Scariest Thing In All Of Tolkien's Creation...Ever

[Andsigil]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Reading over the Sinking of Numenor thread and then coming to this thread puts ideas in my head.

Tolkien loves the sea--witness Ulmo and the elves--but does he have any terrifying sea creatures?

Yes,

Read the part in the Fellowship when the Council discussed the idea of throwing the ring into the ocean.

p. 280
(Glorfindel) "Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe."
"Not safe for ever", said Gandalf, "There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change."

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Andsigil

Yes,

Read the part in the Fellowship when the Council discussed the idea of throwing the ring into the ocean.

p. 280
(Glorfindel) "Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe."
"Not safe for ever", said Gandalf, "There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change."

Well, "things" by itself doesn't say anything

But combined with what I posted above, we can conclude at least one thing: the sea is not completely deserted

Yes, but likely, there is something which might eventually maybe even bring the Ring to Sauron? Or how else to read this remark? Considering the opposition water X evil, which is very strong in all Tolkien's works, it seems unlikely that there would be really Sauron's or Morgoth's monsters down there - rather, I would think there may be something like Gollum, which could eventually bring the Ring to Sauron... and as for the "voices terrible to mortal ears" and the things that have these voices, I am inclined to believe in some kind of creatures which are not necessarily evil, but it will be advisable for the "dry-walkers" not to meddle with them - something like, for example, Huorns.

[Rumil]

Oh, Bethberry Andsigil and Legate,

how could you forget

There are many monsters in the Sea,
But none so perilous as HE,
Old horny Fastitocalon,
Whose mighty kindred all have gone

[Boromir88]

The thing that has eyes for hands and devours people, oops wrong movie. Umm an army of trained, yet wild boars...wait that's not from the books.

Ok, I got it. The imagery of Grima slithering on the floor or the Mouth of Sauron's horse.

[Groin Redbeard]

10. Gollum. All that talk about him crawling through windows and stealing babies just makes me shudder.

9. The Watcher.

8. Balrogs, specifically the Balrog that overthrew the kingdom of Khazad-Dum. I can just picture him reeking havoc across the great halls and mines.

7. The Old Forest. Those are some angry trees!

6. The dungeons of Barad-Dur. It is scary to think about all the possible devices that Sauron might have used on his prisoners.

5. The far north. It's where the greatest evil always comes out of and there just might be some remnants of that ancient evil left.

4. Carcharoth

3. The Barrow Wights. The thing that scares me the most is to think that they were once great men now fallen and cursed by the Witch King.

2. Morgoth, the power-fullest of all the Valar. The depiction of him fighting Fingolfin is just amazing.

1. Nazgul, by far the scariest things that Sauron ever created. The concept of the living dead has been around for years but Tolkien really nails it with these nine.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Groin Redbeard

The Barrow Wights. The thing that scares me the most is to think that they were once great men now fallen and cursed by the Witch King.

Actually, not, mind you. That's one common mistake. The Barrow-Wights are evil spirits which have nothing to do with the Dúnedain or Men from there. The spirits of the Men from there hopefully already departed to where Men go after death. Cf. for example LotR, Appendix A, I, iii:

It was at this time that an end came of the Dúnedain of Cardolan, and evil spirits out of Angmar and Rhudaur entered into the deserted mounds and dwelt there.

[Groin Redbeard]

Rhudaur? That's the realm where Rivendell is, how can evil spirits dwell there? Hmm... I'm going to have to look up on that.

Thanks ,Legate, for clearing me up on that and sparking my interest in it!

[Mithalwen]

for she is one of my favourites but maybe Galadriel - think of the effect on that toughest of all tough nuts Gimli:

The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears. Gimli wept openly.

"I have looked the last upon that which was fairest," he said to Legolas his companion. "Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift." He put his hand to his breast.

"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!" .

The power to make a dwarf cry - now THAT is scary.

[A Little Green]

Now that I came to think about it, the only things that really creep me out in Tolkien's books are hints - hints such as the given examples about things in the Sea, or rumours of darkness gathering in the East in the very beginning (that is one thing I forgot to mention in my last post, though it is probably one of the most disquieting things in the whole LotR), or dark things that creep in the northern wilderness.

The proud, ambitious people who fall into madness are a different thing entirely, they are, as has been said, scary in a different way. But scary nonetheless, I insist.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

for she is one of my favourites but maybe Galadriel - think of the effect on that toughest of all tough nuts Gimli:

The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears. Gimli wept openly.

"I have looked the last upon that which was fairest," he said to Legolas his companion. "Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift." He put his hand to his breast.

"Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!" .

The power to make a dwarf cry - now THAT is scary.

