What is the Unknown?

    The Unknown serves as the main setting of the series, and is represented largely by expansive forest, through which Wirt and Greg travel through for several days. Edelwood trees are native to the Unknown. It is a fairly rural area which is mostly covered in undeveloped land; rivers, pastures, swamps, and thick forests. Civilizations including the town of Pottsfield, the Tavern, and the Schoolhouse are explored during the series. Trodden dirt paths as well as cobblestone trails are also seen, which provides possible confirmation of the many inhabitants of the Unknown, who may travel often.

*Spoilers for the Series Below*
    A popular theory suggests that the Unknown is a sort of purgatory; that Wirt and Greg are teetering on the edge between life and death, and that to succumb to the Edelwood would be to lose their lives. Further evidence of this was that in early versions of the series, the Unknown was referred to as "The In-Between," which implies that Wirt and Greg would be 'in-between' life and death.

The Beast

    The Beast is the main antagonist of Over the Garden Wall. He is the monster of The Unknown and is feared throughout it. His goal is to catch the brothers, Wirt and Gregory, and turn them into Edelwood trees in order to fuel his lantern, just like he's done to many others before. He is the self-proclaimed owner of the woods of The Unknown, as he says to Wirt that Greg is going to be "a part of his forest." The Beast is a manipulative and mysterious being, with little being known about him besides for the fact that he searches for lost souls to turn into a "tree of oil" to use as fuel in his latern.

    When in the darkness of the forest, the Beast is always shown in silhouette. He appears to have a humanoid shape with a head and cloak-covered body and antlers on the top of his head. His eyes usually glow bright white, but they can also appear with red pupils and sclera colored yellow, light yellow, and light blue. In the light, his body is made out of what looks like Edelwood, with twisted faces and holes covering him entirely and his antlers resembling tree branches.

The Inhabitants of the Unknown

The Unknown's various characters and scenery give homage to various historical elements of the past.

• The Woodsman and his daughter seem to be from colonial times, though the generic nature of their clothing makes it uncertain.
• Pottsfield references colonial times, as well as the concept of a "potter's field," an unmarked burial ground for the poor.
• Langtree's haircut implies that she lived in the late Victorian era; the character herself could be a reference to Beatrix Potter, a Victorian-era author who wrote and illustrated books with anthropomorphic animals, including the Peter Rabbit books.
• The denizens of the Tavern are a likely reference to The Canterbury Tales, a collection of 24 tales by Geoffery Chaucer; the titles of each story (sans the General Prologue) follow a specific format (ex: The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, etc), much like how the inhabitants of the Tavern go by their roles (the Butcher, the Baker, etc) rather than actual names.
• Quincy Endicott is from the Georgian Era, and Margueritte Grey is from the French Rococo period.
• The anthropomorphic frogs on the ferry bear a resemblance to the early 1900's, in which stories and illustrations featuring human-like animals in fancy dress were common.
• Lorna's dress provides an intimation that she and Auntie Whispers are from the mid-1600s, with their Puritan-style dress.
• The denizens of Cloud City resemble cartoon characters from the early 1900's.
• Beatrice and her family look to be from the Regency Era.
• Quincy Endicott is known for selling tea to make his fortune but there is no sign of any civilized areas. Most of the buildings in the Unknown are alone in the wilderness. The only town (excluding Cloud City) is Pottsfield which is small and rural.