Quicksand Fans

when I was in school, we once read in a texbook a story of a young man making his way through a thick forest and he stepped on something the story called a 'deadfall', breaking through a crusted surface and being trapped up to his armpits. it was made of dead stuff that fell on the ground like leaves and twigs and other stuff. the character remembers hearing of a man who stepped into a deadfall and disappeared. never seen again. the character manages to get out.

has anyone ever heard of this kind of dry trap? maybe by another name? it wouldnt be drowning if you were swallowed by it, but it would be death by starving or thirst, if you werent so far down and could still get oxygen.

A Deadfall can be an area of a forest where a large group of trees have fallen over and jumbled together. Generally a good place to avoid, as the logs are apt to shift if you try to climb over them, making you fall and/or crushing you between them.
Also refers to a type of trap constructed with a heavy log or rock that when triggered falls down and crushes the victim. Usually used in a survival situation where all you have is rocks and sticks.

I believe a trap of this description is more properly called a "pitfall" or "pitfall trap."

cbqdbq wrote:when I was in school, we once read in a texbook a story of a young man making his way through a thick forest and he stepped on something the story called a 'deadfall', breaking through a crusted surface and being trapped up to his armpits. it was made of dead stuff that fell on the ground like leaves and twigs and other stuff. the character remembers hearing of a man who stepped into a deadfall and disappeared. never seen again. the character manages to get out.

has anyone ever heard of this kind of dry trap? maybe by another name? it wouldnt be drowning if you were swallowed by it, but it would be death by starving or thirst, if you werent so far down and could still get oxygen.

Sounds pretty much like a place to avoid and to go around when you see it while hiking.

bogbud wrote:Sounds pretty much like a place to avoid and to go around when you see it while hiking.

Yep. I remember (at least I think I remember) several scenes in old Tarzan or Jungle Jim flicks that involved pitfalls. Usually they were to trap lions but I think sometimes the bad guys fell in as cat food in the end.

The first thing that comes to mind is "Pet Semetary" by Stephen King. Behind the deadfall next to the Pet Semetary is a swamp full of quicksand (one of the many times King teases us by mentioning the "Q" word but then doesn't write in an actual scene). If you can traverse both obstacles you find a wonderful place to bury your cat.

I've always thought of a deadfall as a trap using a precariously balanced log or tree trunk and a tripwire or other trigger to drop the log onto the unwary victim. That's the only kind of deadfall I've ever used.

I have hiked on a trail earlier this summer that crosses a bog and you actually are walking along this very lengthy beaver dam to cross this section.The dam is at least 3 feet or more higher and you pretty much have to hobble along it,the dam is a good 300 ft long. One side of the dam is like a creek that dries up quickly and the other side is more like a cracked mud bog with foliage and moss. I cant imagine falling into this,it would be difficult climbing out of it. Of course this isn't the same deadfall trap that others are describing here but interesting enough. I have been around a few mangroves,those can be challenging to cross.

Never heard of anything like this, but it sounds like it could be sort of like a sinkhole but with dead leaves, sticks, pebbles et cetera instead of sand

Kinda wanna make a piece with that concept now...

In part 1 of the Dr Who episode called "The Sontaran Experiment" (season 12 from the original series) Harry Sullivan falls into a pitfall. Also, later on Sarah Jane Smith imagines she is being engulfed in mud.