Lake Lachrymose

Lake Lachrymose is a fictional lake in the book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The lake is where much of the the action takes place in The Wide Window (the third novel).

Lake Lachrymose a very large lake, affected as it is by Hurricane Herman, a hurricane in the novel. One of the features of the lake is the leeches that inhabit its waters. If anyone goes into Lake Lachrymose within an hour after eating, the Lachrymose Leeches will smell the food and devour them. This is how Ike and possibly Josephine Anwhistle met their end. There are features around the lake, including Curdled Cave (which is for sale), a cliff which formerly held Josephine Anwhistle's house, beaches, and the Town of Lake Lachrymose.

The resort town is bustling during the good weather, but in the bad weather, things are dead. The Anxious Clown restaurant is of particular note, which supposedly has a V.F.D. member disguised as a waiter saying, "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion." The food is horrible, some meals include the Extra Fun Family Appetizer (a bunch of things served up together and fried with a sauce), the Surprising Chicken Salad, and Cheer-up Cheeseburgers. Known customers include Mr. Poe and his sister, Elenora, the Baudelaire orphans, Count Olaf (under the disguise of Captain Sham), Jacques Snicket (possibly), and Lemony Snicket, who had to collect a secret message.

Another place of notice is Damocles Dock, where the Fickle Ferry docks. Captain Sham's Sailboat Rentals is located here. Other places are the Lavender Lighthouse, marking where Curdled Cave, a clothing store called, Look! It Fits!, the Rancourous Rocks, and the Wicked Whirlpool, the last 3 of which are simply things mentioned, and don't play any importance to the story.

It is known that Captain Widdershins patrolled Lake Lachrymose in his submarine, the Queequeg.

Notably, the name "Lachrymose" is pronounced in remarkably similar fashion to "Lacrimosa", which is the Latin word for "tearful", "piteous", or "mournful". This name is significant on at least two levels—firstly, it fits with the series' theme of misery perfectly, and secondly (perhaps, more importantly), Lacrimosa is a movement of Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, famously known as the last piece of music he ever penned. Mozart's music is notably employed by the V.F.D. as a form of code.

It is unknown if Lake Lachrymose has any relation to lachrymology.