She always makes me think of Margaret Thatcher (with a better haircut, nicer clothes and less of a liking for South American dictators) with her aura of frightening determination. Like that alleged story about her having a meal with her Cabinet where she was asked what she wanted:
Mrs T: "I'll have the steak."
Waiter: "And what about the vegetables, madam?"
Mrs T: "They'll have what I'm having."

Or was that just Spitting Image?

[Gothbogg the Ripper]

The scariest thing Tolkien ever created? it's a tie.
On the one hand you've got Smeagol, a psychotic, schizophrenic killer who would kill his own mother if it meant he got his mitts on the Ring.
And on the other you've got Shelob, a grotesque, bulbous spider that would just love to eat you alive.
I can't decide between these two.

[Eönwë]

The Nazgul taking off their clothes (stop thinking of uncloaking jokes!) in order to become fully invisibe

[Gordis]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

The Nazgul taking off their clothes (stop thinking of uncloaking jokes!) in order to become fully invisibe

What? are you scared by grey robes and helms of silver?

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Gordis

What? are you scared by grey robes and helms of silver?

I mean

Originally Posted by The Hunt for the Ring

It is probable that the Captain took the one horse that remained (he may have had strength to withdraw it from the flood) and unclad, naked, invisible, rode as swift as he could back to Mordor

[bolding mine]

[Gordis]

I know... we are just discussing naked nazgul here http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=15176

[Elmo]

I'm not totally sure but I don't think anyone has mention the cursed men of Erech.

The dead are following

Baldor's skeleton and his finger marks on the door.

The way is shut.
It was made by those who are Dead.
And the Dead keep it.
Until the time comes.
The way is shut.

All frankly terrifying.

[thewichtking]

i think it's pretty scary when the orc's cut off the head's of all the dead gondor soldiers and then catapult them at the city that scared me a lot when i first read the books

_________________________________________________
something, something, something, musiiiiiic and strike a pose!
"Count Olaf"

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

The ringwraiths is by far the most scary creations ever!
Well, actually it is the black riders I find scary and not the consept of a ringwraith.

What I find scariest is when they hunt Frodo, especially when Frodo and friends look up the hill that they came from and see a black rider on the top. That always make me look over my shoulder. . .half expecting to see a cloaked figure standing behind me.

[TheOrcWithNoName]

Ungoliant - the evil spirit & queen of the Giant Spiders that roamed Middle Earth.

I am not keen on spiders in the real world at the best of times, but given how Tolkien describes the Great Spiders from The Silmarillion, that even the great Melkor himself feared her and ultimately suffered her wrath.

I think of Shelob, but on a much more greater, more terrifying scale than the spider that attacked Frodo. Ungoliant is like my worst ever nightmare, a nightmare that lasts a lifetime of unwoken dread & fear

[Eorl of Rohan]

Here I come drudging up an ancient thread from the bottom of the sea...

MY LIST OF TOP FIVE NIGHTMARE-FUEL TOLKIEN CREATIONS

(01) The Silmarils / For from the Silmarils all chaos and bloodshed hailed...
...... I have always considered their creation to be parallel to the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, who by partaking of the fruit aspired to be more than mortal.

(02) Gurthang, Turin's Bloodthirsty Sentient Sword /
...... "Yes, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay thee swiftly."

(03) Hurin's Eyes (No wonder, considering what he had seen done to his children) /
...... "Hurin had grown grim to look upon: his hair and beard were white and long, but there was a fell light in his eyes."

(04) Feanor and His Oath /
...... Feanor was of the Firstborn and yet bore likeness to the children of Men in his spirit; in he existed both the promise and the downfall of Mankind.

(05) Nazgul / Souless shades steering the steeds of the Revelation. Hey, that alliterates!

[deagol]

Whatever is beyond the edge of the map.

[Peregrin Took]

Scariest?

The Barrow-downs. Imagine Frodo's fear, being all alone in the gloom and mist of night, before being overcome by the Wight? Alas!

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by deagol

Whatever is beyond the edge of the map.

True that. And by the way, I find the end of Maglor really creepy. I wonder what happened to him...
Sad, because he's one of my favourites (HE BEATS DAERON ANY TIME AHA!).

Sorry...

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

Well, I'm a rather morbid person who adores Halloween so what one person would find scary (barrow wights) I wouldn't mind at all.

What I DO find scary though, is the following:

1. Naked Hobbits...do with it what you will, it needs no explanation.

2. Nazgul. While I said that this sort of stuff DIDN'T creep me out... these, however, scare the ever living daylights out of me.

