Scariest Thing In All Of Tolkien's Creation...Ever

[Lalwendë]

So, a bit of fun....What is the scariest thing in all of Tolkien's work? Ever.

My list (cue top ten countdown music):

10. Balrogs
9. Wargs
8. The Ring
7. Shelob
6. Huorns
5. The 'Nameless Things' Gandalf says live under the earth
4. Ringwraiths
3. Sauron
2. Morgoth
1. Eru (yes, he's the boss, and can do anything)

I've probably forgotten some ;)

[Eönwë]

How about Black Númenoreans and Gothmog (both!)

edit: And Morgoth's unnamed creations (but that's probably the same "The 'Nameless Things' Gandalf says live under the earth").

1. Eru (yes, he's the boss, and can do anything) Also, anyone who says that all evil redounds in his glory is definately scary for me!:eek:

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

1. Nameless Things (no doubt. They are unspeakable, hidden, older than Sauron, and what Gandalf says about not brining news about them not to cloud the light of day, or how he says it, it's just the most horroresque thing in all LotR - you know that everybody speaks openly about Sauron, Mordor, even about the Ring, but this...)
2. Ungoliant, probably. Nobody knows where she came from and such...
(following are very vague, the order may be actually different and even then, I don't feel up to simply labeling something scary because I don't feel it that scary from the books, while in RL it would be... like giant spiders or such)
3. Minas Morgul, if that counts (but since the Ring does...). Maybe I would put that even before Ungoliant, because Ungoliant is more like horroresque and disgusting, as much as the Nameless Things are, while MM is just scary, simply the fear, as are most of the ones which follow...
4. The Silent Watchers
5. Ringwraith
6. Creatures from the Older World (the Ringwraith-mounts)
7. Sauron
8. Gollum
9. Huorns (good idea, Lal)
10. And now probably... hmm... I think Glaurung and Húrin can share the place. Morgoth, Shelob, balrog and other losers are far, far lower on the ladder, because they simply are not scary. Oh yes, maybe Tol-in-Gaurhoth and that one, who was it, Draugluin (not Carcharoth!) and that vampire with unspeakable name... Thuring... we... something... thil... however it's spelled. These are definitely above Morgoth&co.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Bombadil's singing.

[Lalwendë]

Thuringwethil! Fascinating creature! What form did she take? But then I'm of a Gothic temperament and find Vampires quite thrilling, if nasty and to be avoided at all costs ;)

I had Black Numenoreans and Gollum down but there are more scary things so they got demoted...

Dragons, no matter how evil, are never scary because dragons are without exception achingly cool.

[radagastly]

Have to include the Watcher in the Water. Clearly life-threatening, and yet, nobody sees it! Except for a tentacle or two. Of course, he might be included with the "Nameless things" under the Earth. That seems to be where he came from. Are they as bad as we think? They are only described by Gandalf, who had to be persuaded to leave Valinor because he was afraid of Sauron. Yet Ungoliant nearly bested Morgoth. Surely he knew that! Are they as bad as her? or worse? The creepiest thing is not knowing . . . !

edit!--forgot to mention Carcharoth:

But in the north of his realm his messengers met with a peril sudden and unlooked for: the onslaught of Carcharoth, the Wolf of Angband. In his madness he had run ravening from the north, and passing at length over Taur-nu-Fuin upon its eastern side he came down from the sources of Esgalduin like a destroying fire. Nothing hindered him, and the might of Melian upon the borders of the land stayed him not; for fate drove him, and the power of the Silmaril that he bore to his torment. Thus he burst into the inviolate wood of Doriath, and all fled away in fear. Alone of the messengers Mablung, chief captain of the King, escaped, and he brought the dread tidings to Thingol.

Apperently, even the Girdle of Melian didn't stop him, though it had protected Doriath from enemies for millenia.

Bare in mind, (no pun intended), I live in the American midwest, and, thanks to environmental efforts, partly inspired by Tolkien, wolves and bears have become a real threat. My mother's house, in Wisconsin, was attacked by a bear just two days ago, the siding torn from the house while she slept (tried to sleep,) and she lives in the middle of town, surrounded by a thousand other houses. As much as I love Nature, and all the wild creatures, I love my mother more. They already have a deer-hunt in town, are petitioning for a bear-hunt, and would like a wolf-hunt (the last won't happen, they're still endangered.)

Maybe it's just because they're just currently immediate for me, but wild animals at the door are pretty frightening. Little-Red-Riding-Hood and the Three-Little-Pigs better beware.

[Morthoron]

Hobbits running naked on the Barrow Downs. *shudders*

[Lindale]

Hobbits running naked on the Barrow Downs. *shudders*

But why will they do that? Or is the "why" part of why they're scary?:D

[Nerwen]

It was after Tom rescued the hobbits from the Barrow-Wight. They didn't have any clothes... because the wight had taken theirs...

[skip spence]

Hobbits running naked on the Barrow Downs. *shudders*

:D

Now what even more scary is imagining the wight stripping them of all their clothes in the darkness of his tomb.

So...

1) Unspeakable acts in the dark
2) Bombadill singing and dancing
3) Aragorn drawing his sword in front of Éomer crying 'Elendil!'

[Nerwen]

Now what even more scary is imagining the wight stripping them of all their clothes in the darkness of his tomb.

...and then dressing them up like dolls...

[skip spence]

...and then dressing them up like dolls...

Gawd, stop it! Now I'm so terrified I might have to sleep in mum and dad's bed tonight.

[Folwren]

The Barrow Wight itself was terrifying to me - the arm creeping around the corner...*shudder*

Also, the Nazgul.

I think the Nazgul are the scariest thing in all Tolkien's creation ever in my opinion. They're the only thing that kept me up at night while I was reading the book.

[Rumil]

Shelob!!:eek:

Ordinary sized non-poisonous (UK) spiders are bad enough, even when they are 100 times smaller than you. Now a Giant spider much bigger than you, with a pitch black lair and uncuttable sticky webs - er nasty!!! Not to mention the foul smells and orcs round the corner.

I suppose Ungoliant too but (thankfully) we don't get to see her close up,

brrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

[Thinlómien]

1. Ringwraiths, really. All that sniffing and chasing in the Shire, the lonely cry, the attacks of Crickhollow, Bree and Weathertop and the flight to the Ford... *shudders*

2. The Barrow-Downs are really scary too. The fog, the stones and the wights. Also, I find the story of the Barrow-Wights rather creepy yet very fascinating. And very sad too. I wish we knew more about it.

3. I have to agree about the nameless things and the Watcher in the Water. The mysteriousness and their ancient origin are very fascinating and scary. Also, Moria itself is a rather scary place and the Book of Mazarbul is just thrilling...

4. The Oath of Fëanor. All the bloodshed and madness it creates. Or actually, maybe I should nominate Silmarils instead. Scary things, anyway. (But again, very fascinating...)

5. The Ring itself just because of what it does to people, especially to Frodo and Boromir. (Or should I now nominate Frodo and Boromir? They are both pretty scary when the Ring gets hold of them...)

6. Númenoreans. Their pride and arrogance and cruelty scare me, as does their colonialist attitude. And what scares me most is probably the fact that they are not utterly unlike me...

7. Sauron's dungeons in Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the werewolves and Thuringwethil. They too are only vaguely mentioned and thus make me both a little scared and more than a little curious.

8. Mirkwood. Not the spiders, not the presence of Dol Guldur, not the river, not even the Elves (although Thranduil is quite scary in a way)... it's just the atmosphere. Something magical and somewhat unsettling, the dark, the eyes and the lights of the Elves.

9 .Wargs. Maybe because Tolkien describes the atmosphere of them roaming around and their howling so scarily.

10. Everything else that is scary, so: the Silent Watchers, the Palantíri, Huorns (and especially trees of the Old Forest and Old Man Willow himself), Ungoliant, Shelob, Glaurung, Morgoth, Sauron (mostly for the really ugly Eilinel&Gorlim thing), angry Valar, Eru (mostly because he seems not to care most of the time), the great eagles (yes, really, but they are cool too), Denethor, Minas Morgul, Cirith Ungol and Dol Guldur (if places count). And then all the scary stuff I've forgotten... :rolleyes:

[Nogrod]

4. The Oath of Fëanor. All the bloodshed and madness it creates.Or just Fëanor and all he represents and where it leads to. The pride, the relentless pursuit of honour and right, the uncompromising souls... That is something that really scares me.

I mean you can come up with monsters of any sort but Fëanor and his tribe are really scary! Not the least because you can admire them at the same time. Maybe it's indeed just because of that?

