Is the barrow-wight the creepiest of Tolkien's creations? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Faramir Jones · 08-24-2010, 01:15 PM

This was inspired by the thread about the scariest of Tolkien's creations. I always thought that the barrow-wight, while not the scariest, was certainly among the creepiest of Tolkien's creations. While the others might kill you, or torture then kill you, would they take your clothes off and put on a white robe?

skip spence · 08-25-2010, 08:23 AM

Yes, there is something very unsound about that groping arm in the dark too, isn't it? Brrr..

alatar · 08-25-2010, 08:19 PM

Did someone say, 'gaudy gold chains?'

mark12_30 · 08-26-2010, 06:31 AM

In order to get rid of him, do I HAVE to sing a Bombadil song?

...."A Elbereth Gilthoniel" just won't do?

Morthoron · 08-26-2010, 08:09 AM

Speaking of singing and wights, I'd like to bore you for a few moments with an excerpt from my 'Monty Python's Fellowship of the Ring' parody. No wights were actually harmed in the making of this satire:

When Frodo awoke, he found himself lying on a cold stone slab. There was a stabbing pain in his arm where the invisible hand had clawed him, but he still managed to struggle upward to lean upon his elbows. Looking about him through the darkness, he knew all too well where he was: a cruel wight had dragged him down into a barrow! Well, isn't this just friggin' wonderful! he thought to himself. But as his eyes became accustomed to the dimness (characters in fantasies can somehow always see underground in the pitch black), he noticed that Sam, Merry and Pippin were laying unconscious to his right. They each lay on a slab, and they were robed in white satin nighties (where the Moody Blues perhaps got the song title "Wights in Night Satin'). Their hands were adorned with bejeweled rings, their heads were crowned in diadems and a sword lay at each of their feet.

From a vestibule or hallway to his left there rose a faint green emanation, a phosphorescent glow straight out of any 1950's B-grade Hollywood horror flick, which was still quite frightening to Frodo as the cinema had not arrived in the Shire as of yet. He heard bones rattling and skeletons scratching as they dragged their white knuckles across the stone floor towards him.

"What skullduggery is this?" Frodo hissed in a barely audible whisper.

Suddenly the rattling and scratching, crawling and scrawling began falling into a cadence, then the cadence into a regular rhythm, and the rhythm thrummed with a beat: scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, and an eerie, mournful voice began to sing in a low moan to the bony beat:

There's a saying going 'round and I begin to think it's true,
It's awful hard to love someone, when they're rotting through and through.
Once I had a lovin' ghoul, but now I start to wonder,
Why I'm sad and lonely, cos' she's buried me six feet under.

Won't somebody go and find my ghoul and bring her to me?
It's awful hard to decompose without a little sympathy.
Once I had a loving ghoul, as good as any on the Downs,
but since my deadhead left me, I'm the saddest wight around -

Because…

From another room of the barrow came faint echoes of music that rapidly rose in timbre and tone until Frodo could make out an entire netherwordly ensemble – a hamstring quartet, perhaps, or an entire Orcestra: there were trombones and organs, tympanis and eardrums, nose flutes and jaw harps, not to mention the hairy bagpipes, all playing ragtime. And the ghostly voice belted out a banshee wail:

I'm just a bag 'o' bones and everywhere I go,
Cadavers are the part I'm playing.
Paid for every bone dance, risen up by necromance -
Ooh, what they're saying!

There will come a day when youth will pass away,
What will they say about me?
When the end comes I know,
they'll say, "He was just a bag 'o' bones"-
Life goes on without me…

And then, to Frodo's surprise, a chorus line of skeletons burst into the room with arm bones locked together and kicking in unison so high he could see their metatarsals and phalanxes flailing in the air. And they were all singing with jawbones flapping out of time with the lyrics:

Cos' I aint got NO BODY!
No body cares for me, no body, no body cares for me!
I'm so cold and stony - cold and stony, cold and stony -
Won't some grave ghoul come take a chance with me…

But before the skeletons could utter another refrain - BOOM! There was a tremendous explosion and the roof of the barrow came crashing down. Frodo could see daylight streaming in from behind a monstrous beaver tail. Astride the giant beaver was none other than Tom Bombadil, who waved at Frodo and shouted, "That racket was loud enough to wake the dead, if you'll pardon the pun!"

