[CSteefel]

I don't think of those Bree ruffians as characters who would "freeze your heart". Somehow I mostly thought of much more evil and dangerous being from the north, for example up near Deadman's Dike. There is a reference in the Tale of Years about the time when wolves threatened the Shire and Eriador, and it is said that they are still a threat today. Others could be Orcs perhaps from the north, or Trolls. Anyway, this sort of relates to my earlier question of why so much of Eriador is deserted. The suggestion is that much of it is haunted...