[Thinlómien]

I mean you can come up with monsters of any sort but Fëanor and his tribe are really scary! Not the least because you can admire them at the same time. Maybe it's indeed just because of that?Oh indeed. I love the Noldor but they are pretty scary too. Actually, now that I think of it, almost all my favourite Tolkien characters are scary in a way. (Well, obviously, Merry isn't, and Théoden and Haleth aren't too scary either, but for example Galadriel, Maedhros, Gandalf and Boromir - whom I already mentioned - are...)

PS. By the way, Nerwen, skip and Morth, you are being funny... :D

[Lalwendë]

I might have to revise my list, there's so many things that I'd left off it...

...like the inhabitants of the Paths of the Dead, especially when I read in a copy of Vinyar Tengwar about what they did to Baldor:

"The special horror of the closed door before which the skeleton of Baldor was found was probably because the door was the entrance to an evil temple hall [of the same Men of Darkness to which the Oathbreakers presumably belonged] to which Baldor had come, probably without opposition up to that point. But the door was shut in his face, and enemies that had followed him silently came up and broke his legs and left him to die in the darkness, unable to find any way out."

That's just unspeakably horrific...

...but if I was Tolkien I'd have made sure to include it in LotR!


8. Mirkwood. Not the spiders, not the presence of Dol Guldur, not the river, not even the Elves (although Thranduil is quite scary in a way)... it's just the atmosphere. Something magical and somewhat unsettling, the dark, the eyes and the lights of the Elves.



That reminds me of another....Old Man Willow!!!!! :eek: Malevolent trees just scare me senseless for some reason....it's so primal.

Also, the Nazgul.

I think the Nazgul are the scariest thing in all Tolkien's creation ever in my opinion. They're the only thing that kept me up at night while I was reading the book.

I might bump these up my list of scariness actually, because they're pretty vile and terrifying. Loads of books seem to have similar things too - the Dementors in Harry Potter and the Spectres in His Dark Materials for example. Brrrrr.......

Ordinary sized non-poisonous (UK) spiders are bad enough, even when they are 100 times smaller than you. Now a Giant spider much bigger than you, with a pitch black lair and uncuttable sticky webs - er nasty!!! Not to mention the foul smells and orcs round the corner.

There was one in our house last week, sitting above the cot. I'm not scared of spiders, in fact I think they're quite cool, but it was so big I had to go and fetch a jug to catch it in and it just fell off the wall and nonchalantly scuttled away under the bed, where it remains. I swear it was like a shaved tarantula....

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Have to include the Watcher in the Water. Clearly life-threatening, and yet, nobody sees it! Except for a tentacle or two. Of course, he might be included with the "Nameless things" under the Earth. That seems to be where he came from.
I never thought about the Watcher as about one of these things (and, just as a funny thing aside, one of my friends long time ago didn't know LotR much and knew somewhat Dungeons and Dragons and concluded that Watcher in the Water = a Beholder). But maybe also partially thanks to the movie, which made him just a silly octopus, and what more, a CG octopus, I don't see the Watcher as that scary anymore.

The creepiest thing is not knowing . . . !
Well, that's the constituing point of all fear, ultimately :)

Also, Moria itself is a rather scary place and the Book of Mazarbul is just thrilling...
Ah yes, that's something I should have mentioned, too... especially these pits in Moria, and the "cannot get out" and "drums in the deep" parts are pretty scary.

8. Mirkwood. Not the spiders, not the presence of Dol Guldur, not the river, not even the Elves (although Thranduil is quite scary in a way)... it's just the atmosphere. Something magical and somewhat unsettling, the dark, the eyes and the lights of the Elves.
Hmmm... Mirkwood, actually to me, is not scary at all. I really like it a lot, and not even the way I may like some scary things. The atmosphere is magical, but not scary for me.

Sauron (mostly for the really ugly Eilinel&Gorlim thing
Yes, actually, I was about to write "dead Gorlim" or something like that into my list, because the beginning of the tale of Beren is just a very horroresque thing and really, really scary and as you said, ugly. Anyway Sauron is really scary especially in there, then at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, at Númenor and then in LotR when talking to Pippin in the Palantír.

4. The Oath of Fëanor. All the bloodshed and madness it creates. Or actually, maybe I should nominate Silmarils instead. Scary things, anyway. (But again, very fascinating...)
Now depends what definition of "scary" we use. Most of what I wrote meant simply "causing horror, as when watching a horror movie" (although even horror movies have their kinds... lots of them may be just disgusting, and that's not what I call "scary")... my replies were "what causes fear in you" or such. And the fear does not come to me like that...
Or just Fëanor and all he represents and where it leads to. The pride, the relentless pursuit of honour and right, the uncompromising souls... That is something that really scares me.

I mean you can come up with monsters of any sort but Fëanor and his tribe are really scary! Not the least because you can admire them at the same time. Maybe it's indeed just because of that?
...because, well, I understand well what you mean here, it's more or less the thing that when you say "scary", people don't usually imagine the scary things which come up from attitudes, thoughts, or even from people as themselves, but usually something alien, or at least alien people (now thinking about all kinds of scary stories from the ancient times about "behind river X, there live horrible people who eat their children and will come and eat our children too" and such. Even when you think about the description of let's say Haradrim in LotR, especially the one on the Pelennor fields... okay, that's maybe for another topic... although maybe not).
But, in any case, even in RL, I think these things don't make me afraid... they make me... well, wary, or something like angry at most, or how should I best describe this feeling. But not really afraid, no, that's not it (I am inclined to believe however, that had I let's say gone personally through the rise of Hitler or whatever, it might be different).

As for labeling "scary" all Galadriels, Gandalfs or whatever, I think that's going along the same lines as when Gandalf tells Gimil that Fangorn is dangerous as much as Gandalf or Gimli himself are dangerous. But there are just things a person usually does not feel as "scary", or at least won't tell you that f.ex. Galadriel is what he would imagine under the word "scary" in the first place. I think at least for me, it's the similar reason for why I don't consider the Ring scary, or the Silmarils or whatever. It's also why, I think, basically it's unusual for people to imagine something like Galadriel as evil (now I'm intentionally recalling on the episode with her and the Ring in the chapter Mirror of Galadriel). And hey, speaking of that, I even think Tolkien mentions something like that himself in the essay "On Fairy-stories", saying something like that in a story, a castle of an evil ogre is nasty&such, while a beautiful place is hard to imagine as "evil", and yet it may be so - I would have to look up for the particular part in there. But, well, I think I at least outlined what I wanted to.

EDIT (x-ed with Lal's post):
I might have to revise my list, there's so many things that I'd left off it...

...like the inhabitants of the Paths of the Dead, especially when I read in a copy of Vinyar Tengwar about what they did to Baldor:
Huh, indeed! Now how could I have forgotten them - the Paths of the Dead themselves, even just the way they are described in LotR, are pretty scary.

Hmm, going along these lines, what about the Pukel-Men? Or Ghan-buri-ghan and his folks just like that? Although this may be just one of the cases of "xenophobia" (cf. above in this post my point about children-eating people), because why should they be more scary than let's say Rohirrim - I mean, had the story been made from the perspective of Ghan-buri-ghan, surely the Gondorians and their stone cities would have been the thing described as "scary". Anyway, not that I would consider Ghan worth taking post in my top 10 ladder, but just mentioning it as it may be worth some attention.

[Lalwendë]

It's also why, I think, basically it's unusual for people to imagine something like Galadriel as evil (now I'm intentionally recalling on the episode with her and the Ring in the chapter Mirror of Galadriel). And hey, speaking of that, I even think Tolkien mentions something like that himself in the essay "On Fairy-stories", saying something like that in a story, a castle of an evil ogre is nasty&such, while a beautiful place is hard to imagine as "evil", and yet it may be so - I would have to look up for the particular part in there. But, well, I think I at least outlined what I wanted to.

An O/T Ramble follows: Yes, a Utopian ideal often turns out to be a Dystopia (in fact I think Thomas More's original Utopia was never meant to be something that could actually happen?), beauty often hides ugliness. Tolkien uses it himself in regard to characters - Sauron was beautiful but was at heart wicked, and vice versa, Aragorn was a scruff but was in fact a King. He never seemed to use it for places though - can you think of any beautful places that were in some way 'dystopian'. You've got me pondering there...

...anyway...

Hmm, going along these lines, what about the Pukel-Men? Or Ghan-buri-ghan and his folks just like that? Although this may be just one of the cases of "xenophobia" (cf. above in this post my point about children-eating people), because why should they be more scary than let's say Rohirrim - I mean, had the story been made from the perspective of Ghan-buri-ghan, surely the Gondorians and their stone cities would have been the thing described as "scary". Anyway, not that I would consider Ghan worth taking post in my top 10 ladder, but just mentioning it as it may be worth some attention.[/QUOTE]

Oh I don't find the Pukel-men or the Woses scary, just fascinating!

