[Elenhin]

Originally posted by Man-of-the-Wold:
<STRONG>They are junior-league versions of the Nazgul.</STRONG>

Hm. The Nazgul were Men, whose spirits were bound to their bodies (which faded). The Barrow-wights were spirits which came and inhabited dead bodies.

<STRONG>Between the Necromancer's and the Witch-King's power, they took men of Carn Dum (the Evil Hill Men of Rhudaur or others) who they had corrupted, and gave them something that turned them eventually into the haunting, life-lusting spirits that inhabited and terrorized the barrows, which were originally the graves of noble, clean men of the First and Third ages.</STRONG>

You have to admit that there is little in the texts which suggests this. I can't think of anything except for a Ring of Power which could separate a Man from his body and still keep the spirit in Arda.

<STRONG>If you doubt the power of the Witch-King to do this, think of the Morgul-knife. It's part of a theme in Book I.</STRONG>

The Morgul-knife would have made Frodo a lesser Wraith, similar to the Nazgul. The Ring-Wraiths were not able to leave their bodies and inhabit other bodies themselves, but they (for example) needed Sauron's help to reform after the incident at the Fords of Bruinen.

<STRONG>Orc spirits! If that were an Orc-like arm that Frodo slashed then I think that would have been noted.</STRONG>

Orc spirits. The Barrow-wights inhabited Mannish bodies, be they Orc-spirits or Man-spirits or Elf-spirits.

<STRONG>I don't feel it would have been possibl to have made an Elf evil enough to become a wight, even if their spirit could be so enslaved.</STRONG>

I wrote you more about evil Elves, and specifically Orc-spirits, in the 'What was Sauron' thread, so I'll let this matter rest in this one.

<STRONG>Because the wights are maintained by the spell that Angmar put on the Barrow, the opening of it and the exposing of its treasure breaks the spell. This destroys them much as the Witch-King was unraveled by Merry and Eowyn. At that point they simply vanish into the void.</STRONG>

Huh? Barrow-wights vanishing to the Void? First of all, I don't even believe that the Witch-King was finally killed by Eowyn or Merry, much less that he vanished to the Void! Only Melkor was sent there.

I agree with you on the role of the treasures of the barrows, though. When the treasure is scattered, the spell of the Witch-King is broken and the tormented Wight is released - to go to Mandos or the place where Men go when they die or to roam in Middle-earth as a bodiless spirit. They do not go to the Void, or at least Tolkien never suggested that.