The Nightmare World of Tolkien

[Lalwendë]

Boo!

Are you scared? Open Lord of the Rings and you will be. There are Orcs hungry to kill. Fell Beasts swooping from the skies with blood-curdling screams. Ringwraiths, faceless, cloaked, and who will relentlessly hunt you down. Giant spiders who will inject you with poison and slowly consume you alive. Wizards with dark intent. Trees that walk. Demons of shadow and fire.

Open this book and you will find horrors beyond your worst nightmares. Constant peril. And you will lap it up.

Tolkien's books have spawned a whole industry for readers truly enchanted by what they have read about. Dungeons and Dragons games where you can act the hero. Or the Dark Lord. Act out your darkest fantasies. Orcs stalk our imaginations; they are the Goblins, the pixies of the modern age and some of us want to understand them. Everyone dreams of being a Wizard, all-powerful with a magical staff. We buy swords and think they're cool. People ask about Dark Elves, hoping they are something more than just an Elf who has not seen the Light.

Whatever Tolkien's intent, he stirred rabid imaginations and dark dreams up in readers. Even the good guys inspire us to take up a sword and Hack! Slash! Kill! Do we want to be a diplomatic Aragorn seeking understanding and a peace treaty with the Orcs? No, we want to cut their nasty little heads off. The story of this really bad Wizard, Saruman, is built up and up until we're dying to meet him, and we do, and he's fascinating. What was he up to with his experiments? What are the five staffs? What magics can they do?

I picked up LotR and something stirred in me. I was swept away with this world of magic, of shadows, of peril and Dragons. Wow, I said in hushed tones. Every tree I saw was filled with chaotic intent. Would it try to eat me? And what about Gollum? Ergh! He's creepy! But cool, too. He sneaks around, just like I wanted to do. And Rings that make you invisible? What an amazing thing that would be. I'd use it for far more than to hide from the neighbours! For sneaking, in fact.

This world Tolkien created is incredibly seductive. We like peril and we like monsters. Why? What do you like?

Tolkien had a real taste for the Gothic, and he knew how to write Gothic too. When you read his most horrific passages they are written with a real relish, as though he can see and feel those horrors. Why did he love it so much?

Is LotR one of the greatest Gothic novels written? As for something else Gothic, I've never yet met a Goth who hasn't read Tolkien. And as for weird rock stars, who hasn't heard Jimmy Page's songs? Even Peter Jackson recruited the greatest star of Gothic Horror, Christopher Lee, to play Saruman with delicious glee.

Finally, here are a few passages to whet your appetite.

Torture

He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye

Blood Lust

These staves he spoke, yet he laughed as he said them. For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people. And lo! even as he laughed at despair he looked out again on the black ships, and he lifted up his sword to defy them.

Thing

He heard behind his head a creaking and scraping sound. Raising himself on one arm he looked, and saw now in the pale light that they were in a kind of passage which behind them turned a corner. Round the corner a long arm was groping, walking on its fingers towards Sam, who was lying nearest, and towards the hilt of the sword that lay upon him.

Werewolves and Vampires

By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien he was arrayed now in the name of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of Thuringwethil. Beren became in all things like a werewolf to look upon, save that in his eyes there shone a spirit grim indeed but clean; and horror was in his glance as he saw upon his flank a bat-like creature clinging with creased wings. Then howling under the moon he leaped down the hill, and the bat wheeled and flittered above him.

Devil Worship

The Men of Darkness built temples, some of great size, usually surrounded by dark trees, often in caverns (natural or delved) in secret valleys of mountain-regions; such as the dreadful halls and passages under the Haunted Mountain beyond the Dark Door (Gate of the Dead) in Dunharrow. The special horror of the closed door before which the skeleton of Baldor was found was probably due to the fact that the door was the entrance to an evil temple hall to which Baldor had come, probably without opposition up to that point. But the door was shut in his face, and enemies that had followed him silently came up and broke his legs and left him to die in the darkness, unable to find any way out.