But the idea that Men were going into the Paths of the Dead to enact some kind of sinister rituals is really quite frightening. It's not clear if they were dead or alive when they got Baldor, but either way, that bit is probably the second most frightening episode in the whole of Tolkien's work for me.

[Eönwë]

Oh I don't find the Pukel-men or the Woses scary, just fascinating!

I must agree here. I think I feel the same way about the Drúedain as Legate feels about Mirkwood.

[Durelin]

I think the Nazgul are the scariest thing in all Tolkien's creation ever in my opinion. They're the only thing that kept me up at night while I was reading the book.

Definitely have to agree. I remember being quite terrified, reading about the first Nazgul encounter late at night... I remember it described as if they crawled, which really freaked me out, perhaps because of a connection with creepy-crawly things like bugs...but I think the last time I went back to try and find such a description I couldn't find it, so I might have created the image myself.

I also agree that spiders are just horrifying. I hate, hate, hate them. Hate.

For example, this:

There was one in our house last week, sitting above the cot. I'm not scared of spiders, in fact I think they're quite cool, but it was so big I had to go and fetch a jug to catch it in and it just fell off the wall and nonchalantly scuttled away under the bed, where it remains. I swear it was like a shaved tarantula....

would make me want to burn down my house (after I run screaming from it). That room would at least be quarantined for a good while, all cracks around the door taped over...even after I sent in one of my many personal spider-killers.

Also the Silent Watchers, as Lommy mentioned. How they and the effect they had on Frodo were described was extremely freaky...

Of course I say all of this noting that I have not read The Lord of the Rings in quite a while...

[Folwren]

I also agree that spiders are just horrifying. I hate, hate, hate them. Hate.


We must be much alike, Durelin. I, too, hate spiders. Today, I was clambering up a ledge by the river to jump in to the water, and I almost put my hand on a gigantic spider...it was all brownish-grey, so it blended in with the rock, and when I saw it, I jerked back my hand and screamed... it was HUGE! Probably a lot like Lal's spider. :D

[Morthoron]

Other than envisioning naked Hobbits cavorting about the Barrow Downs, the most indelible images of horror I can recall are...

1) The Nazgul in the Prancing Pony stabbing the beds of the Hobbits.

2) The Nazgul at the Ford crying “Come back! Come back! To Mordor we will take you!” As Frodo weakly fought them alone. It is a chilling scene, and one of the most irritating omissions of the movie.

3) The bloated faces in the Dead Marshes (scared the begeezes out of me as a kid).

4) The thought of Helm Hammerhand frozen to death where he stood in the snow (the same creepy feeling as seeing Jack Nicholson frozen to death at the end of The Shining).

5) As Lalwende said, the death of Baldor in the Paths of the Dead (the sheer madness brought on by the apparitions before the actual death is what is gruesome).

[Dimturiel]

1 Grond. I always get shivers down my spine when I read how it advaces towards Minas Tirith. I remember I first read The Siege of Gondor at night and then I had to sleep with my light on:D

2. The trees of the Old Forest attacking the Hedge. Actually make that the trees of the Old Forest in general.

3. The "dark things" that "creep from sunless woods" and "houseless hills" Aragorn talks of at the council of Elrond. I know they're probably only orcs or trolls, but the way he speaks about them scares me.

4. The man found in the Paths of the Dead lying beside a closed door, with his fingerbones still clawing at the cracks. That's really a terrifying image.

That's about all I can think of for now that has not been said before...

[Lalwendë]

4. The man found in the Paths of the Dead lying beside a closed door, with his fingerbones still clawing at the cracks. That's really a terrifying image.

That's about all I can think of for now that has not been said before...

Yeah, that's poor Baldor. It's one of the nastiest things I've ever read (I don't know why it resonates so much, but it does). Breaking a man's legs and then leaving him there. He must have died trying to claw his way out. Maybe it's a bit like being buried alive? Ugh. :eek:

[Eönwë]

Ok, I'll give a list:

18.Shelob (and Ungoliant)- Huge, dangerous spiders, ok? One managed to suck the light out of a Vala's greatest work. You get the picture...
7.Tol-in-Gaurhoth + Vampires-Horrible- trapping spirits and putting them in animals.
6.Silent Watchers- The reason is in the name, and also in the effect they have on others
5.Sauron- Not in LOTR, but everywhere else he is quite terrifying.
4.Baldor's death and the rest of the paths of the dead- I happen to find that sort of thing scary. I almost put this much higher.
3.Barrow-Downs (and wights).- When I first read the book, I really liked Tom Bombadil, but didn't really want to reread this chapter. All that darkness, and cold stone, and cold metal. Even the fungus is probably afraid to go there (or has died too. And the wight (I mean white!:rolleyes:*) clothes.
2.Nazgul- All that following and distant shadows really scared me. After the attack they are slightly less scary, but still higher than the stuff behind them.
1. The things like Ungoliant and Tom Bombadil that aren't named. Put Nameless Things in that category too. I don't know if they are the same- Could be anything.


*You know I actually did write wight instead of white.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I must be weird or something, but I think that Lothlorien is scary, but amazing at the same time. Just the timelessness of it and how time does not move forward. It would drive me bonkers, I'd probably commit suicide if I had to live there. Plus Galadriel, at her mirror. That was just freaky.

The Nazgul just don't do the whole scary thing for me, it might be because I saw the movies first and Peter Jackson just doesn't make them scary enough.

Sauron just isn't scary, a giant eyeball? Come on... there are scarier things.

Ungoliant is just freaky, giant spider=more creepy than regular spider, regular sized spiders=nasty...

The Barrow-Downs, as much as I've come to love it here, is just horrible. I have to agree that having the Barrow-wight taking the hobbits' clothes off is pretty perverted... and having them run around naked afterwards... that's just weird. (this of course being more perverted in the teenage mind)

Plus Caradhras is pretty scary, it's a mountain that has feelings and makes avalanches and snow storms and the like to kill whoever is on it, now that's pretty scary right there.

Plus the Paths of the Dead is pretty creepy... A bunch of dead guys that are trying to kill you... Death itself doesn't scare me, because if I'm lucky and haven't been too sinful, I will go to heaven, but having a bunch of dead dudes chase me because I have gone into their lair, just doesn't do it for me.

I probably can think of more scary things later, but I'm done with this post for now.

[A Little Green]

Indeed I must agree that probably the scariest things are those nameless ones in the darkness. Other than that...

Nazgûl in the Shire. I don't think they are scary when they are many and in a dark evil place and flying and leading armies and stuff - but they definitely freak me out in the Shire, in contrast to the peacefulness and seeming safety of the surroundings, and when the hobbits don't yet know what they are. "There were words in that cry..." *shudders*

Places like the Barrow Downs or Moria or Shelob's lair, where there is the atmosphere of a brooding evil somewhere but it's not yet known precisely what or where it is. They cease to be scary when the concrete evil or the "monster" of the place appears and becomes known.

Proud, ambitious, brilliant minds that fall into madness. It's a theme that repeats itself quite a lot in Tolkien's work, and also a theme I find really really scary.

And, finally, the white wolves that come over the Brandywine. Brrrr...

[Lush]

Ungoliant. She even had Morgoth tweakin'.

[Thinlómien]

Yeah, the paths of the Dead and Baldor's fate, how could I forget that? *shudders*

Anyway Sauron is really scary especially in there, then at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, at Númenor and then in LotR when talking to Pippin in the Palantír.Yes, now this is actually quite interesting. Sauron seems to be rather scary every time we are given a glimpse of how he is, or when we can see him acting and talking. But when he is just the Dark Lord and we are told of his evil plans and thoughts, or his armies, or how he would torture his prisoners in Barad-dûr, it's really not very scary. I think it must be the distance... or either, the scary thing is maybe Sauron's personality, not his powers? I don't know... I just started thinking about this.

Now depends what definition of "scary" we use. Well, obviously. And now that I think of it, these Fëanors and Númenorians do scare me in a way (the same way modern humans sometimes scare me too - it's the ignorance, pride, selfishness and capacity to cause destruction), but maybe scary wouldn't really be the best word. At least it's difficult to compare their scariness with the scariness of Ringwraiths, for example.