3. The Old Forest. Trees should NOT move (other than swaying with the wind or other tree...things) nor should they be able to attack you. That is NOT a conversation I would like to have with someone in the afterlife...

"So, what'd you do to get here?"

"I'd rather not discuss it."

"Awe, c'mon can't be that bad..."

"Oh, really? Have you ever been attacked by a killer, angry tree?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

4. Ungoliant. Because, well, I just hate spiders period. I won't even go in the bathroom by myself if there's a spider in there. I have to take a whole Army in there to defend me.

5. Aragorn on a bad day. I mean, really. Wouldn't you be the slightest bit afraid of an extremely ticked off, king-to-be wielding a sword (mind you that he KNOWS how to use) saying, "Go ahead punk, make my day."

6. And thus, leading to Galadriel all hell bent on becoming queen of the sandbox. Don't get me wrong, I love her character and she's one of my favorites, but Psychotic!Galadriel scares the ever living out of me.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by xMellrynxMaidenx

Well, I'm a rather morbid person who adores Halloween so what one person would find scary (barrow wights) I wouldn't mind at all.

What I DO find scary though, is the following:

1. Naked Hobbits...do with it what you will, it needs no explanation.

3. The Old Forest. Trees should NOT move (other than swaying with the wind or other tree...things) nor should they be able to attack you. That is NOT a conversation I would like to have with someone in the afterlife...

6. And thus, leading to Galadriel all hell bent on becoming queen of the sandbox. Don't get me wrong, I love her character and she's one of my favorites, but Psychotic!Galadriel scares the ever living out of me.

1. I think someone mentioned that before, so you're not alone

3. Oh God, that creeped me out so badly on my first read!

6. I scare the living daylight out of you? But really, I like Artanis. The sole living member of the house of Finwë (If you don't count Gildor, which I don't think anyone does), and the most powerful woman in Middle-earth. I like it

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

1. I think someone mentioned that before, so you're not alone

3. Oh God, that creeped me out so badly on my first read!

6. I scare the living daylight out of you? But really, I like Artanis. The sole living member of the house of Finwë (If you don't count Gildor, which I don't think anyone does), and the most powerful woman in Middle-earth. I like it

I know! I live in an area with trees surrounding me, so the first time I read it I was like.. "there's no way in heck I'm going out there to be attacked by a tree.." My parents thought I had gone off my rocker.

Haha, she's still a favorite character though, don't get me wrong, she just has a tendency to scare the ever living out of me!

Well, correct me if I'm wrong since It's been a WHILE since I've picked up a book, but I suppose they don't count Gildor because he's from the house of Finrod and that's what they associate him with, even though Finrod is a descendant of Finwë, I would say it has more to do with distance in the bloodline I.E. like distant cousins and what not...if that makes sense. And...and *sniffs* I really like Gildor too. I suppose I've always been different though, even if he is distant in the bloodline of Finwë, he still is a descendant and would belong to that house, wouldn't he?

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by xMellrynxMaidenx

I know! I live in an area with trees surrounding me, so the first time I read it I was like.. "there's no way in heck I'm going out there to be attacked by a tree.." My parents thought I had gone off my rocker.

Haha, she's still a favorite character though, don't get me wrong, she just has a tendency to scare the ever living out of me!

Well, correct me if I'm wrong since It's been a WHILE since I've picked up a book, but I suppose they don't count Gildor because he's from the house of Finrod and that's what they associate him with, even though Finrod is a descendant of Finwë, I would say it has more to do with distance in the bloodline I.E. like distant cousins and what not...if that makes sense. And...and *sniffs* I really like Gildor too. I suppose I've always been different though, even if he is distant in the bloodline of Finwë, he still is a descendant and would belong to that house, wouldn't he?

You are so lucky. I was raised in a cramped and dirty (not to mention unsafe) city, and I positively would give anything to be out there in a countryside or in the hills. I can't wait to get out of here (one...year...till I go to college!).

Oh relax, I was joking.

Yeah, I agree. And I love Gildor too. I actually thought he would end up being a main character (I mistook him for Legolas lol. Probably because the Bakshi film confused me). Sad he turned out to be like Bombadil. Terribly lovable, hugely entertaining, but no solid role

[mark12_30]

Ted Sandyman.

Because I know people like that.

[spirit_of_fire]

What about Gollum, from the woodsmens point of view in the lord of the rings, I think when Gandalf was discussing him to frodo or at the council he said something like: "the woodsmen were terrorfied of some new and unknown horror that crept through windows and stole babies from their cribs in the night".

Or the eyes that kept watching bilbo and the dwarves in the pitch black of mirkwood, they would glow in the dark eerily, stare for minutes at a time, and then blink out, only to appear somewhere closer.

