Origins of the Dead Marshes

[Sauron 666]

Personally when i first read the chapter of the Dead Marshes the first thing that came to my mind was WW1 and the stories of soldiers literally drowning in mud. I knew Tolkein had served in WW1 and I thought this was where the inspiration had come from, i'm sure Tolkein had witness a fellow soldier, maybe even a friend, having the horrible misfortune of drowning in the mud at the Somme.

just my opinion though, all the other posts here are very interesting.