Eight Legged Freaks

she served none but herself, drinking the blood of Elves and Men, bloated and grown fat with endless brooding on her feasts, weaving webs of shadow; for all living things were her food, and her vomit darkness. Far and wide her lesser broods, bastards of the miserable mates, her own offspring, that she slew, spread from glen to glen, from the Ephel Duath to the eastern hills, to Dol Guldur and the fastnesses of Mirkwood. But none could rival her, Shelob the Great, last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world.

[Bêthberry]

I don't know, Lal. For down right blood-thirstiness, nothing in LotR beats some of the Psalms, to me at least.

Originally Posted by Lal

I've never yet met a Goth who hasn't read Tolkien.

You haven't met my daughter.

For real horror, read saints' lives.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I don't know, Lal. For down right blood-thirstiness, nothing in LotR beats some of the Psalms, to me at least.

You haven't met my daughter.

For real horror, read saints' lives.

Maybe where the influence came from. From my own experiences growing up with an ex-Catholic grandmother (both my grandmothers were cast from the church for being pregnant before marriage, one also from her family), I know just how Gothic and visceral the religion is. Stories of penance and flagellation, eating human flesh, and the gloomy prospect of going through a baroque system of judgement worthy of the civil service at death. We talked about this not so long ago, and a lot of the Gothic architects and designers were mysteriously also Catholics. For me, it has to be something in the religion which stirs the imagination to such Arts.

A Goth who doesn't like Tolkien? They're bringing them up wrong these days. It needs to be a strict diet of Bauhaus and scary things about Ringwraiths or they'll never get the urge to go out and buy a velvet cloak.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

An interesting topic, Lal.

The only thing I can think of at the moment is that, the world Tolkien created was essentially a pseudo medieval world. The ancient (and, let's face it, the modern) world was a very violent place. Life is, to all outside viewers, I would expect, a pretty blood curdling, terrifying and nasty thing.

It's sort of essential to the realism (if fantasy can seem real to a certain extent*) that violence and blood stuff be included. Also, to make the seemingly easy task of killing goblins and Orcs more morally acceptable, I suppose they had to be pretty damned bad things to begin with.

As for the more horrific elements; Black Riders, Shelob and the rest; I think it stands to reason that there would be tremendously bad things as there are tremendously good things. Rivendel Vs Mordor. Galadriel Vs Shelob (these are all, of course, off the top of my head and I'm making no real connection between these characters, as such. Just pointing out that there are very good and very bad things).

Also, most things set in a realm of Dragons and warfare are almost always dumped into the 'gothic' genre because of the Dragons and warfare. Not everyone who reads The Lord of the Rings instantly wants to go out and slay some Orcs (although, perhaps if presented with one, the temptation may be slightly greater )

In short... I don't know... Magic is probably the answer.

*In my own opinion, Fantasy is a better reality. Not everyone agrees. But I like to think it is.

[The Mouth of Sauron]

The more I read threads like this the more I realise that JRRT in his undergraduate days must have spent many Saturday nights in Glasgow .

[ninja91]

I agree, Lal. (hopefully you dont mind me calling you that, too... )
I can think of a hundred spooks from Lord of the Rings. (including you, mouth of sauron (no offense meant ) )
Also, Halloween is coming up, and last year I was a Ringwraith. (Who said 16-year-olds cant go out and get some honest candy??? )

[Boromir88]

Don't forget gruesome killings:

Then Nar came up, and found that it was indeed the body of Thror, but the head was severed and lay face downwards. As he knelt there, he heard orc-laughter in the shadows, and the voice said...
[...]
'God and tell them so! But if his family wish to know who is now king here, the name is written on his face. I wrote it! I killed him! I am the Master!'
Then Nar turned the head and saw branded on his brow in Dwarfrunes so that he could read it the name AZOG. That name was branded in his heart and in the hearts of all the dwarves afterwards...~Appendix A: Durin's Folk

And really creepy demon horses:

At its head there road a tall and evil shape, mounted upon a black horse, if horse it was; for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a frightful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the sockets of its eyes and in its nostrils burned a flame.~The Black Gate Opens

Great thread Lalwende.

