Exploring Middle-earth: Scary
In the northernmost regions of the Shire
s Eastfarthing, the small village of Scary can be found tucked into the
southern edge of shadowed hills that run east to the River Brandywine. None can
be sure of the origins of the regions name, but the labyrinth of twisting caves beneath the Hills of Scary,
known to most as the Brockenbores, as well as the mysterious way the shadows
seem to cling to those hills in the evening hours, might give the traveler in
this region cause to reconsider their choice of path.
To the east of Scary can be found a small but important quarry,
used by Hobbits from throughout the northern and eastern regions of the Shire
for a variety of building projects. It is said that the quarriers at times
happen upon rare and wonderful artifacts in their digging, although where these
treasures originated remains a mystery to all who hear the tale.
When designing Scarys environs, the art staff at Turbine was given the rare chance to add a bit of mystery to
the usually-peaceful Shire. Apart from the name itself, which calls to mind an
area of darkness and the unknown, the source material is quite vague on the
village and its surrounding hills and caves. What is known for sure is the
location of the town, as found in the maps drawn by Professor Tolkien himself as
well as a few brief mentions late in the sixth book of The Lord of the Rings, in
the chapter entitled The Scouring of the Shire, where it is learned that a band
of Hobbits used the caves to hide from the oppressive Men who invaded the Shire
during the War of the Ring. It is interesting to note that the term "Scar" has
its origins in the English word meaning "Rocky Cliff," which may have inspired
the original naming of this region.
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