Heed no nightly noises

[radagastly]

Originally posted by Nerwen:

Re: radagastly's speculation about whether the fog might have been caused by Tom to protect the hobbits– I should say definitely not. Nothing in the way it's presented suggests there's anything at all benign about it. If it's magical at all (which isn't clear), it seems to me much more likely to be the work of the Barrow-wight.

Yes, it was speculation without research. I have since found this:

From "Fog on the Barrow Downs," The Fellowship of the Ring:

When they caught a glimpse of the country westward the distant Forest seemed to be smoking, as if the fallen rain was steaming up again from leaf and root and mould. A shadow now lay round the edge of sight, a dark haze above which the upper sky was like a blue cap, hot and heavy.

So either a natural phenomenon because of a day of heavy rain, or possibly the angry Old Forest spitting it's last bit of venom at them, the last trick in its bag.