Marl

They could be dark ponds, deep pools, flooded pits, or old excavations that filled with groundwater.

One of the hazards in rural England was the marl pit.

Marl is a mixture of clay and carbonite-rich material that is historically dug out and used to improve agricultural soil.

When people excavated these pits, they'd leave behind deep holes in the ground.

And when those holes filled with water, they became potentially deadly places.

I know because I was the kid who was like, oh, really? There's snakes over there? I want to go catch the snakes.

But, yeah, if you say there's, you know, a hideous monster with a flesh-devoid face, I was trying to think of a better way to say that.

It's going to be a little bit more like, yeah, you know, maybe I won't go play in the pit of Marl and death and despair.