[Durelin]

Maybe where the influence came from...I know just how Gothic and visceral the religion is.

To think I've been called "Too Christian to be Goth!"

Quite true, though. The concept of "suffering" is still an essential part of the Catholic Church these days, even after a very large makeover in Vatican II.

I like Hookbill's point about the contrasts. Like foils. Having the black, the white, and the grey all in one novel is essential to the scope of The Lord of the Rings.

The idea of contrasts makes me think of one of the philosophical attempts to explain the existence of pain and suffering and the like in the world while leaving room for some kind of ultimate good divine presence...of course I can't quite recall the name of it, but... It tried to prove that we would not have concepts of 'light' and 'dark,' 'old' and 'young,' 'hot' and 'cold,' if either sensation or concept stood on their own. We would not truly understand that someone was 'old' if there was no concept of 'young' to compare it to.

The attempt is to say that 'good' could not really exist as we understand it and could not be fully appreciated if it stood on its own, without 'evil' to compare to it.

I like that argument, even though all that bloody nasty science behind the colours supposedly makes it illogical. *hmph*

eating human flesh

Wow. I didn't know people really looked at it that way. Ah, how ignorant am I.

Ringwraiths, faceless, cloaked, and who will relentlessly hunt you down.

I am certainly quite prepared to admit that reading LotR one night left me rather frightened when reading about Ringwraiths at some point. I thought it was perhaps the first time Frodo sees a Ringwraith, but the way I remembered the passage is completely different from the actual passage… Ah well.

I think the real scary thing is the Ring itself – it’s scary because you just don’t understand how a piece of metal can cause such destruction even within a single person. I think that might be the scariest aspect because it is the most human sort of fear, a fear of corruption, which we face pretty much every day in one form or another.

[mark12_30]

We know Tolkien wrote about at least one of his own dreams: Faramir's great wave. Maybe he also wrote about his nightmares.

[Rumil]

I did hear that Shelob et al were inspired by a nasty bite that Tolkien received from a spider during his childhood in South Africa which quite put him off the creatures, understandably.

[Durelin]

I did hear that Shelob et al were inspired by a nasty bite that Tolkien received from a spider during his childhood in South Africa which quite put him off the creatures, understandably.

Then there must a reason behind Tolkien's great dislike of cats...unless he's just one of those illogical people who 'just don't like cats...'

Now that might be a very entertaining story, if there is one.

[Laitoste]

I vividly remember a dream/nightmare I had when I first read The Lord of the Rings. I was being chased by Gollum, who was riding one of the Ringwraiths horses and wanted to strangle me. But other than that one instance, I cannot say I have ever been frightened of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, I'm intrigued by what is supposed to be scary. The Witchking's line, that Lal quoted earlier, is probably one of my favorites in the book. It's meant to be read with such malice, such hate...and though I am no dramatist, I can't help but read it out loud... But why else do I like it? I can't say, exactly. Perhaps it's because I like to imagine what I would do in the face of such power--or with that power. Perhaps not. It is fun to think about the fear you could inspire in people, if you really wanted to.

[Lalwendë]

Loads of nightmares! Goody! Have you all been eating cheese before bedtime?

Originally Posted by Laitoste

I vividly remember a dream/nightmare I had when I first read The Lord of the Rings. I was being chased by Gollum, who was riding one of the Ringwraiths horses and wanted to strangle me. But other than that one instance, I cannot say I have ever been frightened of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, I'm intrigued by what is supposed to be scary. The Witchking's line, that Lal quoted earlier, is probably one of my favorites in the book. It's meant to be read with such malice, such hate...and though I am no dramatist, I can't help but read it out loud... But why else do I like it? I can't say, exactly. Perhaps it's because I like to imagine what I would do in the face of such power--or with that power. Perhaps not. It is fun to think about the fear you could inspire in people, if you really wanted to.

