The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk and northern North Carolina counties of Gates, Pasquotank, and Camden. Some estimates place the size of the original swamp at over one million acres.

       Lake Drummond, a 3,100-acre natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. The lake, a circular body of water, is one of only two natural lakes in Virginia. Along the Great Dismal Swamp's eastern edge runs the Dismal Swamp Canal, completed in 1805.

       The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1973 when the Union Camp Corporation of Franklin, Virginia, donated 49,100 acres of land after centuries of logging and other human activities devastated the swamp's ecosystems. The refuge was officially established through the Dismal Swamp Act of 1974, and today consists of over 112,000 acres of forested wetlands. Outside the boundaries of the refuge, the state of North Carolina has preserved and protected additional portions of the swamp through the establishment of the Dismal Swamp State Park. The park protects 22 square miles of forested wetland.

       A 45,611-acre remnant of the original swamp was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1973, in recognition of its unique combination of geological and ecological features.

       According to the tale, "Wicked John and the Devil" (a story in Grandfather Tales, a collection of folktales edited by Richard Chase), there was a man whom even the Devil feared. When he died, he was given a red-hot coal by the Devil, and told to go to the Great Dismal Swamp to make his own hell.  It is said he can be seen wandering the swamp at night with his red-hot coal.

       (From Wikipedia)