Do the Ringwraiths feel pain?

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by kimsmarkin

I do not know that the Nazgul were afraid of water. Do the books say?

There is a discussion of this in "Unfinished Tales", spec in JRRT's essay "The Hunt for the Ring". Tolkien did explicitly state that ringwraiths were afraid of water and would not willingly enter it.

However, CT, in his notes on the essay observed that this left unexplained how the ringwraiths had crossed Greyflood on their journey north (where the only crossing was a dangerous ford - same place where Boromir lost his horse). CT commented that his "father did note that the idea (fear of water) was indeed difficult to sustain."

So, while Tolkien did present the idea in some of his writings, he also was uncertain whether the idea fit within the story.