And now that I started thinking along these lines, I realised it's very easy to start exaggerating when you start making lists like these. Most of the things I listed don't really scare me. Maybe they are kind of scary, but they don't creep me out or anything. I think that Tolkien's books mostly aren't scary. It's more like some weird sort of fascination...

I think Woses and Huorns and Ents aren't really scary (at least not Woses), they just fascinate me. (If I was a trespassing Orc, I would be terribly afraid, though. :D) And by the way, I don't really get this arachnophobia... spiders are cute. ;) (Well, maybe if you take Ungoliant or Shelob, they might be a little scary, but just in general... :D)

2. The trees of the Old Forest attacking the Hedge. Actually make that the trees of the Old Forest in general.Yes, that's it. But maybe it's actually more discomforting than scary, if you know what I mean...

[Lalwendë]

I think Woses and Huorns and Ents aren't really scary (at least not Woses), they just fascinate me. (If I was a trespassing Orc, I would be terribly afraid, though. :D) And by the way, I don't really get this arachnophobia... spiders are cute.(Well, maybe if you take Ungoliant or Shelob, they might be a little scary, but just in general... .

What's so scary about Huorns is how primal they are. These are wild trees, not intelligent trees, like Ents, who could conceivably be reasoned with before they tore you apart. And a tree is a mighty thing, beyond human strength to fight off. Plus they walk. So you can't just say no to walks in the wildwood to avoid them...:eek: Same thing with Old Man Willow....

By the way, the shaved tarantula emerged again last night and I caught it but it escaped because I was fool enough not to realise even a monster spider could escape via the 'lip' on an upturned jug :rolleyes: However, I think the cat may have been hunting it this morning so it might have been eaten by now....

[Andsigil]

Feanor and his sons were some of Tolkien's scariest creations. They were truly terrifying in fulfilling that terrible oath.

Can you just imagine them during the Kinslaying at Alqualondë or during the sack of Menegroth as they slew their brother and sister elves?

[Lalwendë]

The Kinslaying is pretty well one of the nastiest things in Tolkien's work. See the Icelandic sagas for more nastiness like that!

I think it was the sheer arrogance of Feanor and his allies that makes them so unpleasant, and it sheds a lot of light on why Elves like Eol were not terribly fond of the incomers!

[Nerwen]

And now that I started thinking along these lines, I realised it's very easy to start exaggerating when you start making lists like these. Most of the things I listed don't really scare me. Maybe they are kind of scary, but they don't creep me out or anything.

Actually, I do find things like the Nazgûl ... and trees that move by themselves... and nameless things gnawing the world... etc, etc, scary in just that make-your-flesh-creep way. I think suggested horrors tend to do that for me.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

(This is scary. I just started replying to this post, then left for a few minutes [to get a candle on which I could "bake" some marshmallows], and when I came back, my reply was gone and there was just the quoted post... and not even trying to hit "back" in the editor window helped... so I had to write it all anew. Fortunately it wasn't too long, I just wonder what happened.)

Yes, now this is actually quite interesting. Sauron seems to be rather scary every time we are given a glimpse of how he is, or when we can see him acting and talking. But when he is just the Dark Lord and we are told of his evil plans and thoughts, or his armies, or how he would torture his prisoners in Barad-dûr, it's really not very scary. I think it must be the distance... or either, the scary thing is maybe Sauron's personality, not his powers? I don't know... I just started thinking about this.
Yes, well... I think actually, while usually it's like that the "faceless evil" is scary, in Sauron's case this is not so. It's when we SEE him, or know what he's like, that he has the most impact on us, it seems. I think that's when we realise how evil, malicious, sly, whatever else he is. Today, I just read a bit from the Lay of Leithian in HoME, just the one when Felagund, Beren & co. are captured by the Necromancer, the early draft of Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth. I think this is exactly the Sauron I know - just evil, and in a way, he is even fascinating to me, in the similar way that for example Saruman is. Although, it's a little different, Saruman is not evil the way Sauron is - if I were to describe that in one word, then Saruman is treacherous, while Sauron is evil.

And now that I started thinking along these lines, I realised it's very easy to start exaggerating when you start making lists like these. Most of the things I listed don't really scare me. Maybe they are kind of scary, but they don't creep me out or anything. I think that Tolkien's books mostly aren't scary. It's more like some weird sort of fascination...
That's what I had in mind when I was writing the first post of mine here, that after the "Nameless things", the rest actually aren't the way that they would scare me (and that episode with Baldor). But when there was this question "which are the scariest", and one was supposed to make a list, then yes, it would be the one I made. And still there applies what I said earlier - that these are "scary", while for example the Balrog is not. Also, the list I composed is (partially) based on what I "remember" as scary, i.e. what I considered scary when I read the books for the first time (and was about eight or so).

[Bêthberry]

Reading over the Sinking of Numenor thread and then coming to this thread puts ideas in my head.

Tolkien loves the sea--witness Ulmo and the elves--but does he have any terrifying sea creatures? Any leviathans or barracudas in Middle-earth? Now that would truly be terrifying: a token monster whose nature we don't really know. A faceless evil of the deeps.

:D

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Reading over the Sinking of Numenor thread and then coming to this thread puts ideas in my head.

Tolkien loves the sea--witness Ulmo and the elves--but does he have any terrifying sea creatures? Any leviathans or barracudas in Middle-earth? Now that would truly be terrifying: a token monster whose nature we don't really know. A faceless evil of the deeps.

:D

Actually, I believe he has some - although unspecified - monsters of the deep seas. Because however positive his views of the water are, there is one rather - well, yes, why not to use the word - scary moment in the description of what Tuor sees when Ulmo lets him "see" for a moment something from his own realm (among other things):


The Great Sea he saw through its unquiet regions teeming with strange forms, even to its lightless depths, in which amid the everlasting darkness there echoed voices terrible to mortal ears.


There is no explicite mention of sea monsters, but the implications are pretty strong, I would say. And yes, maybe I should have noted this one among the "top ten" of mine, however I am not really scared of it, the passage has very close to it - maybe had it not been about water... (And I would also like to mention at this place that this sentence, especially its first part - the second is "classical Tolkienesque" - and the sentence which follows right behind this one, sound rather Lovecraftian. It's one of the weirdest things in all of Tolkien, to me.)

[Gwathagor]

Oh yes, maybe Tol-in-Gaurhoth and that one, who was it, Draugluin (not Carcharoth!) and that vampire with unspeakable name... Thuring... we... something... thil... however it's spelled.

My character in The Treachery of Men RPG, by the way, which you all should read...

[Andsigil]

Reading over the Sinking of Numenor thread and then coming to this thread puts ideas in my head.

Tolkien loves the sea--witness Ulmo and the elves--but does he have any terrifying sea creatures?

Yes,

Read the part in the Fellowship when the Council discussed the idea of throwing the ring into the ocean.

p. 280
(Glorfindel) "Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe."
"Not safe for ever", said Gandalf, "There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change."

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Yes,

Read the part in the Fellowship when the Council discussed the idea of throwing the ring into the ocean.

p. 280
(Glorfindel) "Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe."
"Not safe for ever", said Gandalf, "There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change."

Well, "things" by itself doesn't say anything ;)

But combined with what I posted above, we can conclude at least one thing: the sea is not completely deserted :D

Yes, but likely, there is something which might eventually maybe even bring the Ring to Sauron? Or how else to read this remark? Considering the opposition water X evil, which is very strong in all Tolkien's works, it seems unlikely that there would be really Sauron's or Morgoth's monsters down there - rather, I would think there may be something like Gollum, which could eventually bring the Ring to Sauron... and as for the "voices terrible to mortal ears" and the things that have these voices, I am inclined to believe in some kind of creatures which are not necessarily evil, but it will be advisable for the "dry-walkers" not to meddle with them - something like, for example, Huorns.

[Rumil]

Oh, Bethberry Andsigil and Legate,

how could you forget :(

There are many monsters in the Sea,
But none so perilous as HE,
Old horny Fastitocalon,
Whose mighty kindred all have gone

;)

[Boromir88]

The thing that has eyes for hands and devours people, oops wrong movie. Umm an army of trained, yet wild boars...wait that's not from the books.

Ok, I got it. The imagery of Grima slithering on the floor or the Mouth of Sauron's horse.

[Groin Redbeard]

10. Gollum. All that talk about him crawling through windows and stealing babies just makes me shudder.

9. The Watcher.

8. Balrogs, specifically the Balrog that overthrew the kingdom of Khazad-Dum. I can just picture him reeking havoc across the great halls and mines.

7. The Old Forest. Those are some angry trees!

6. The dungeons of Barad-Dur. It is scary to think about all the possible devices that Sauron might have used on his prisoners.