And with one final bluesy note from a hidden sax, the wightish skeletons fell into crumpled heaps of bone and dust.

Mithalwen · 08-26-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

I always thought that the barrow-wight, while not the scariest, was certainly among the creepiest of Tolkien's creations. While the others might kill you, or torture then kill you, would they take your clothes off and put on a white robe?

Actually I did find the Barrow wight very scary when I first read LOTR but I was very young and since you put it like that I see that it may also have tallied with a preexisting terror of doctors - the result of being used for medical research as a toddler. It also may have influenced more positively another literary fascination since I wrote my dissertation on the horror stories of Guy de Maupassant and the first of those I ever read was about a severed hand. Yes deeply creepy.

Galadriel · 08-27-2010, 10:18 AM

Probably...but I found Gollum in The Hobbit to be pretty creepy too O.O
But the Two Watchers beat all.

Mithalwen · 08-29-2010, 08:34 AM

You mean in Kirith Ungol.... ? Yes but I only really got to them on the second attempt... !

Faramir Jones · 09-05-2010, 01:22 PM

What confirmed me in my opinion of the Barrow-wight's creepiness was the fact that he broke into Tom Bombadil's house and hid in the bedroom, to await the latter's arrival:

Dark came under Hill. Tom, he lit a candle;
upstairs creaking went, turned the door-handle.
'Hoo, Tom Bombadil! Look what night has brought you!
I'm here behind the door. Now at last I've caught you!
You'd forgotten Barrow-wight dwelling in the old mound
up there on hill-top with the ring of stones round.
He's got loose again. Under earth he'll take you.
Poor Tom Bombadil, pale and cold he'll make you!'

Quite the stalker.

What do people think?

Eomer of the Rohirrim · 09-08-2010, 06:58 AM

A convincing case. You know where you are with Sauron: he wants to enslave you and everyone else. But what does the Wight want from you? White robes, groping arms, hiding in your house, starting websites, it's all a bit much.

Mithalwen · 09-10-2010, 10:07 AM

Maybe though under Middle Earth legislation, Wights have a statutory right of entry to your home? Like the gas board.. of course normal rules seem not to apply to Bombadil...

08-24-2010, 01:15 PM	#1
Faramir Jones Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lonely Isle Posts: 706	Is the barrow-wight the creepiest of Tolkien's creations? This was inspired by the thread about the scariest of Tolkien's creations. I always thought that the barrow-wight, while not the scariest, was certainly among the creepiest of Tolkien's creations. While the others might kill you, or torture then kill you, would they take your clothes off and put on a white robe?

08-25-2010, 08:23 AM	#2
skip spence shadow of a doubt Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the streets Posts: 1,143	Yes, there is something very unsound about that groping arm in the dark too, isn't it? Brrr.. __________________ "You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way" ~ Bob Dylan

08-25-2010, 08:19 PM	#3
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,499	Did someone say, 'gaudy gold chains?' __________________ There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.

08-26-2010, 06:31 AM	#4
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,407	In order to get rid of him, do I HAVE to sing a Bombadil song? ...."A Elbereth Gilthoniel" just won't do? __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