That's why I got thinking about this thread. The books have a dark side, and it's thrilling. I know that Tolkien thought that those who lusted after power were wrong, and he set them up for some terrible endings, but who hasn't imagined what it would be like to actually have that Ring? To have that power?! If you have, you wouldn;t be alone. Even Galadriel imagined it. I saw that she'd thought those wrong thoughts too.

Nightmares about the books. Here's a funny story. My scariest nightmare based on Tolkien's work was one about a Gollum action figure coming to life and running round the house with malevolent glee, teeth bared and riding the cat like a fell beast; like the Mexican day of the Dead. Had I been eating nachos with cheese before bedtime? Maybe.

Originally Posted by Durelin

Quite true, though. The concept of "suffering" is still an essential part of the Catholic Church these days, even after a very large makeover in Vatican II.

I don't know what Vatican I and Vatican II are (sounds like a Bruce Willis franchise!) but I do know that Tolkien struggled with Vatican II, and I presumed it involved big changes to the church. Obviously if it was about moving from the apocalyptic, visceral style to a more cuddly one then this is significant in what Tolkien liked, and why Tolkien was so Gothic.

Originally Posted by Hookbill

The only thing I can think of at the moment is that, the world Tolkien created was essentially a pseudo medieval world. The ancient (and, let's face it, the modern) world was a very violent place. Life is, to all outside viewers, I would expect, a pretty blood curdling, terrifying and nasty thing.

The medieval world was indeed much more earthy and bloody. Torture was common, and physical punishment, and they could be very inventive about it, dreaming up nasty ways of dealing with miscreants such as pickpockets and heretics worthy of a modern serial killer. The Iron Maiden. The Blood Eagle. Being flayed alive and having your skin pinned to the church door. Hung, drawn and quartered. And in war (according to a friend who was a Saxon re-enactor) they used biological warfare, tipping arrows in rotten corpses, and hurling parts of anthrax ridden cattle over the walls of beseiged castles.

Originally Posted by Boromir 88

Don't forget gruesome killings

I only noticed that one recently to be honest. I was reading the appendices and was struck by how nasty this was. Love those demon horses though (love the Thestrals in Potter too, which they remind me of) - I always think of somehow peeled horses. But what I don't like, and what doesn't give me a thrill, is worrying that any animals were hurt. Typical Brit. Thrilling at tales of war and horror and madness but getting outraged when animals get harmed.

Any more moments of horror genius?

What about when the Witch-King 'sees' Frodo? I'll leave you with this to savour:

the Rider halted suddenly, right before the entrance of the bridge, and behind him all the host stood still. There was a pause, a dead silence. Maybe it was the Ring that called to the Wraith-lord, and for a moment he was troubled, sensing some other power within his valley. This way and that turned the dark head helmed and crowned with fear, sweeping the shadows with its unseen eyes. Frodo waited, like a bird at the approach of a snake, unable to move. And as he waited, he felt, more urgent than ever before, the command that he should put on the Ring

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Great topic, Lal! You've brought up a fascinating aspect we haven't discussed at length yet.

Interestingly, though I am not a fan of Gothic novels or other blood-curdling stories, and though battle depictions and and descriptions of violence, torture, etc. usually make me turn the pages of a book faster to get over them (or hold my hands in front of my eyes in a movie - yes, I really do), I don't avoid them in LotR. Whether in the book or in the movie*, I can handle aspects that I normally do not enjoy, just because they are embedded in this fantastic tale.

I wonder what it is about the context that keeps me from cringing when someone is killed or scary creatures are described? Is it the Hobbit viewpoint, having the Shire in the background as an island of security, or the strong good characters such as Gandalf and Aragorn who give me the feeling of safety as I travel with them?

Or have I simply read the book so often that I have lost the fear I felt upon reading it the first time?


*Admittedly, it helped that a lot of the blood shed there was orcish, which is black - somehow it doesn't scream out at one like red blood does!