5. The far north. It's where the greatest evil always comes out of and there just might be some remnants of that ancient evil left.

4. Carcharoth

3. The Barrow Wights. The thing that scares me the most is to think that they were once great men now fallen and cursed by the Witch King.

2. Morgoth, the power-fullest of all the Valar. The depiction of him fighting Fingolfin is just amazing.

1. Nazgul, by far the scariest things that Sauron ever created. The concept of the living dead has been around for years but Tolkien really nails it with these nine.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

The Barrow Wights. The thing that scares me the most is to think that they were once great men now fallen and cursed by the Witch King.

Actually, not, mind you. That's one common mistake. The Barrow-Wights are evil spirits which have nothing to do with the Dúnedain or Men from there. The spirits of the Men from there hopefully already departed to where Men go after death. Cf. for example LotR, Appendix A, I, iii:
It was at this time that an end came of the Dúnedain of Cardolan, and evil spirits out of Angmar and Rhudaur entered into the deserted mounds and dwelt there.

[Groin Redbeard]

Rhudaur? That's the realm where Rivendell is, how can evil spirits dwell there? Hmm... I'm going to have to look up on that.

Thanks ,Legate, for clearing me up on that and sparking my interest in it! :D

[Mithalwen]

for she is one of my favourites but maybe Galadriel - think of the effect on that toughest of all tough nuts Gimli:

The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears. Gimli wept openly.

"I have looked the last upon that which was fairest," he said to Legolas his companion. "Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift." He put his hand to his breast.

"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!" .

The power to make a dwarf cry - now THAT is scary.

[A Little Green]

Now that I came to think about it, the only things that really creep me out in Tolkien's books are hints - hints such as the given examples about things in the Sea, or rumours of darkness gathering in the East in the very beginning (that is one thing I forgot to mention in my last post, though it is probably one of the most disquieting things in the whole LotR), or dark things that creep in the northern wilderness.

The proud, ambitious people who fall into madness are a different thing entirely, they are, as has been said, scary in a different way. But scary nonetheless, I insist. :p

[Mithalwen]

Thats a good point Greenie. I remember Mirkwood seeming scary when I first discovered the Hobbit and I still puzzle why Gandalf, Beorn and Bilbo went the long way around to get home even after they had the blessing of The Elvenking to pass through.

[Lalwendë]

for she is one of my favourites but maybe Galadriel - think of the effect on that toughest of all tough nuts Gimli:

The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears. Gimli wept openly.

"I have looked the last upon that which was fairest," he said to Legolas his companion. "Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift." He put his hand to his breast.

"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!" .

The power to make a dwarf cry - now THAT is scary.

She always makes me think of Margaret Thatcher (with a better haircut, nicer clothes and less of a liking for South American dictators) with her aura of frightening determination. Like that alleged story about her having a meal with her Cabinet where she was asked what she wanted:
Mrs T: "I'll have the steak."
Waiter: "And what about the vegetables, madam?"
Mrs T: "They'll have what I'm having."

Or was that just Spitting Image? ;)

[Mithalwen]

She always makes me think of Margaret Thatcher (with a better haircut, nicer clothes and less of a liking for South American dictators) with her aura of frightening determination. Like that alleged story about her having a meal with her Cabinet where she was asked what she wanted:
Mrs T: "I'll have the steak."
Waiter: "And what about the vegetables, madam?"
Mrs T: "They'll have what I'm having."

Or was that just Spitting Image? ;)

I think that was just spitting image.... but I did meet someone who had hosted Sir Denis as a guest speaker for a dinner and he proffered his empty gin glass "any chance of another one of these?- it's true what they say about me you know!"

Yeah I could think of him as Celeborn.... wonder if the wise one kept hitting the miruvor ...

[Eönwë]

The old forest- trees that can hate, and go against you, and do things when your back is turned.

[Diane C]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say Tom Bombadil!

Obviously Tom is by no means evil, and neither is he terrifying to look at. But its just the fact little is known about "him" that scares me most, surprisingly.

It is unknown whether Tom has greater power over Sauron, or whether Tom can stand an attack from Mordor on his land. Tom is indeed very powerful but it is also said that he is not a mere mortal and would therefore not concern himself with the threat & subsequent consequences should Sauron possess the Ring once more and reign terror on Middle Earth!

Tolkien hinted that Tom was more or less "created" shortly after the beginning of time in Middle Earth - is he of flesh & blood or a spritual entity, we don't really know, even though he is one of the oldest life-forms on the planet, older than any the elves & wizards, as far as we know.

Putting all these factors together, plus a number of unknown factors, and we end up with one very scarey individual in my eyes

[Gothbogg the Ripper]

The scariest thing Tolkien ever created? it's a tie.
On the one hand you've got Smeagol, a psychotic, schizophrenic killer who would kill his own mother if it meant he got his mitts on the Ring.
And on the other you've got Shelob, a grotesque, bulbous spider that would just love to eat you alive.
I can't decide between these two.

[Eönwë]

The Nazgul taking off their clothes (stop thinking of uncloaking jokes!) in order to become fully invisibe

[Gordis]

The Nazgul taking off their clothes (stop thinking of uncloaking jokes!) in order to become fully invisibe

What? are you scared by grey robes and helms of silver?:D:p

[Eönwë]

What? are you scared by grey robes and helms of silver?:D:p

I mean

It is probable that the Captain took the one horse that remained (he may have had strength to withdraw it from the flood) and unclad, naked, invisible, rode as swift as he could back to Mordor[bolding mine]

[Gordis]

I know...;) we are just discussing naked nazgul here http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=15176

[Elmo]

I'm not totally sure but I don't think anyone has mention the cursed men of Erech.

The dead are following

Baldor's skeleton and his finger marks on the door.

The way is shut.
It was made by those who are Dead.
And the Dead keep it.
Until the time comes.
The way is shut.

All frankly terrifying.

[Aaron]

I think that the Mewlips are quite freaky. They carry your bones around in a sack.
Although the Barrow-Wights are much worse in my opinion. They inhabit a graveyard, possess the bodies of the dead and seem to hypnotise you with their dreary singing.
That's pretty unsettling.

[Morthoron]

...possess the bodies of the dead and seem to hypnotise you with their dreary singing.
That's pretty unsettling.

The Cure seemed to have that effect on many folks some years ago.

[Lalwendë]

The Cure seemed to have that effect on many folks some years ago.

Dunno, it sounded more like he was describing Girls Aloud to me....:eek:

[thewichtking]

i think it's pretty scary when the orc's cut off the head's of all the dead gondor soldiers and then catapult them at the city that scared me a lot when i first read the books :eek:

_________________________________________________
something, something, something, musiiiiiic and strike a pose!
"Count Olaf"

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

The ringwraiths is by far the most scary creations ever!
Well, actually it is the black riders I find scary and not the consept of a ringwraith.

What I find scariest is when they hunt Frodo, especially when Frodo and friends look up the hill that they came from and see a black rider on the top. That always make me look over my shoulder. . .half expecting to see a cloaked figure standing behind me.

[TheOrcWithNoName]

Ungoliant - the evil spirit & queen of the Giant Spiders that roamed Middle Earth.

I am not keen on spiders in the real world at the best of times, but given how Tolkien describes the Great Spiders from The Silmarillion, that even the great Melkor himself feared her and ultimately suffered her wrath.

I think of Shelob, but on a much more greater, more terrifying scale than the spider that attacked Frodo. Ungoliant is like my worst ever nightmare, a nightmare that lasts a lifetime of unwoken dread & fear

[Eorl of Rohan]

Here I come drudging up an ancient thread from the bottom of the sea...

MY LIST OF TOP FIVE NIGHTMARE-FUEL TOLKIEN CREATIONS

(01) The Silmarils / For from the Silmarils all chaos and bloodshed hailed...
...... I have always considered their creation to be parallel to the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, who by partaking of the fruit aspired to be more than mortal.

(02) Gurthang, Turin's Bloodthirsty Sentient Sword /
...... "Yes, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay thee swiftly."

(03) Hurin's Eyes (No wonder, considering what he had seen done to his children) /
...... "Hurin had grown grim to look upon: his hair and beard were white and long, but there was a fell light in his eyes."

(04) Feanor and His Oath /
...... Feanor was of the Firstborn and yet bore likeness to the children of Men in his spirit; in he existed both the promise and the downfall of Mankind.

(05) Nazgul / Souless shades steering the steeds of the Revelation. Hey, that alliterates!

[Galadriel]

Hmm tough one. I don't think I have any preferences, but my list would definitely include Minas Morgul, The Watcher in the Water, Ulmo, Balrogs, Nazgul, Sauron, Melkor, Ungoliant and The Two Watchers.