08-26-2010, 08:09 AM	#5
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,528	Speaking of singing and wights, I'd like to bore you for a few moments with an excerpt from my 'Monty Python's Fellowship of the Ring' parody. No wights were actually harmed in the making of this satire: When Frodo awoke, he found himself lying on a cold stone slab. There was a stabbing pain in his arm where the invisible hand had clawed him, but he still managed to struggle upward to lean upon his elbows. Looking about him through the darkness, he knew all too well where he was: a cruel wight had dragged him down into a barrow! Well, isn't this just friggin' wonderful! he thought to himself. But as his eyes became accustomed to the dimness (characters in fantasies can somehow always see underground in the pitch black), he noticed that Sam, Merry and Pippin were laying unconscious to his right. They each lay on a slab, and they were robed in white satin nighties (where the Moody Blues perhaps got the song title "Wights in Night Satin'). Their hands were adorned with bejeweled rings, their heads were crowned in diadems and a sword lay at each of their feet. From a vestibule or hallway to his left there rose a faint green emanation, a phosphorescent glow straight out of any 1950's B-grade Hollywood horror flick, which was still quite frightening to Frodo as the cinema had not arrived in the Shire as of yet. He heard bones rattling and skeletons scratching as they dragged their white knuckles across the stone floor towards him. "What skullduggery is this?" Frodo hissed in a barely audible whisper. Suddenly the rattling and scratching, crawling and scrawling began falling into a cadence, then the cadence into a regular rhythm, and the rhythm thrummed with a beat: scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, scrawl-crawl-scratch-scratch-rattle-rattle-scratch, and an eerie, mournful voice began to sing in a low moan to the bony beat: There's a saying going 'round and I begin to think it's true, It's awful hard to love someone, when they're rotting through and through. Once I had a lovin' ghoul, but now I start to wonder, Why I'm sad and lonely, cos' she's buried me six feet under. Won't somebody go and find my ghoul and bring her to me? It's awful hard to decompose without a little sympathy. Once I had a loving ghoul, as good as any on the Downs, but since my deadhead left me, I'm the saddest wight around - Because… From another room of the barrow came faint echoes of music that rapidly rose in timbre and tone until Frodo could make out an entire netherwordly ensemble – a hamstring quartet, perhaps, or an entire Orcestra: there were trombones and organs, tympanis and eardrums, nose flutes and jaw harps, not to mention the hairy bagpipes, all playing ragtime. And the ghostly voice belted out a banshee wail: I'm just a bag 'o' bones and everywhere I go, Cadavers are the part I'm playing. Paid for every bone dance, risen up by necromance - Ooh, what they're saying! There will come a day when youth will pass away, What will they say about me? When the end comes I know, they'll say, "He was just a bag 'o' bones"- Life goes on without me… And then, to Frodo's surprise, a chorus line of skeletons burst into the room with arm bones locked together and kicking in unison so high he could see their metatarsals and phalanxes flailing in the air. And they were all singing with jawbones flapping out of time with the lyrics: Cos' I aint got NO BODY! No body cares for me, no body, no body cares for me! I'm so cold and stony - cold and stony, cold and stony - Won't some grave ghoul come take a chance with me… But before the skeletons could utter another refrain - BOOM! There was a tremendous explosion and the roof of the barrow came crashing down. Frodo could see daylight streaming in from behind a monstrous beaver tail. Astride the giant beaver was none other than Tom Bombadil, who waved at Frodo and shouted, "That racket was loud enough to wake the dead, if you'll pardon the pun!" And with one final bluesy note from a hidden sax, the wightish skeletons fell into crumpled heaps of bone and dust. __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.

08-27-2010, 10:18 AM	#7
Galadriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion Posts: 551	Probably...but I found Gollum in The Hobbit to be pretty creepy too O.O But the Two Watchers beat all. __________________ "Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?" – Tom Bombadil

08-29-2010, 08:34 AM	#8
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,916	You mean in Kirith Ungol.... ? Yes but I only really got to them on the second attempt... ! __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

09-05-2010, 01:22 PM	#9
Faramir Jones Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lonely Isle Posts: 706	Hiding in Tom's bedroom What confirmed me in my opinion of the Barrow-wight's creepiness was the fact that he broke into Tom Bombadil's house and hid in the bedroom, to await the latter's arrival: Dark came under Hill. Tom, he lit a candle; upstairs creaking went, turned the door-handle. 'Hoo, Tom Bombadil! Look what night has brought you! I'm here behind the door. Now at last I've caught you! You'd forgotten Barrow-wight dwelling in the old mound up there on hill-top with the ring of stones round. He's got loose again. Under earth he'll take you. Poor Tom Bombadil, pale and cold he'll make you!' Quite the stalker. What do people think?

09-08-2010, 06:58 AM	#10
Eomer of the Rohirrim Auspicious Wraith Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,992	A convincing case. You know where you are with Sauron: he wants to enslave you and everyone else. But what does the Wight want from you? White robes, groping arms, hiding in your house, starting websites, it's all a bit much. __________________ Los Ingobernables de Harlond

09-10-2010, 10:07 AM	#11
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,916	Maybe though under Middle Earth legislation, Wights have a statutory right of entry to your home? Like the gas board.. of course normal rules seem not to apply to Bombadil... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace