The Nightmare World of Tolkien

[Laitoste]

I vividly remember a dream/nightmare I had when I first read The Lord of the Rings. I was being chased by Gollum, who was riding one of the Ringwraiths horses and wanted to strangle me. But other than that one instance, I cannot say I have ever been frightened of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, I'm intrigued by what is supposed to be scary. The Witchking's line, that Lal quoted earlier, is probably one of my favorites in the book. It's meant to be read with such malice, such hate...and though I am no dramatist, I can't help but read it out loud... But why else do I like it? I can't say, exactly. Perhaps it's because I like to imagine what I would do in the face of such power--or with that power. Perhaps not. It is fun to think about the fear you could inspire in people, if you really wanted to.