[deagol]

Whatever is beyond the edge of the map.

[Peregrin Took]

Scariest?

The Barrow-downs. Imagine Frodo's fear, being all alone in the gloom and mist of night, before being overcome by the Wight? Alas!

[mark12_30]

Ted Sandyman.

Because I know people like that.

[spirit_of_fire]

What about Gollum, from the woodsmens point of view in the lord of the rings, I think when Gandalf was discussing him to frodo or at the council he said something like: "the woodsmen were terrorfied of some new and unknown horror that crept through windows and stole babies from their cribs in the night".

Or the eyes that kept watching bilbo and the dwarves in the pitch black of mirkwood, they would glow in the dark eerily, stare for minutes at a time, and then blink out, only to appear somewhere closer.

The winner of course has to be melkor though, he is the only reason arda has fear, and few of even the most valiant inhabitants of arda could meet his gaze without trembling.

[Kath]

What I find scariest is when they hunt Frodo, especially when Frodo and friends look up the hill that they came from and see a black rider on the top.
Yes, yes, yes Rune. This is the only bit in the whole of LotR which ever caused me to think twice about sleeping with the lights off ... which for me is the definition of scary!

[Durelin]

...possess the bodies of the dead and seem to hypnotise you with their dreary singing.
That's pretty unsettling.

The Cure seemed to have that effect on many folks some years ago.

Still do, still do. :p

Reading a lot of people's comments about the Nazgul make me think of how often my nightmares are (mostly were) about being chased by an often unseen but terrifying foe.

And the Spiders (those of Mirkwood, Shelob, etc) have an extra layer of terrifyingness (besides simply being spiders, which is scary enough) because they can poison you and wrap you up in a cocoon like a bug. I'm claustraphobic and am terrified of losing control such as one would after being poisoned by Shelob or the Mirkwood spiders...but then the Wight's magic is more frightening in that regard. And at least for the spiders all I need is a flamethrower.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

After the nightmare of last night I am definitely nominating Black Riders, the Ringwraiths. If Sauron tells them to do something they just go out and do it, whatever way possible. They are completely under his command, they have no will of their own. Their master told them to go out to find Frodo, a clueless hobbit, and take the Ring and what was supposed to happen to Frodo? Who knows, really? Not only that, but they were built off of greed, for money and power and glory. In a human, there's not much more frightening. On a final note; the atmosphere of them is, well, fear. That is plain enough as it is, I think.

I didn't used to think them scary, but now that thought is thrown out the window. I find that my mind can make something much more frightening than Peter Jackson can. :rolleyes:

[ecthelion]

Nameless things are one of the scariest things I can think of and I dont even know what they look like.

[Encaitare]

Definitely Gandalf the Grey... uncloaked. ;)

[ninja91]

10. Balrogs. Do not make them mad, unless your idea of a day in the sun is being burnt alive by a magma-whip.

9. Sauron. The engine of destruction in the 3rd Age, and the murderer of millions.

8. Gollum. You never know when he's going to snap, and say GOLLUM...

7. Worgs. Hey cute puppy, do you like when I pet youu....OW! My hand!

6. Morgoth. Would I face Satan on the field of battle? Yes. Would I win? I hope...

5. Nazgul. Relentless pursuers with dark souls and mindless evil...and they are watching you.

4. Ungoliant. A giant spider of unknown origin... but someone out there has to know...

3. Thuringwethil. A vampire. The only one???

2. The Mouth of Sauron. I do not believe he died when Mordor fell. He is still alive...somewhere...watching...

1. The Nameless Things. No question about it, no telling how powerful, ancient, or evil they may be...

[Inziladun]

Simply nothing could be more frightening than the thought of four Hobbits prancing about the Barrow-downs stark naked. :D

Speculating on what that hammer-wielding thing in Moria that was disturbed by Pippin looked like though, has always given me a bit of a turn.

[alatar]

I'd fled Boston, having concluded my business there, and was happy to be quit of its four lane slightly-moving parking lots that look much like major highways, the life-filled crowds on the streets after dark and that *something* that was just missing from every lungful of air. All of this struck me as I drove home from my airport, cruising warily through the wasteland still called McKeesport. It was night (though day doesn't feel much different), and traffic was scattered as everyone was just passing through just like me, to leave the place as quickly as the red lights would allow - why these lights still exist, when there is rarely cross-traffic, I'll never know. I'd left the windows down, catching the scent that will always remind me of the place, a mix of tire-fire and that coppery taste you get from blood in the back of your throat. Ah, the path home.

No one - you might not understand this sentence as I write it - but no one was on the streets or sidewalks, not by the deserted three story bank building, not in the windows of the corner gas station, not even down some black cut between buildings. The city was dead.

It was hours before midnight.

You may find a 'bad part of town,' with a small crowd or two looking hungrily your way 'creepy.' What would you feel when you drive through a smaller city, down Main street, and it's empty, broken, decaying, silent, lifeless?

I wouldn't get out of my car, streets deserted or no.

But there are people there. I know this. I've seen them in the day, I read the police blotter about their actions at night. Thought about riding through some night with a special camera with infrared vision, which would help me see into the dark places. Better would be heat vision, where anything warmer than the street would be visible.

But what if something moved, yet had no heat signature?

That, I'd guess, would be a zombie. Living so close to Pittsburgh, we take our zombies seriously. Have a procedure at work for dealing with a zombie apocalypse (Hint: hire slower-moving coworkers). What's creepy about zombies is that, once, they were your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, and now they're trying to eat you, and you have to separate the walking, staggering undead from their heads to get them to stop. Zombies were human once, but now are predators and you're the prey. Run bunny run! Zombies are relentless - once you're targeted, zombies will pursue you until destroyed or they find another target. You're never safe, as they have but one mission, which is to find a living meal. If you hole up somewhere 'safe,' you may find the next day you are surrounded by a moat of zombies, all moaning, all waiting for you or your defenses to fail.

And you start finding it hard to trust other non-zombies, as if a person is bitten, he/she will turn into a zombie, which you will have to destroy, and as everyone knows this, that this infection is just a misstep a way, no one volunteers any information about 'little scratches' which might be bite marks. One minute that helpful guy is sharing his food; the next he wants some of it back, and he'll get it himself mind you, even though you'd eaten it.

Zombies are a bit like Terminators, for those of you aware of the James Cameron movies of the same name. These are machine zombies, not as human (if at all), and so you don't hesitate taking one down. They too have only one goal, which is to find (usually a specific person) and assassinate you, not caring what collateral damage happens along the way. Terminators are differently difficult as they typically pack some firepower, are much more mobile, and are full of 'tricks' that are used to deceive the unwary. A Terminator may take on another's voice to making you think that the person is there, though it's only the machine-zombie lying in wait.

They employ other deceits, much like Bram Stoker's vampires do. First you think they're dead; the next moment they've arisen to draw your blood. You think you're safe as he's up there and your down here, and then you see Dracula climbing down the sheer wall, spider-like, and then you know that you're not safe at all.

They are coming for you.

...

And that's what the Nazgul are like, to me.

[Galadriel]

Whatever is beyond the edge of the map.

True that. And by the way, I find the end of Maglor really creepy. I wonder what happened to him...
Sad, because he's one of my favourites (HE BEATS DAERON ANY TIME AHA!).

Sorry...

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

Well, I'm a rather morbid person who adores Halloween so what one person would find scary (barrow wights) I wouldn't mind at all.

What I DO find scary though, is the following:

1. Naked Hobbits...do with it what you will, it needs no explanation.

2. Nazgul. While I said that this sort of stuff DIDN'T creep me out... these, however, scare the ever living daylights out of me.

3. The Old Forest. Trees should NOT move (other than swaying with the wind or other tree...things) nor should they be able to attack you. That is NOT a conversation I would like to have with someone in the afterlife...

"So, what'd you do to get here?"

"I'd rather not discuss it."

"Awe, c'mon can't be that bad..."

"Oh, really? Have you ever been attacked by a killer, angry tree?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

4. Ungoliant. Because, well, I just hate spiders period. I won't even go in the bathroom by myself if there's a spider in there. I have to take a whole Army in there to defend me. :p

5. Aragorn on a bad day. I mean, really. Wouldn't you be the slightest bit afraid of an extremely ticked off, king-to-be wielding a sword (mind you that he KNOWS how to use) saying, "Go ahead punk, make my day."

6. And thus, leading to Galadriel all hell bent on becoming queen of the sandbox. Don't get me wrong, I love her character and she's one of my favorites, but Psychotic!Galadriel scares the ever living out of me.

