The Black Turtles are animals that appear numerous times throughout Over the Garden Wall. They appear to be connected to The Beast and the black oil of his Edelwood Trees. Black turtles are very small turtles found in forested areas and rivers in the Unknown.

Nov 1, 2018 · The black turtles are not minions of the Beast, although they are indeed related to the Edelwood trees. They are a nefarious influence – though not necessarily evil themselves – that springs from the souls turned into Edelwood trees when their transformation is finalized.

Nov 1, 2018 · The art book actually says that the black turtles have no official meaning outside of serving the purpose of letting fans speculate what they mean. They were designed as something random to mitigate OTGW being a perfect work of art; …

Dec 5, 2022 · I'd been wondering if there's any symbolism regarding the little black turtles. The way the dog from the woodsman's house behaved after eating one reminded me of Haku after he ate Zeniba's seal in Spirited Away.

Jun 3, 2018 · In the comics produced after the release of the show, we see a black turtle just before the Beast reveals itself the Woodsman's daughter, Anna. These are all instances that support the theory that the black turtles are spies of the Beast, sent out to find potential victims and follow the brothers throughout the show.

Oct 3, 2023 · In a nutshell, the black turtles are connected to the Beast, specifically the Edelwood Trees. Edel Wood Oil is black and therefore, the turtles were born from it. Why?

Neither good nor bad, these black turtles make an appearance in almost every chapter, content to wander through the darkening woods, indifferent to the impending winter storm. Even more illuminating is the farm dog turned great black wolf.

A black turtle. Presumably the one the Woodsman's daughter ate. My theory then is this, the Woodsman's daughter wandered out into the woods, got lost in the dark and had her lantern go out. She tried to use a turtle as fuel and as a result, became the Beast. TL;DR: The Beast is the woodsman daughter because she ate/used a turtle as lantern fuel.

Sep 30, 2018 · The black turtles are definitely a weird recurring thing. My interpretation of them was that they were a kind of spiritual corruption. If you left them alone, they wouldn't do anything to harm you.

The monster coughs up Edelwood oil and a black turtle before his weight causes the wheel to break and the roof to collapse. The boys manage to jump down and both land in the lake. Wirt watches the black turtle that the monster spit up walk off.