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

I wonder what it is about the context that keeps me from cringing when someone is killed or scary creatures are described? Is it the Hobbit viewpoint, having the Shire in the background as an island of security, or the strong good characters such as Gandalf and Aragorn who give me the feeling of safety as I travel with them?

I have a sense similar to Estelyn's, and given what SaucepanMan suggested on the Lord of the Bible thread thread, I would suspect that he also finds the horror muted in LotR as well. In part, we are given more the effect of evil on the characters rather than having evil depicted directly but I like your idea that the comforting beginning with The Shire acts as a prophylactic context.

Of course, reading is entirely a personal matter so one person's goosebumps are as good as another's shivers.

Farmer Maggot's dogs were scary. Come to think of it, Farmer Maggot himself put a bit of fear into Frodo, didn't he?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

In part, we are given more the effect of evil on the characters rather than having evil depicted directly but I like your idea that the comforting beginning with The Shire acts as a prophylactic context

.

I think we see both. There are so many examples where Tolkien seems to relish describing a monster or the effects of evil on the mind of another character. Yes, he does not often actually describe blood and gore in the sense that he does not write things like: "the Orc was writhing on the ground, his entrails oozed from his torn apart abdomen and the vultures licked their lips with the prospect of a still warm, breathing meal." But he does not shirk from showing us horror.

Tolkien's horror is the sophisticated and slightly unsettling high Gothic of the Wicker Man (original, not unpleasant remake ) as opposed to the video nasty of The Evil Dead or The Hills Have Eyes. Things left partly said, hinted at and undescribed can be as horrific as anything graphic.

Although the Witch King's words to Eowyn are pretty graphic to anyone with a vivid imagination, and it takes a vivid imagination to enjoy Tolkien.

He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye

I can really picture this in my mind. The dark, dank fortress of the Houses of Lamentation, the dungeons like something out of Edgar Allen Poe, prisoners screaming. And the torture, the pain. Ugh. Just hovering over those lines makes me feel chilled, and yet the first time I read the book I probably skimmed over them; its only on subsequent readings when you're slowly savouring the language that moments like that jump out and say Boo!

[Boromir88]

What about when the Witch-King 'sees' Frodo? I'll leave you with this to savour

And I never really noticed that quote before, so that makes us even.

I think what makes it so effective is the description and using comparisons we as readers are aware of:

1. Frodo waited, like a bird at the approach of a snake, unable to move....what a great simile here, and it's effective because it's something we all can experience and connect with. Which makes it all the more terrifying.

2. A careful use of words...'sweeping the shadows' and 'dead silence.' Those can also unnerve you. It's not in the sense that gets to jump out of your seat. But it's more sublte, which makes it an unsettling type of fear.

3. the dark head helmed and crowned with fear...that says it all right there, I mean a helm crowned with fear, just picture that one.

Nice example Lal, didn't notice that before.

[drigel]

The essential characteristics of the scary things seem out of context to the modern world. But, in the context of the ME primordial world, they are all nature (or nature corrupted) oriented, primary things that are stripped of most (post middle ages that is) societal cues or references.

we are given more the effect of evil on the characters rather than having evil depicted directly

well put. The scary things arent the focus of the story, but the fundamental element of evil is.

It's sort of essential to the realism (if fantasy can seem real to a certain extent*) that violence and blood stuff be included.

I always imagine that the flesh eating and blood stuff to be more of a fact of life to the players, than it is scary for the reader. The reality of a time or an age like that IMO would in fact be quite a bit more dirty, gritty and gruesome than the author revealed or expanded upon.

I have had a couple of dreams about ME, none of them scary. As to the works, for me, it's the implied scary that has the most impact. Not "dont turn off the nightlight!" scary, but a scary that provokes the imagination. I would have to turn to the Silm to find my scariest:

Sheer were the precipices of Ered Gorgoroth, and beneath their feet were shadows that were laid before the rising of the Moon. Beyond lay the wilderness of Dungortheb, where the sorcery of Sauron and the power of Melian came together, and horror and madness walked. There spiders of the fell race of Ungoliant abode, spuming their unseen webs in which all living things were snared; and monsters wandered there that were born in the long dark before the Sun, hunting silently with many eyes. No food for Elves or Men was there in that haunted land, but death only.

