[Dain]

I think the Vampire connection is an intreguing one. I think that "the Necromancer" was the name given to the inhabitor of Dol Goldur driven out by the White Council in the Hobbit, later discovered to be Sauron. However, Sauron's earlier association with Vampires is interesting. There are quite a few things in ME that are taken for granted by the other and not explained very well, which is a bit atypical. Vampires seem to be one of them, as is this use of the term Necromancer without any support. But, since Tolkien obviously knew what it meant, interesting theories arise. Treating Vampires in the same manner, however, seems problematic. Vampire is not an English word--it has Slavic or even Hungarian origins, it seems, and did not appear in English until the 18th C (after a quick search). I'm not sure exactly what is involved in the definition of a Vampire, but clearly they are powerful and dangerous beings in ME. Just where they fit in, I don't know.