Thank you for this!

Bog folklore stems from physical dangers- sinking into bottomless peat, getting lost in endless flatlands. Then there are the mental challenges. The next time you come across an eerie bog tale, know that it is at least partly real. Have a wonderful and safe Halloween! 13/13

As a child, elders told Seamus Heaney never to go near the bog because it was bottomless, and hid bogeyman and dangers. Later he recalled these bog creatures of his childhood as “uncatalogued by any naturalist, but none the less real for that”. BogBoo 12/

Methane produced by microbes deep in peat and burbles to the surface is flammable. Could this explain the ghost light of will-o'-the-wisps? And who can forget the fire swamp in the Princess Bride? Folklore rooted in bog biology! BogBoo 11/

In case you thought this was not real, here are my colleagues Torre Jorgenson and Tom Douglas hitting the "motherload" of methane release from thawing permafrost in an Alaskan bog. Curious bog dog is bonus. BogBoo 10/

Some bog-lore focuses on strange gases produced by anaerobic microbes. Sulfate reduction smells like rotten eggs. Methane burbles up & farts. Entering a bog is like walking into strange science. Cue Labyrinth's Bog of Eternal Stench, where the scent of peat will never leave your skin. BogBoo 9/

Did jack-o'-lanterns originate from bogs? Will-o'-wisps are ghost lights seen at night over boggy land, and are thought to have inspired jack-o'-lantern stories. Will-o'-wisps lure travelers with hope into an impossible or sinister situation, a metaphorical reference to dangers in the bog. BogBoo 8/

Every culture has its own version of a bogeyman, an entity causing irrational fear, often a shapeshifter. Here is Martin Mystery's Bogeyman, a vaguely human villain made of plant matter. BogBoo 7/

Mosses dominate the surface of bogs and can creep over mounds and stumps to take on interesting and curious shapes. Could this explain the legend of bogeys, thought to lurk in bogs to lure unwary wanderers into bottomless pools? BogBoo 6/

In literature, bogs are often the final stage of a journey presenting physical and mental danger. Or hiding places for those in desperate need. From Tolkien's Dead Marshes to the Swamp of Sadness, bogs are full of spooky symbolism (often well deserved!). BogBoo 5/

Peat embodies the mysterious in between life and death.

The ground itself is kind, black butter
Melting & opening underfoot,
Missing its last definition
By millions of years.
They'll never dig coal here,
Only the waterlogged trunks
Of great firs, soft as pulp.
-S. Heaney 4/

Behold Lindow Man who was killed between 2BC-119AD, encased by the bog and immortalized. Lindow Man is a symbol of ancient people's relationship with bogs. Was he a thief tossed aside, or part of a ritual using the bog as a supernatural portal? Scholars today lean towards the latter. BogBoo 3/

He screamed. I would never presume to interrupt you, sir. But the ground appears to be swallowing me up.

"It is a bog" said the gentleman helpfully. "It is a most terrifying substance". -S Clark

Bogs are "drowning grounds" that look stable until they are not. BogBoo 2/

Haha I love this! I call this the barf method. Just get it out with no oversight. You have inserted method to the madness!

Yes. Such a good tip. Thank you.

Nature and exercise for the win.

Good question. Methane is actually odorless but the organics in permafrost itself can smell very earthy. Also, in wet areas experiencing thaw, sulfate in permafrost can be reduced which smells like rotten eggs. So the smells tell us a lot actually!

Outside Fairbanks Alaska.

Yes methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Thawing permafrost mostly releases carbon dioxide today but is expected to emit more and more methane in coming decades.