Mountains of Terror, Valley of Dreadfull Death. The stuff of (real) nightmares for, not only a Beleriand inhabitant, but all living things. Blood, guts and insanity indeed.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

And I never really noticed that quote before, so that makes us even.

I think what makes it so effective is the description and using comparisons we as readers are aware of:

1. Frodo waited, like a bird at the approach of a snake, unable to move....what a great simile here, and it's effective because it's something we all can experience and connect with. Which makes it all the more terrifying.

2. A careful use of words...'sweeping the shadows' and 'dead silence.' Those can also unnerve you. It's not in the sense that gets to jump out of your seat. But it's more sublte, which makes it an unsettling type of fear.

3. the dark head helmed and crowned with fear...that says it all right there, I mean a helm crowned with fear, just picture that one.

Nice example Lal, didn't notice that before.

The bird/snake thing is a good image I'd not thought about. That reminds me of The Jungle Book, where Mowgli is held hypnotized by Kaa the Python before he strikes (I'm sure that film is why so many kids grow up afraid of snakes!); and reminiscent of those nightmares where a madman is coming at you with an axe but you just can't run away!

And those unseen eyes, seeing everything.

Also, the fact that a whole army can halt and be utterly silent, and that this happens in what's called his valley, and he is troubled. Surely the word troubled should apply to Frodo here? But no, the Witch King, like a sinewy old cat, has sensed someone or something in his territory.

[Anguirel]

My personal favourite-

"A creature of an older world maybe it was, whose kind, fingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon, outstayed their day, and in hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and he gave it to his servant to be his steed."

The nameless things gnawing at the mountains and the Nan Dungortheb creepies mentioned above get honourably commended.

For me, the frighteningness of Tolkien's nasties usually is most pronounced when they are in some way sketchy, unarticulated and unarticulatable. "A creature of an older world maybe it was." I think it's because Tolkien is such a meticulous namer and describer that what really chills the bone-marrow is when his description blurs, not when it sharpens. The Balrog loses much of its terrifying nature after we find out what it is from the Silmarillion, for me at least. If something evil is named, then you resist it; simple enough. But how do you fight against nameless things? Things like the creatures of an older world, like Sauron himself, like the malaise that overcomes Frodo and blights his life...

[ninja91]

Good point. Fighting a Balrog is no doubt an awesome spectacle. But the eerieness and fear is much greater when you fight an unknown being. A "being of an older world" just makes it sound more ancient and powerful: definitely something that you would not want to mess around with!

[Lalwendë]

I always think the fell beats sounds quite an attractive creature myself - not in the cute and cuddly way, but in the creepy, fascinating way, like a big stinking Komodo Dragon (they really do smell of rotten meat) or maybe those fantastic Pterosaurs that they had in the 70s cartoon Valley of the Dinosaurs. With this one, its the language that gets to me - forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon - wow, sounds like something out of the later chapters of Frankenstein.

Although having said that there is this little fear factor:

nursed it with fell meats

I really don't want to know what fell meats are. I feel sure they are not merely mystery meats (much as you get at a kebab van!), but the fact that they were nursed with these meats suggests that they are special, and I just don't want to know what meat this is!

I think Tolkien was well aware of where an unsaid word would mean much, much more than a spoken one. The suggestion of the boggart behind the door is more scary tahn seeing him.

Though to make myself laugh about it, I like to think Fell Meats could be Special Stuff from Hilary Briss's Butchers shop in Royston Vesey, or maybe processed sandwich fillings manufactured in an horrific back street enterprise somewhere in Hull.

[ninja91]

They sound kind of like fell dragons. Like more evil and twisted than Smaug. Or Necro-dragons. That sounds kind of cool...