The winner of course has to be melkor though, he is the only reason arda has fear, and few of even the most valiant inhabitants of arda could meet his gaze without trembling.

[Kath]

What I find scariest is when they hunt Frodo, especially when Frodo and friends look up the hill that they came from and see a black rider on the top.

Yes, yes, yes Rune. This is the only bit in the whole of LotR which ever caused me to think twice about sleeping with the lights off ... which for me is the definition of scary!

[Durelin]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

The Cure seemed to have that effect on many folks some years ago.

Still do, still do.

Reading a lot of people's comments about the Nazgul make me think of how often my nightmares are (mostly were) about being chased by an often unseen but terrifying foe.

And the Spiders (those of Mirkwood, Shelob, etc) have an extra layer of terrifyingness (besides simply being spiders, which is scary enough) because they can poison you and wrap you up in a cocoon like a bug. I'm claustraphobic and am terrified of losing control such as one would after being poisoned by Shelob or the Mirkwood spiders...but then the Wight's magic is more frightening in that regard. And at least for the spiders all I need is a flamethrower.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

After the nightmare of last night I am definitely nominating Black Riders, the Ringwraiths. If Sauron tells them to do something they just go out and do it, whatever way possible. They are completely under his command, they have no will of their own. Their master told them to go out to find Frodo, a clueless hobbit, and take the Ring and what was supposed to happen to Frodo? Who knows, really? Not only that, but they were built off of greed, for money and power and glory. In a human, there's not much more frightening. On a final note; the atmosphere of them is, well, fear. That is plain enough as it is, I think.

I didn't used to think them scary, but now that thought is thrown out the window. I find that my mind can make something much more frightening than Peter Jackson can.

[oddkins]

Along with the arachnids, watcher in the water, and the terrifying barrow wights that freaked me out when I first read it, I have to agree with spirit of fire:

Originally Posted by spirit_of_fire

What about Gollum, from the woodsmens point of view in the lord of the rings, I think when Gandalf was discussing him to frodo or at the council he said something like: "the woodsmen were terrorfied of some new and unknown horror that crept through windows and stole babies from their cribs in the night".

Or the eyes that kept watching bilbo and the dwarves in the pitch black of mirkwood, they would glow in the dark eerily, stare for minutes at a time, and then blink out, only to appear somewhere closer.

The winner of course has to be melkor though, he is the only reason arda has fear, and few of even the most valiant inhabitants of arda could meet his gaze without trembling.

All that padding behind them in Moria and the snuffling in Mirkwood when the hobbits were sleeping on the flets, and Frodo saw his pale eyes peering up at him -all before they knew what it was.... ooh, gives me the creeps!

One thing about Melkor, though....he might be the reason Arda has fear, but he was also the only Vala to know fear himself...

[spirit_of_fire]

I had to laugh at all those 'gandalf uncloaked' references, though I must say when I was reading the books I had a very different interpretation of that phrase(one that doesn't involve nakedness in any way, shape or form). If you think about it though, there are dozens of phrasings that can be misconstrued like that, for example: Gandalf cautioning Aragorn not to 'reveal himself' to Sauron after they recovered the palantir.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but the silent watchers at Minas Morgul should be ranked pretty highly in this thread. They were scary I thought, because their power over you wasn't made clear. They threatened you on a spiritual/mental level, from which you cannot defend yourself with a sword or shield. It was an intangible and unknowable horror that preyed on the mind.

Orcs would also have been quite frightening if they weren't so common, if you only take into account how they were created.
They were ordinary elves, taken in the darkness, then twisted and tortured by the dark lord, warped and mutated until they were no longer recognizable as the firstborn that they once were, and in being so, they were instilled with an insatiable hate and hostility towards all life.

[Lalaith]

The fate of Hurin scares me more than anything else in Tolkien:

hen Morgoth cursed Húrin and Morwen and their offspring, and set a doom upon them of darkness and sorrow; and taking Húrin from prison he set him in a chair of stone upon a high place of Thangorodrim. There he was bound by the power of Morgoth, and Morgoth standing beside him cursed him again; and he said: 'Sit now there; and look out upon the lands where evil and despair shall come upon those whom thou lovest. Thous hast dared to mock me, and to question the power of Melkor, Master of the fates of Arda. Therefore with my eyes thou shalt see, and with my ears thou shalt hear; and never shalt thou move from this place until all is fulfilled unto its bitter end.
And even so it came to pass; but it is not said that Húrin asked ever of Morgoth either mercy or death, for himself or for any of his kin

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

The fate of Hurin scares me more than anything else in Tolkien:

I don't find it scary, but rather doom-tragedy-dread-etc sort of thing... That passage that you uote brings an "evil awe" feeling to me.

