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

[Lalwendë]

So, a bit of fun....What is the scariest thing in all of Tolkien's work? Ever.

My list (cue top ten countdown music):

10. Balrogs
9. Wargs
8. The Ring
7. Shelob
6. Huorns
5. The 'Nameless Things' Gandalf says live under the earth
4. Ringwraiths
3. Sauron
2. Morgoth
1. Eru (yes, he's the boss, and can do anything)

I've probably forgotten some

[Eönwë]

How about Black Númenoreans and Gothmog (both!)

edit: And Morgoth's unnamed creations (but that's probably the same "The 'Nameless Things' Gandalf says live under the earth").

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

1. Eru (yes, he's the boss, and can do anything)

Also, anyone who says that all evil redounds in his glory is definately scary for me!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

1. Nameless Things (no doubt. They are unspeakable, hidden, older than Sauron, and what Gandalf says about not brining news about them not to cloud the light of day, or how he says it, it's just the most horroresque thing in all LotR - you know that everybody speaks openly about Sauron, Mordor, even about the Ring, but this...)
2. Ungoliant, probably. Nobody knows where she came from and such...
(following are very vague, the order may be actually different and even then, I don't feel up to simply labeling something scary because I don't feel it that scary from the books, while in RL it would be... like giant spiders or such)
3. Minas Morgul, if that counts (but since the Ring does...). Maybe I would put that even before Ungoliant, because Ungoliant is more like horroresque and disgusting, as much as the Nameless Things are, while MM is just scary, simply the fear, as are most of the ones which follow...
4. The Silent Watchers
5. Ringwraith
6. Creatures from the Older World (the Ringwraith-mounts)
7. Sauron
8. Gollum
9. Huorns (good idea, Lal)
10. And now probably... hmm... I think Glaurung and Húrin can share the place. Morgoth, Shelob, balrog and other losers are far, far lower on the ladder, because they simply are not scary. Oh yes, maybe Tol-in-Gaurhoth and that one, who was it, Draugluin (not Carcharoth!) and that vampire with unspeakable name... Thuring... we... something... thil... however it's spelled. These are definitely above Morgoth&co.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Bombadil's singing.

[Lalwendë]

Thuringwethil! Fascinating creature! What form did she take? But then I'm of a Gothic temperament and find Vampires quite thrilling, if nasty and to be avoided at all costs

I had Black Numenoreans and Gollum down but there are more scary things so they got demoted...

Dragons, no matter how evil, are never scary because dragons are without exception achingly cool.

[radagastly]

Have to include the Watcher in the Water. Clearly life-threatening, and yet, nobody sees it! Except for a tentacle or two. Of course, he might be included with the "Nameless things" under the Earth. That seems to be where he came from. Are they as bad as we think? They are only described by Gandalf, who had to be persuaded to leave Valinor because he was afraid of Sauron. Yet Ungoliant nearly bested Morgoth. Surely he knew that! Are they as bad as her? or worse? The creepiest thing is not knowing . . . !

edit!--forgot to mention Carcharoth:

But in the north of his realm his messengers met with a peril sudden and unlooked for: the onslaught of Carcharoth, the Wolf of Angband. In his madness he had run ravening from the north, and passing at length over Taur-nu-Fuin upon its eastern side he came down from the sources of Esgalduin like a destroying fire. Nothing hindered him, and the might of Melian upon the borders of the land stayed him not; for fate drove him, and the power of the Silmaril that he bore to his torment. Thus he burst into the inviolate wood of Doriath, and all fled away in fear. Alone of the messengers Mablung, chief captain of the King, escaped, and he brought the dread tidings to Thingol.

Apperently, even the Girdle of Melian didn't stop him, though it had protected Doriath from enemies for millenia.

Bare in mind, (no pun intended), I live in the American midwest, and, thanks to environmental efforts, partly inspired by Tolkien, wolves and bears have become a real threat. My mother's house, in Wisconsin, was attacked by a bear just two days ago, the siding torn from the house while she slept (tried to sleep,) and she lives in the middle of town, surrounded by a thousand other houses. As much as I love Nature, and all the wild creatures, I love my mother more. They already have a deer-hunt in town, are petitioning for a bear-hunt, and would like a wolf-hunt (the last won't happen, they're still endangered.)

Maybe it's just because they're just currently immediate for me, but wild animals at the door are pretty frightening. Little-Red-Riding-Hood and the Three-Little-Pigs better beware.

[Morthoron]

Hobbits running naked on the Barrow Downs. *shudders*

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Oh yes, maybe Tol-in-Gaurhoth and that one, who was it, Draugluin (not Carcharoth!) and that vampire with unspeakable name... Thuring... we... something... thil... however it's spelled.

My character in The Treachery of Men RPG, by the way, which you all should read...

[Galadriel]

Hmm tough one. I don't think I have any preferences, but my list would definitely include Minas Morgul, The Watcher in the Water, Ulmo, Balrogs, Nazgul, Sauron, Melkor, Ungoliant and The Two Watchers.

[ecthelion]

Nameless things are one of the scariest things I can think of and I dont even know what they look like.

[Encaitare]

Definitely Gandalf the Grey... uncloaked.