[Child of the 7th Age]

Great topic Lalwende and many interesting points. Anguiriel - I think you're onto something. That which is nameless and unarticulated terrifies us the most.

Bear with me for a minute as I am coming into this question through another back door.

Many people complain about the lack of characterization in Tolkien's book, saying that we don't get inside the characters' heads the way a reader would in much modern fiction. This point can be debated endlessly, of course, but too often we fail to see things Tolkien puts inside his characters just because the author uses techniques and images that many other authors would not. I'm speaking particularly of Tolkien's handling of the horrific and how he links horror to what is going on inside the heart of a particular character.

How many books/movies have we digested where horror is depicted as a string of individual images accosting our sense from the outside, something foreign to us that pops up periodically on our viewing screen? A brief shock value but nothing more.

Tolkien did not do this. What is horrible in Tolkien is not just what is happening on the outside but on the inside as well. The outside image of the horrible thing (whatever it is) is not as dreadful as what happens to that image when transferred to the human, hobbitish, Elvish, or perhaps even Orcish heart. This is certainly true of characters who have "gone bad"---to me, one of the most horrific aspects of the story is to see characters like Gollum and Wormtongue who have obviously been perverted by images of the hideous. These individuals have been so twisted that they themselves have become mirror images of the horrific things they have seen and experienced.

But it isn't only the bad guys. It's even true of relatively "innocent" characters like the hobbits. The torments of Frodo are certainly a case in point, but he is not the only one of the Shirelings to stare evil in the face. Even a carefree Took could be affected. Here is a quote from a scene involving Pippin when the hobbit and Beregond hear the Black Riders and see them swoop down on Faramir during the Siege of Gondor:

Suddenly as they talked they were stricken dumb, frozen as it were to listening stones. Pippin cowered down with his hands pressed to his ears; but Beregond…remained there, stiffened, staring out with starting eyes. Pippin knew the shuddering cry that he had heard: it was the same that he had heard long ago in the Marish of the Shire, but now it was grown in power and hatred, piercing the heart with a poisonous despair.

What would be more powerful---to describe the physical nastiness of the Black Riders or to depict the effect that horror has a simple beholder like Pippin? Often, Tolkien opts for the latter. It's not coincidence that the wraiths' main weapons are not physical ones, but overwhelm their victims with fear and despair. What's especially scary is that the reader encounters instances in the story when good guys like Bilbo and Frodo actually begin to take on some of the characteristics of the horrific characters they've already faced, e.g., Frodo's transparency that can be interpreted in several different ways, or Bilbo's adoption of a term like "my preciousss".

The other point that must be born in mind in any discussion of the horrific is the author's insistence on the presence of evil that lies within the very fabric of Arda. A ringwraith on his own really isn't that horrifying. It's the fact that the ringwraith is part of a much larger shadow, something so powerful that it's virtually impossible for any living being to resist. Tolkien's evil isn't smart or polished or funny or even attractive as happens in so many stories -- it's just plain despicable.

Again one of the most "horrifying" words to me in all of Middle-earth is "Shadow". It's something that's there/not there, neither living nor dead, and it seems to sum up what's wrong at the heart of the universe. Those creepy creatures and images aren't just isolated events. They are part of a total picture of the world which is frankly very scary. Tolkien's evil is like a steam roller bearing down on us. No matter how we resist, no matter how many small victories we win, it is going to get us in the end, and there is nothing we can really do about in this world.

[Bêthberry]

A nicely developed post, Child. All this 'unsaid' thing reminds me of aesthetic theories of the strip tease--it's the gap and the implication that excites the imagination, not the actual display.

Yet I think Anquirel's favourite suggests something else too about Tolkien's brand of horror.

Originally Posted by Anquirel

My personal favourite-

Quote:
"A creature of an older world maybe it was, whose kind, fingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon, outstayed their day, and in hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and he gave it to his servant to be his steed."

