This just reminded me of something:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by LotR Book I, The Shadow of the Past
'All right,' said Sam, laughing with the rest. 'But what about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them? They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away beyond the North Moors not long back.'
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The Prof never bothered to explain what business an Ent may have had being abroad on the borders of the Shire, but judging from the description - 'as big as an elm tree, and walking seven years to a stride' - it would seem what Sam's cousin Hal saw was exactly that. But then again, an Ent - or maybe a Huorn? A wandering grove of Huorns in bad mood would surely be enough to freeze poor Barliman's heart!
Point being, if Ents and/or Huorns were roaming around in northern Eriador, who knows what else? It doesn't have to be Barrow-wights or Trolls or anything else we know about - maybe rather something like the Mewlips (good point,
Rumil!), if we take them as a placeholder for any kind of creature that doesn't come into the narrative or the larger Legendarium, but may have been there nevertheless. Think of it, we only meet such apparent solitaires as Shelob or the Watcher in the Water because the path of Frodo's quest happened to cross their habitats, but there may have been many more both like and unlike them. So in short, I agree with what
Tuor said above, that this is probably rather a case of 'unexplained vistas' extending beyond the frame of the canvas, or maybe rather a vague glimpse of things peeping over the frame of the canvas from outside.