Morgoth once had a army of corrupted maiar?

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

The question arises, what were the "dreadful spirits" that animated the werewolves?

Not all spirits are Ainu or Eruhini. The description of Creation somehow skips quickly over the flora and fauna and other things "not quite human". Animals are spirits - both normal animals, and the not so normal ones. There are Eagles, who seem to be powerful creatures above the animal kingdom, serving the good cause. Why not have other powerful "animal-like" spirits, in the form of wolves, who serve the evil cause? There are animal-like creatures with who knows what spirits and minds, who came who knows whence, like the Watcher in the Water and whatever self-serving mysterious things Gandalf saw in the depths of Moria. Dragons and Fell Beasts, which were bred - but 1) from what and 2) are intelligent beings. There are tree spirits - Ents, Huorns, Old Man Willows - even regular trees can "talk". There are completely baffling and purposefully unexplained spirits in blue jackets and yellow boots. And doubtless there are spirits for which no standard shape can be defined.

Werewolves are just a subset of spirits (minds? existences? consciousnesses?) that inhabit Middle-earth. Some are more powerful than others. Some serve good, some serve evil, some serve no one in particular. Are they all rogue Ainu? We know at least some are not, and given that there were only 7 Balrogs this would be a staggering number of rogue Maiar unaccounted for.

If I had to commit to an explanation, I would put the undefined spirits as clumps of "concentrated creation" - not totally free spirits as true Eruhini, spirits who are perhaps more tied to the world around them - maybe who are an expression of the world around them. Does the Ent create the forest, or the forest creates the Ent? There is absolutely no evidence to this view as opposed to others. I simply prefer Middle-earth with supernatural as part of the natural, a world where all sorts of unexplained creatures can co-exist without contradicting the rule of uniqueness of Eruhini in Creation. I prefer a world where Barazinbar really does rise in vengeful anger against travelers, and it's not just a quirk of weather patterns. I think it's more fun that way.

Interestingly, sticking with that line of thought, that still leaves Orcs in the same dimension as Elves and Men. Creatures that kinda fend for themselves, are not attached to any particular element of the world, are free to choose their path. By the nature of their corruption they were made incompatible with the sunlight, and by a long history of wars they became soldiers and bandits. But they are technically still capable of organization, and of sympathy - and I even wanna say that they could hypothetically be capable of kindness... maybe. Maybe not. They are certainly capable of friendship, but so far as we know selfishness always trumped all the seedlings of good qualities.