[Galadriel]

Well, I'm a rather morbid person who adores Halloween so what one person would find scary (barrow wights) I wouldn't mind at all.

What I DO find scary though, is the following:

1. Naked Hobbits...do with it what you will, it needs no explanation.

3. The Old Forest. Trees should NOT move (other than swaying with the wind or other tree...things) nor should they be able to attack you. That is NOT a conversation I would like to have with someone in the afterlife...

6. And thus, leading to Galadriel all hell bent on becoming queen of the sandbox. Don't get me wrong, I love her character and she's one of my favorites, but Psychotic!Galadriel scares the ever living out of me.

1. I think someone mentioned that before, so you're not alone :)

3. Oh God, that creeped me out so badly on my first read!

6. I scare the living daylight out of you? :eek: But really, I like Artanis. The sole living member of the house of Finwë (If you don't count Gildor, which I don't think anyone does), and the most powerful woman in Middle-earth. I like it ;)

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

1. I think someone mentioned that before, so you're not alone :)

3. Oh God, that creeped me out so badly on my first read!

6. I scare the living daylight out of you? :eek: But really, I like Artanis. The sole living member of the house of Finwë (If you don't count Gildor, which I don't think anyone does), and the most powerful woman in Middle-earth. I like it

I know! I live in an area with trees surrounding me, so the first time I read it I was like.. "there's no way in heck I'm going out there to be attacked by a tree.." My parents thought I had gone off my rocker. :p

Haha, she's still a favorite character though, don't get me wrong, she just has a tendency to scare the ever living out of me!

Well, correct me if I'm wrong since It's been a WHILE since I've picked up a book, but I suppose they don't count Gildor because he's from the house of Finrod and that's what they associate him with, even though Finrod is a descendant of Finwë, I would say it has more to do with distance in the bloodline I.E. like distant cousins and what not...if that makes sense. And...and *sniffs* I really like Gildor too. I suppose I've always been different though, even if he is distant in the bloodline of Finwë, he still is a descendant and would belong to that house, wouldn't he?

[Galadriel]

I know! I live in an area with trees surrounding me, so the first time I read it I was like.. "there's no way in heck I'm going out there to be attacked by a tree.." My parents thought I had gone off my rocker. :p

Haha, she's still a favorite character though, don't get me wrong, she just has a tendency to scare the ever living out of me!

Well, correct me if I'm wrong since It's been a WHILE since I've picked up a book, but I suppose they don't count Gildor because he's from the house of Finrod and that's what they associate him with, even though Finrod is a descendant of Finwë, I would say it has more to do with distance in the bloodline I.E. like distant cousins and what not...if that makes sense. And...and *sniffs* I really like Gildor too. I suppose I've always been different though, even if he is distant in the bloodline of Finwë, he still is a descendant and would belong to that house, wouldn't he?

You are so lucky. I was raised in a cramped and dirty (not to mention unsafe) city, and I positively would give anything to be out there in a countryside or in the hills. I can't wait to get out of here (one...year...till I go to college!).

Oh relax, I was joking.

Yeah, I agree. And I love Gildor too. I actually thought he would end up being a main character (I mistook him for Legolas lol. Probably because the Bakshi film confused me). Sad he turned out to be like Bombadil. Terribly lovable, hugely entertaining, but no solid role :p

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

You are so lucky. I was raised in a cramped and dirty (not to mention unsafe) city, and I positively would give anything to be out there in a countryside or in the hills. I can't wait to get out of here (one...year...till I go to college!).

Oh relax, I was joking.

Yeah, I agree. And I love Gildor too. I actually thought he would end up being a main character (I mistook him for Legolas lol. Probably because the Bakshi film confused me). Sad he turned out to be like Bombadil. Terribly lovable, hugely entertaining, but no solid role

I couldn't handle it in the city, at all. I sympathize with you, my friend I really do. I don't even really like visiting cities all that much.

:p Hehe.

I thought he would too, actually (being a main character). Oddly enough I've not watched the Bakshi film :eek:. Yes, 'tis very sad indeed *sniffs*. Though I always thought Tom to be a little...out there, haha, but he was loveable none the less!

[Galadriel]

I couldn't handle it in the city, at all. I sympathize with you, my friend I really do. I don't even really like visiting cities all that much.

Hehe.

I thought he would too, actually (being a main character). Oddly enough I've not watched the Bakshi film. Yes, 'tis very sad indeed *sniffs*. Though I always thought Tom to be a little...out there, haha, but he was loveable none the less!

*cries* I wish I was you. My friend loves the city though. She's in love with New York *throws up* I can't handle it. The pollution, the noise, the bloody rude people (excuse my language). I prefer the English countryside. Even London is okay, at least it's historical and interesting. I don't live there though. Such is life.

I used to find Tom a bit irritating at first, till I read The Silmarillion and understood everything a little better. Then I was like 'Oh my God he could be an Ainur" :p

You need to watch it, seriously. I used to get scared out of my pants when I was eight :p Now it seems a little ridiculous, not to mention inaccurate, but you could watch it for laughs :D

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

*cries* I wish I was you. My friend loves the city though. She's in love with New York *throws up* I can't handle it. The pollution, the noise, the bloody rude people (excuse my language). I prefer the English countryside. Even London is okay, at least it's historical and interesting. I don't live there though. Such is life.

I used to find Tom a bit irritating at first, till I read The Silmarillion and understood everything a little better. Then I was like 'Oh my God he could be an Ainur" :p

You need to watch it, seriously. I used to get scared out of my pants when I was eight :p Now it seems a little ridiculous, not to mention inaccurate, but you could watch it for laughs

I've always wanted to go to the English countryside and live *sigh*. I wouldn't be able to handle New York AT ALL. Not to mention getting lost nearly all the time, I would miss the clean country air far too much.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that about Tom, what with him being an Ainur, that is! I found him to be a bit...out there and annoying at first as well, so not alone there either. But all in all he's still a loveable character.

I use to be afraid of Pocahontas :p no joke, the sounds of the drums and whenever I thought they were actually going to kill John I would run in my room and hide. But I shall go off in search of the movie and watch it this weekend.

[Galadriel]

I use to be afraid of Pocahontas :p no joke, the sounds of the drums and whenever I thought they were actually going to kill John I would run in my room and hide. But I shall go off in search of the movie and watch it this weekend.

LOL you sound like me when I used to watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame :p

[Erendis]

LOL you sound like me when I used to watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame :p

Are you serious!I am and was in love with the bells!

As for the initial point,the only thing that ever scarred the hell out of me was the part of Queen Beruthiel in UT.OK,it doesn't seem the scariest but try it on a stormy night,the sea roaming outside of your window and a bat coming to pay you her daily visit :p

As for my beloved Ulairi,I am perhaps the only person in the world that fot over her fear of darkness and the black-hooded figures with their help-well,maybe the image of Strider in Bree helped a little bit in the second,though;)-

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

LOL you sound like me when I used to watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame :p

Oddly enough I was never scared of that one! I adored the bells, like Erendis. The little goat was adorable too!

I could see, Erendis, where you would think the Queen to be scary. Though that sort of thing is right up my alley, so to each his own, heh.

Bwahaha! Yes, the image of Strider in Bree does help with that, doesn't it? Heh, was never really afraid of the dark...just afraid of the things that lurk in it! :D *coughNazgulcough* :p

[Galadriel]

[QUOTE=xMellrynxMaidenx;641538Bwahaha! Yes, the image of Strider in Bree does help with that, doesn't it? Heh, was never really afraid of the dark...just afraid of the things that lurk in it! :D *coughNazgulcough* :p[/QUOTE]

Lol as I say, I'm not afraid of heights, I'm only afraid of hitting the ground!

[Galadriel55]

"You will not find anyone more dangerous than me" (Gandalf)
...Except maybe Turin Turambar when he's mad at you...

[Galadriel]

"You will not find anyone more dangerous than me" (Gandalf)
...Except maybe Turin Turambar when he's mad at you...

No. Except for Mandos when he's annoyed at you O.O Though Túrin comes pretty close :p

[alatar]

"You will not find anyone more dangerous than me" (Gandalf)
...Except maybe Turin Turambar when he's mad at you...Or worse, when Turin has taken a liking to you...;)

[Galadriel55]

hehehe, that's a good one, Alatar!

[Galadriel]

Or worse, when Turin has taken a liking to you...;)

Pretty insightful ;)

[Bom Tombadillo]

Eh. Dangerous or unspeakably horrific stuff doesn't scare me nearly so much - at least with those I can see them, fight them and go down in history as "that idiot who charged at Morgoth with nothing but a stick and an angry look."

