Who was the old man?

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Mansun

That has already been answered in the very first thread post. A phantom = a spirit? Not impossible.

Sorry; I'm not willing to make that leap without further evidence. Gimli's remark is not that of an expert. He uses the word phantom as he's not sure how to describe the event otherwise. Later he wants to look for boot prints, which, if he truly believed it was a phantom/spirit/non-corporeal being as you believe, then he wouldn't have thought to do so.

On the other hand, I was reading the FotR chapter, "A Journey in the Dark," where the Fellowship are attacked by those wolf creatures. These are physical creatures, as they are harmed by physical weapons, but disappear at morning's light, and so may be more phantom-like.

This, to me, is some evidence that such things such as phantoms can exist, though it still does not explain Saruman's appearance.