# Fantasy-land style place names in real life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306 "2014-02-01T21:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![quarrossimo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@quarrossimo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quarrossimo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/41 "2014-02-02T07:47:00Z")
[Sathankulam](https://www.google.co.in/maps/preview/place/Sathankulam,+Tamil+Nadu/@8.4431022,77.9123278,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x3b047865cdb41d31:0xb20923183ee569b1) in Southern India, which translates into Satan’s Lake ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/42 "2014-02-02T08:14:25Z")
There are many such names in Japan, for instance: _Hitokiriyama_: Killer’s Mountain _Shibitozawa_ and _Menhagizawa_: Dead Man’s Marsh and Flayed Face Marsh. Both named after a local legend about a traveling monk who was tortured and killed. His body and face (!) were said to have been dumped in those places. _Jigokudani_: Hell’s Valley _Chinagarezaka_: Running Blood Hill. Used to be used for executions. A mass grave was found when a residential tower was built there. _Chisuigawa_: Blood-Sucking River. Is said to have turned red when a devil was shot in the eye by an arrow and fell in it. _Juusanbotoge_: Thirteen-Tomb Pass. Locals built tombs there for thirteen soldiers who were killed during a Warring State-era skirmish. _Onigajo_: Devil’s Castle. [Looks like one](http://userdisk.webry.biglobe.ne.jp/002/515/50/N000/000/000/IMG_3943.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/43 "2014-02-02T14:25:54Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Intercourse, PA > > [Intercourse, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercourse,_Pennsylvania) Seems to me that Intercourse would be GREAT place to live!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/44 "2014-02-02T15:30:39Z")
Writing any applicable starts for location names in Finnish into Google Earth seems to always produce a few examples - there’s the equivalents of “Devil’s Grove”, “Death Marsh” (two of these), “Hell”, “Murder Island” and so on. And then there’s “Blackpond” which while not very high on the sheer evilness scale happens to be the most common name for a lake hereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/45 "2014-02-02T16:36:42Z")
> [@larryg](#): > > In the early 1970’s, at the height of the free love, LSD, anything goes era I attended several very wild parties held outdoors with a couple of hundred people and encounters of every description. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized the humor of the street name where the parties were held in Chattanooga, Tn. which was Lower Cravens Place. Don’t get this one, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/46 "2014-02-02T16:43:42Z")
Another example might be [Fucking, Austria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria), even though the word does not have that meaning in German. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/47 "2014-02-02T16:58:49Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Don’t get this one, I’m afraid. “Craven” means contemptibly faint-hearted or cowardly. It would be the equivalent of “Lower Coward’s Place.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/48 "2014-02-02T17:00:17Z")
[Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump](http://history.alberta.ca/headsmashedin/) ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/49 "2014-02-02T18:28:47Z")
A surprising number of these seem to be in the US, and therefore will have been named relatively recently, rather than years ago. And remember I’m after negative connotations - Intercourse, PA and Fucking, Austria don’t really count. Unless you’re reading different fantasy books to me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/50 "2014-02-02T18:36:14Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > A surprising number of these seem to be in the US, and therefore will have been named relatively recently, rather than years ago. It’s a US board, so those are the examples people will be most familiar with. And although it may be “relatively recently” from a European perspective, most of the examples given are more than 150-200 years old. ---
**Author:** ![JoseArcadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@JoseArcadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseArcadio)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/51 "2014-02-02T19:26:55Z")
A few from Scotland: [The Devil’s Staircase](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aonach_Eagach#Devil.27s_Staircase) - Glen Coe. [Gulf of Corryvreckan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Corryvreckan) - the name comes from the Gaelic for “cauldron of the speckled seas” and is the location of the third largest whirlpool in the world. [Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sg%C3%B9rr_na_Ciste_Duibhe) - Gaelic for “Peak of the Black Coffin.” [Ben Wyvis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wyvis) - from the Gaelic Beinn Uais - “Hill of Terror.” I grew up at the foot of this mountain and have climbed it a few times; it’s not nearly as scary as the name suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/52 "2014-02-02T19:49:36Z")
