shrunken man, who warned that the way was shut at that time. Baldor left the Door, but later swore to brave its fears and pass within. He travelled through the Door of the Dead and was never seen again.
The time that had been long prophesied arrived with the War of the Ring, when Aragorn and his companions passed through the Door and were suffered to travel the Paths of the Dead. Aragorn led the Dead Men out from under the Mountains and away to victory in the east, and then released them from the ancient curse of his ancestor Isildur.
Notes
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Isildur's curse fell on the Men of the Mountains in II 3441, after his victory in the War of the Last Alliance. So, this is the earliest possible date for the making of the Dark Door, but it need not have been made immediately. We have no detailed account of the working of Isildur's curse and the subsequent appearance of the Dead Men, but in principle many years might have passed before the Dark Door was created. Our first definite mention of the Door is much, much later, in the year III 2569, when Baldor of Rohan made his ill-fated attempt to travel the Paths of the Dead.
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- Updated 12 March 2023
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