Whos afraid of the Black Riders?

My top 5-favorite parts of the books are:

1. The time spent by Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo in the house of Tom Bombadill

2. The despair of the Fellowship when leaving Lothlorien

3. "The drums in the deep" in Moria

4. The march and assault of the Ents upon Isengard

5. The internal struggles of Smeagol, Sam and Frodo.

So I suppose my favorite scary part is in Moria, but the part that I find most terrifying by far is in Shelob's Lair.

Yeah, I can understand that perfectly. That part was rather spooky. But I'm afraid I read the books for the first time so long ago that I can't call back my first impressions.

I agree, Inoldonil. While, as I said, I no longer fear Shelob herself more than any other monster in the book, the journey in her lair gives me the creeps! All that walk, in the dark, with spider webs everywhere, and no light... *shudders*

If holding a tarantula is crash therapy for Shelob under the bed, what would be the crash therapy for Nazguls?

One of the more terifying scenes in LOTR is when the chief Ringwraith descends on Theoden. Of course he is quickly bumped of by a woman (Eowyn) and a child (Merry - well halfling then) which goes to show how egalitarian Mr T. was!

Nazugl...*brrr*
They scare me more than when they're just "black riders." Ominous riders are scary, but it's worse when you read the chapter again and know exactly what they are and what awful peril the hobbits truly are in.
Yeah, I like how Tolkien let Eowyn have her day after the male characters had previously taken most of the active roles. Arwen and Galadriel are both very strong characters, but they are more passive, wise-councilor roles.

The Black Riders scare me somewhat.

Shelob hiding under the bed whatever will ppl come up with next? :lol:

A Balrog as you go change the light bulb in the cellar?

I am absolutely not going down in the cellar, send for Gandalf or something, I wont go
Wait a minute, I don't have a cellar. Phew safe, apart from Shelob under the bed, so I'm also not going to bed either.

I never really was that scared by them. The most fearful part for me is the battle between Eowyn and the Nazgul in ROTK.

Black Riders were never terrifying for me...a little creepy but I didn't see them at night when I turned out the lights or anything. Always had a fear of things under the bed though! If you had proposed the Shelob under the bed theory ten years ago I would have taken to sleeping on the couch! :lol:

I read fog on the barrow down and the bit with the creeping disembodied hand just before going to sleep one night. Woke up in the middle of the night, an icy chill in the air, convinced a barrow wight was coming to get me.
I'm not that easily scared really I'm not, Tolkien just writes scary stuff

Oh gee that's a lovely picture. Not to mention it's always cold in this room. I knew I should have gone to sleep before I checked the board! :wink

You can read the boards in your sleep???:lol:
Wish I could do that, then I wouldn't have to wake up so often

I gotta agree with Dunedain Lady when she says Black Riders seems for scary. When you start hearing them called Nazgul with magical powers its just another Fantasy evil guy. When they are just an ominous presence it hits nearer to home maybe. Like imagining yourself in Frodos shoes while he crosses the shire is more believable (that sounds crazy) than fighting in the gates of Minas Tirith.

That's a good point Fuor. When I hear about the Battle of the Pellenor Fields, etc., I feel afraid on Eowyn's behalf, that is, I'm concerned for the characters' safety, but they do not scare me, the reader. Minas Tirith is just different enough from my daily life that it is difficult for me to imagine myself in their place, but the Shire is meant to be like anyone's safe little home, and there are plenty of ominous black shadows in my life that can be turned into Black Riders.

I get the impression Tolkien was a bit more gory in the other books, and LOTR and Silmarillion was watered down a little. Or so I have heard. I've only got Sil and LOTR so I can't verify. I hear that what Sauron did to poor Celebrimbor was particularly horrible. And if you read the Lay of Leithian (I found someone putting it on a webpage but can't find it anymore), well.... that bit about Beren having a nightmare, and the appearance of Gorlim the Unhappy's ghost, and Beren arriving at his father's camp to find everyone hacked up with crows all around.... eeek!!

Beren's dream and Gorlim's ghost from the Lay of Leithian:

" He slipped then into darkness down,
until, as man that waters drown
strives upwards gasping, it seemed to him
he rose through slime beside the brim
of sullen pool beneath dead trees.
Their livid boughs in cold a breeze
trembled, and all their black leaves stirred:
each leaf a black and croaking bird,
whose neb a gout of blood let fall,
He shuddered, struggling thence to crawl
through winding weeds, when far away
he saw a shadow faint and grey
gliding across the dreary lake.
Slowly it came, and softly spake:
`Gorlim I was, but now a wraith
of will defeated, broken faith,
traitor betrayed. Go! Stay not here!
Awaken, son of Barahir,
and haste! For Morgoth's fingers close
upon thy father's throat; he knows
your trysts, your paths, your secret lair'
Then he revealed the devil's snare"


and Barahir's camp:
"but Aeluin was red with blood,
red were the stones and trampled mud.
Black in the birches sat a-row
the raven and the carrion-crow;
wet were their nebs, and dark the meat
that dripped beneath their griping feet.
One croaked: `Ha, ha, he comes too late!'
`Ha, ha!' they answered, `ha! too late!'"

Can someone help me out with a quote or two of some of the more gory Tolkien?

Oh, and I found Aragorn's summoning the Dead and Isildur's Curse on them at Erech the creepiest part of LOTR.

J.R.R. Tolkien only published three Middle-earth related stories, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Adventures of Tom Bombadill, none of which are gory, and the other writings aren't very much so either, not compared to other writings of his time, and certainly not compared to modern stuff. The Silmarillion was put together by his son from a monster of notes and writings worse than Frodo's wildest dreams of Uncle Bilbo's Befuddled Diary.

The gore really comes from the imagination, Tolkien has a realistic world, you get some disgusting things in the Lord of the Rings, but he doesn't dwell on them.

His other work can be found (besides the Silmarillion) in Unfinished Tales and the History of Middle-earth series.

As for Celebrimbor, he became Sauron's banner, they hung him (naked, I think) on a flag poll after his death and marched to war.

"
As for Celebrimbor, he became Sauron's banner, they hung him (naked, I think) on a flag poll after his death and marched to war. "


Eeewwww....

It is also said that Morgoth's forces hacked up Gwindor's brother in front of everyone just before the Ninaeth Arnoediad. What about Finrod being eaten alive by werewolves on Tol Sirion? And Carcharoth bit off Beren's hand...

Luthien must have been a gutsy girl to disguise herself as the vampire Thuringwethil, "dripping blood over Taur-nu-Fuin" as she flapped her batty way to Angband.

The ones with the long skinny legs are horrible

Those actually aren't spiders but more closely related to flies.

Anyway, anyone who's scared of snakes should watch "The Crocodile Hunter" on Discovery channel.

I don't think the Lotr is that scary. The Silmarillion is more scary