What creature lives in the cave under the Misty Mountains? Gollum lives in a cavern beside an underground lake beneath the Misty Mountains.
In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins becomes separated from the Dwarves in the Goblin tunnels and finds a mysterious ring. He eventually reaches Gollum’s lair, where the creature lives on a small island and catches fish from a boat. Gollum challenges Bilbo to a riddle game, offering a possible route out of the mountains.
Gollum was once a Stoorish Hobbit named Sméagol. Long before Bilbo’s adventure, he murdered his relative Déagol to obtain the One Ring. The Ring’s influence isolated and deformed him, and he eventually retreated into the darkness beneath the mountains.
The cave is not simply a Goblin or Orc dwelling, although Goblins occupy the surrounding tunnel network. Trolls live elsewhere and are encountered earlier on the journey. Another common mix-up is Moria, where Gollum later follows the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings; his original lair is associated with the Misty Mountains.