No, what really scares me are stealthy things, the ones you don't have any warning of. Especially when you know they're after you, somewhere . . . Most of my worst nightmares involve that feeling of having nowhere to hide. Given that, my list would be thus:

5. Ungoliant/Shelob/the giant spiders of Mirkwood. They fall under the category of "big, obvious menaces" for sure, but this particular geek DOES. NOT. LIKE. SPIDERS.
4. The Dead Men called by Aragorn. I only remembered them after reading about people's fears of the Barrow-Wight (which for some reason fails to scare me at all).
3. Nameless Things. Like the Nazgul, except they take what's scary to me (undefined, unknown, stealthy, relentless things) and become it to the point where it's not quite so scary anymore. They still creep me out veeeery badly though.
2. Thuringwethil. As with the Dead Men, I had forgotten about her until reading some other posts on this thread . . . Then I thought about her and ended up thinking "Oh my God that's scary!"
1. Nazgul. Just enough of everything that scares me, without overdoing it like the Nameless Things.

[Pitchwife]

Lalaith (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=17167).

[alatar]

5. Ungoliant/Shelob/the giant spiders of Mirkwood. They fall under the category of "big, obvious menaces" for sure, but this particular geek DOES. NOT. LIKE. SPIDERS.
4. The Dead Men called by Aragorn. I only remembered them after reading about people's fears of the Barrow-Wight (which for some reason fails to scare me at all).
3. Nameless Things. Like the Nazgul, except they take what's scary to me (undefined, unknown, stealthy, relentless things) and become it to the point where it's not quite so scary anymore. They still creep me out veeeery badly though.
2. Thuringwethil. As with the Dead Men, I had forgotten about her until reading some other posts on this thread . . . Then I thought about her and ended up thinking "Oh my God that's scary!"
1. Nazgul. Just enough of everything that scares me, without overdoing it like the Nameless Things.
Bom, welcome to the Downs!

If I were to analyze your post a bit, I would conclude that you fear the unknown more than the known. Or that your imagination (fex. what *might* be out there) really runs wild, given little data. You would fear less the dungeons of Sauron than the shadows just outside some ruin's door mayhap.

And fear of spiders may be instinctive, right from the DNA.

Anyway, was watching the 80's TV miniseries "V" last week, and, if you don't know, the aliens are reptiles in human costumes. This fact, I guess, was to creep you out, because everyone who sees a Visitor unmasked runs screaming. Julie, the human rebel leader, was psychologically tortured by being made to believe she was being chased by an iguana.

My point (there might be one ;)) is that either the culture has changed, as this iguana looks darn right silly (and after a few episodes of "Man vs Wild," I might be chasing it with a bottle of ketchup), or I have changed, meaning that what you (or society) might think scary today may be silly tomorrow.

Even those things you cannot name.

[Eönwë]

everyone who sees a Visitor unmasked runs screaming.
Now what does this remind me of? ;)

[Bom Tombadillo]

Naked hobbits?

[Galadriel55]

No, this (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=17167)!:eek::eek::eek:

[Eönwë]

Are Gandalf Uncloaked references a dying breed these days? :eek:

[Galadriel55]

Are Gandalf Uncloaked references a dying breed these days?

Did they get out of fashion? :( Or did we just get too tired of them?:p
Balrog wing references too...


New scariest thing ever (aside from Gandalf uncloaking): a Balrog with only one wing! :eek:

[Bom Tombadillo]

I didn't even think of Gandalf uncloaking . . . would somebody pass the Brain Bleach?

[Azrakhor Akallabeth]

Mandos, because he takes his job too seriously, never smiles, and cannot take a joke. :eek:

[Azrakhor Akallabeth]

On second thought- Naked Hobbits running through the downs. :eek:

[Galadriel]

On second thought- Naked Hobbits running through the downs. :eek:

That's been done quite a few times :smokin:

[oddkins]

Along with the arachnids, watcher in the water, and the terrifying barrow wights that freaked me out when I first read it, I have to agree with spirit of fire:

What about Gollum, from the woodsmens point of view in the lord of the rings, I think when Gandalf was discussing him to frodo or at the council he said something like: "the woodsmen were terrorfied of some new and unknown horror that crept through windows and stole babies from their cribs in the night".

Or the eyes that kept watching bilbo and the dwarves in the pitch black of mirkwood, they would glow in the dark eerily, stare for minutes at a time, and then blink out, only to appear somewhere closer.

The winner of course has to be melkor though, he is the only reason arda has fear, and few of even the most valiant inhabitants of arda could meet his gaze without trembling.

All that padding behind them in Moria and the snuffling in Mirkwood when the hobbits were sleeping on the flets, and Frodo saw his pale eyes peering up at him -all before they knew what it was.... ooh, gives me the creeps!

One thing about Melkor, though....he might be the reason Arda has fear, but he was also the only Vala to know fear himself...

[spirit_of_fire]

I had to laugh at all those 'gandalf uncloaked' references, though I must say when I was reading the books I had a very different interpretation of that phrase(one that doesn't involve nakedness in any way, shape or form). If you think about it though, there are dozens of phrasings that can be misconstrued like that, for example: Gandalf cautioning Aragorn not to 'reveal himself' to Sauron after they recovered the palantir.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but the silent watchers at Minas Morgul should be ranked pretty highly in this thread. They were scary I thought, because their power over you wasn't made clear. They threatened you on a spiritual/mental level, from which you cannot defend yourself with a sword or shield. It was an intangible and unknowable horror that preyed on the mind.

Orcs would also have been quite frightening if they weren't so common, if you only take into account how they were created.
They were ordinary elves, taken in the darkness, then twisted and tortured by the dark lord, warped and mutated until they were no longer recognizable as the firstborn that they once were, and in being so, they were instilled with an insatiable hate and hostility towards all life.

[Lalaith]

The fate of Hurin scares me more than anything else in Tolkien:
hen Morgoth cursed Húrin and Morwen and their offspring, and set a doom upon them of darkness and sorrow; and taking Húrin from prison he set him in a chair of stone upon a high place of Thangorodrim. There he was bound by the power of Morgoth, and Morgoth standing beside him cursed him again; and he said: 'Sit now there; and look out upon the lands where evil and despair shall come upon those whom thou lovest. Thous hast dared to mock me, and to question the power of Melkor, Master of the fates of Arda. Therefore with my eyes thou shalt see, and with my ears thou shalt hear; and never shalt thou move from this place until all is fulfilled unto its bitter end.
And even so it came to pass; but it is not said that Húrin asked ever of Morgoth either mercy or death, for himself or for any of his kin

[Galadriel55]

The fate of Hurin scares me more than anything else in Tolkien:

I don't find it scary, but rather doom-tragedy-dread-etc sort of thing... That passage that you uote brings an "evil awe" feeling to me.

[Galadriel]

I don't find it scary, but rather doom-tragedy-dread-etc sort of thing... That passage that you uote brings an "evil awe" feeling to me.

I find the idea of being captured by Morgoth terribly scary -_- Really, Eru help you...

[McCaber]

I don't find it scary, but rather doom-tragedy-dread-etc sort of thing... That passage that you uote brings an "evil awe" feeling to me.

The scary part is what he's forced to watch his children go through. And he cannot do a single thing to help them, just sit there in chains and listen to Morgoth's laughter.

That's the scary part.

[Galadriel55]

The scary part is what he's forced to watch his children go through. And he cannot do a single thing to help them, just sit there in chains and listen to Morgoth's laughter.

That's the scary part.

Agreed.

[Galadriel]

The scary part is what he's forced to watch his children go through. And he cannot do a single thing to help them, just sit there in chains and listen to Morgoth's laughter.

That's the scary part.

True. But I feel awful for those poor parents in Utumno who are forced to watch their children become Orcs – if, of course, the Orcs-were-Elves theory is correct.

[alatar]

True. But I feel awful for those poor parents in Utumno who are forced to watch their children become Orcs – if, of course, the Orcs-were-Elves theory is correct.
Agreed, but what about those watching their children (becoming orcs) who have justified it in some way?

"Our children are getting 'stronger,' 'aligning themselves with the true Lord of Arda,' etc."

Meaning, what about the parents who are sacrificing their children? :eek:

[Galadriel55]

I don't remember if this has been mentioned before, but -

The Oath of Feanor.
The Doom of Noldor.

Both are pretty scary if you ask me.

[Galadriel]

Meaning, what about the parents who are sacrificing their children? :eek:

I'd pity them, but truth be told I'd find it hard to feel bad for them.