[Wreck Reefs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_Reefs), Australia ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/53 "2014-02-02T20:47:01Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > A number of places have the word “Misery” in their name (see for example [“Mount Misery”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Misery)) but I think a lot of these derive from the archaic definition of misery, i.e., “mercy”. Which reminded me of [Skunks Misery Road](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Skunks+Misery+Road,+Locust+Valley,+NY&hl=en&sll=40.829539,-73.685724&sspn=0.108847,0.168743&oq=skunks+misery+road&hnear=Skunks+Misery+Rd,+Locust+Valley,+New+York+11560&t=m&z=16) (there are several, the one on Long Island is the one I know) and an area of an LI town once nicknamed [Skunks Misery](http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/valley-stream-history-includes-moniker-skunks-misery-1.4157865). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/54 "2014-02-02T21:06:00Z")
[Dimmuborgir](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimmuborgir), Icelandic, “dark cities.” I figure that if a Black Metal band takes their name from you, you’re brutal enough. You don’t see many places named Happy Kitten Fields. > [@Mr.Bill](#): > > Seems to me that Intercourse would be GREAT place to live!🙂 You’d think so, but I think it’s Amish country. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/55 "2014-02-03T03:05:43Z")
[Devils Tower,](http://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm) Wyoming (I’m surprised we overlooked this one for so long.) [Devils Postpile,](http://www.nps.gov/depo/index.htm) California [Cape Disappointment,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Disappointment_(Washington)) Washington [Wreck Reefs,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_Reefs) Australia [Furnace Creek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furnace_Creek,_California)(Death Valley) ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/56 "2014-02-03T03:17:37Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Writing any applicable starts for location names in Finnish into Google Earth seems to always produce a few examples - there’s the equivalents of “Devil’s Grove”, “Death Marsh” (two of these), “Hell”, “Murder Island” and so on. And then there’s “Blackpond” which while not very high on the sheer evilness scale happens to be the most common name for a lake hereabouts. [Blackpool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool), the seaside resort in England. It gets bonus points for being in an area once known as Hundred of Amounderness. And it certainly fits with some people’s idea of [Hell](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=blackpool&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8QjvUofYEIry7AarnoCADQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=960&bih=477#q=blackpool+stags+hens&tbm=isch). One time my role playing group suggested that the PCs could do with a holiday and we were duly sent to the Black Pool of Amounderness. It wasn’t quite what we’d intended. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/57 "2014-02-03T03:30:13Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > Which reminded me of [Skunks Misery Road](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Skunks+Misery+Road,+Locust+Valley,+NY&hl=en&sll=40.829539,-73.685724&sspn=0.108847,0.168743&oq=skunks+misery+road&hnear=Skunks+Misery+Rd,+Locust+Valley,+New+York+11560&t=m&z=16) (there are several, the one on Long Island is the one I know) and an area of an LI town once nicknamed [Skunks Misery](http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/valley-stream-history-includes-moniker-skunks-misery-1.4157865). Also [Skunk Hollow](http://palisadesny.com/history/skunk-hollow-history-19th-century-community-free-a/), New Jersey. There’s also a Skunk Hollow Road in Panama on a former military base. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/58 "2014-02-03T03:32:05Z")
I thought Lower Cravens was a play on words for Basser Cravings? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/59 "2014-02-03T04:19:40Z")
[Doubtful Sound,](http://palisadesny.com/history/skunk-hollow-history-19th-century-community-free-a/) New Zealand [Paul Bunyan’s Potty,](http://utahscanyoncountry.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/paul-bunyans-potty-tower-ruin-canyonlands-national-park/) Utah ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/60 "2014-02-03T06:08:22Z")
[Mount Disappointment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Disappointment_%28Australia%29) is a personal favourite. It’s a nice place, and not at all disappointing unless you expected to see the coast from it. ETA: In the same area: [Mount Terrible](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Terrible_%28Victoria%29) [Mount Buggery](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Buggery) Australia FTW! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=4)