[ninja91]

10. Balrogs. Do not make them mad, unless your idea of a day in the sun is being burnt alive by a magma-whip.

9. Sauron. The engine of destruction in the 3rd Age, and the murderer of millions.

8. Gollum. You never know when he's going to snap, and say GOLLUM...

7. Worgs. Hey cute puppy, do you like when I pet youu....OW! My hand!

6. Morgoth. Would I face Satan on the field of battle? Yes. Would I win? I hope...

5. Nazgul. Relentless pursuers with dark souls and mindless evil...and they are watching you.

4. Ungoliant. A giant spider of unknown origin... but someone out there has to know...

3. Thuringwethil. A vampire. The only one???

2. The Mouth of Sauron. I do not believe he died when Mordor fell. He is still alive...somewhere...watching...

1. The Nameless Things. No question about it, no telling how powerful, ancient, or evil they may be...

[Inziladun]

Simply nothing could be more frightening than the thought of four Hobbits prancing about the Barrow-downs stark naked.

Speculating on what that hammer-wielding thing in Moria that was disturbed by Pippin looked like though, has always given me a bit of a turn.

[alatar]

I'd fled Boston, having concluded my business there, and was happy to be quit of its four lane slightly-moving parking lots that look much like major highways, the life-filled crowds on the streets after dark and that *something* that was just missing from every lungful of air. All of this struck me as I drove home from my airport, cruising warily through the wasteland still called McKeesport. It was night (though day doesn't feel much different), and traffic was scattered as everyone was just passing through just like me, to leave the place as quickly as the red lights would allow - why these lights still exist, when there is rarely cross-traffic, I'll never know. I'd left the windows down, catching the scent that will always remind me of the place, a mix of tire-fire and that coppery taste you get from blood in the back of your throat. Ah, the path home.

No one - you might not understand this sentence as I write it - but no one was on the streets or sidewalks, not by the deserted three story bank building, not in the windows of the corner gas station, not even down some black cut between buildings. The city was dead.

It was hours before midnight.

You may find a 'bad part of town,' with a small crowd or two looking hungrily your way 'creepy.' What would you feel when you drive through a smaller city, down Main street, and it's empty, broken, decaying, silent, lifeless?

I wouldn't get out of my car, streets deserted or no.

But there are people there. I know this. I've seen them in the day, I read the police blotter about their actions at night. Thought about riding through some night with a special camera with infrared vision, which would help me see into the dark places. Better would be heat vision, where anything warmer than the street would be visible.

But what if something moved, yet had no heat signature?

That, I'd guess, would be a zombie. Living so close to Pittsburgh, we take our zombies seriously. Have a procedure at work for dealing with a zombie apocalypse (Hint: hire slower-moving coworkers). What's creepy about zombies is that, once, they were your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, and now they're trying to eat you, and you have to separate the walking, staggering undead from their heads to get them to stop. Zombies were human once, but now are predators and you're the prey. Run bunny run! Zombies are relentless - once you're targeted, zombies will pursue you until destroyed or they find another target. You're never safe, as they have but one mission, which is to find a living meal. If you hole up somewhere 'safe,' you may find the next day you are surrounded by a moat of zombies, all moaning, all waiting for you or your defenses to fail.

And you start finding it hard to trust other non-zombies, as if a person is bitten, he/she will turn into a zombie, which you will have to destroy, and as everyone knows this, that this infection is just a misstep a way, no one volunteers any information about 'little scratches' which might be bite marks. One minute that helpful guy is sharing his food; the next he wants some of it back, and he'll get it himself mind you, even though you'd eaten it.

Zombies are a bit like Terminators, for those of you aware of the James Cameron movies of the same name. These are machine zombies, not as human (if at all), and so you don't hesitate taking one down. They too have only one goal, which is to find (usually a specific person) and assassinate you, not caring what collateral damage happens along the way. Terminators are differently difficult as they typically pack some firepower, are much more mobile, and are full of 'tricks' that are used to deceive the unwary. A Terminator may take on another's voice to making you think that the person is there, though it's only the machine-zombie lying in wait.

They employ other deceits, much like Bram Stoker's vampires do. First you think they're dead; the next moment they've arisen to draw your blood. You think you're safe as he's up there and your down here, and then you see Dracula climbing down the sheer wall, spider-like, and then you know that you're not safe at all.

They are coming for you.

...

And that's what the Nazgul are like, to me.

[Galadriel55]

"You will not find anyone more dangerous than me" (Gandalf)
...Except maybe Turin Turambar when he's mad at you...