Read this passage aloud. It's beat, rhythm, alliteration--why, it is the sound of things that also creates a brooding sense of horror. Poetry tingles the spine so much more!

[The Saucepan Man]

Let me add my name to the list of those noting their appreciation of this topic.

Unfortunately, I only have time for a brief comment or two.

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I have a sense similar to Estelyn's, and given what SaucepanMan suggested on the Lord of the Bible thread thread, I would suspect that he also finds the horror muted in LotR as well.

Bb, my comment on that thread was directed more to my feeling that Tolkien had morally cleansed Faerie - "the high purged of the gross". The principal characters of Tolkien's Faerie are not the mischievous and sometimes amoral characters of traditional Faerie. But the "horrors" of the perilous realm are certainly there, as the collection of quotes that have accumulated on this thread clearly show. Gothic horror is obviously not what Tolkien is "known for", as it is not the sole constituent of his tales. But he does use the technique infrequently, where appropriate to the story.

I do not count the ever-pervasive presence of the Shadow in the East nor the seductive malice of the Ring as truly gothic elements. They are, to my mind, more essential elements of the "evil force" generally present in (and characteristic of) fantasy literature. But specific manifestations of the shadow clearly are often presented in gothic terms, as these quotes indicate.

I also agree with Anguirel and others that it is often that which is less well defined which provokes the greater horror. The description of the fell beasts is a good example of this and, reading it again, it puts me very much in mind of HP Lovecraft's tales of unimaginable horrors. One of Lovecraft's hallmarks is the manner in which he gives only glimpses of the unnameable Elder Gods that lurk in the background of his stories and he provides only patchy detail even when describing those creatures which feature prominently in them. The suggestion (and indeed the basis for much of what he wrote) is that anything more would do untold damage to our sanity.

As I said, the description of the fell beasts and some of the other quoted passages put me in mind of Lovecraft, who was primarily writing in the 1920s. I am sure that Tolkien would have been aware of him but, given the similarity of style in these passages, I wonder to what extent he may have been familiar with his work.

[Boromir88]

Tolkien does supply us with a few more gripping details as far as the fell beasts go:

The great shadow descended like a falling cloud. And behold! it was a winged creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was naked, and neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of hide between horned fingers; and it stank...~Battle of Pelennor Fields

the huge vulture form' which uttered 'a hoarse croaking cry'~Letter 211

Lovely sounding isn't it?

I agree with you Anguirel, in that the unknown is the scariest for me. I'm reminded by the Mel Gibson movie, Signs. Which I thought was very effective and unnerving through most of the movies. You have the build up and the hysteria with crop signs popping up, then the aliens land and you just see their shadows, or hear them running on the roof...etc, and that starts getting you even more terrified. Then suddenly it's ruined as the Aliens are actually shown in the movie, and quite frankly I thought they were rather silly and stupid looking. It was much better, and terrifying to just hear the sounds, and see the shadows, get that tense build up, then actually showing the aliens.

[Macalaure]

On gruesome killings:

And they hewed off Gelmir's hands and feet, and his head last, within sight of the Elves, and left him.
...
Then Gothmog hewed him with his black axe, and a white flame sprang up from the helm of Fingon as it was cloven. Thus fell the High King of the Noldor; and they beat him into the dust with their maces, and his banner, blue and silver, they trod into the mire of his blood.

Both are not from the LotR, but especially the second one I find horrible and painful, in a positive way, to read. Yet Tolkien knows when not to be explicit, take Gorlim:

Then he put him cruelly to death.

...and no more details are needed.


Back to the LotR, I enqueue in the "what you don't know is scarier than what you know"-column. Take the Paths of the Dead, for example. The horror is absolutely unseizable and only when we have already left the Paths, the dead appear. Or take the silent watchers of Cirith Ungol. Tolkien describes them in detail, but is this what makes them scary? Not to me. (that's why the two of Minas Morgul were extremely unscary in the RotK-movie) They were scary because

For a moment Sam caught a glitter in the black stones of their eyes, the very malice of which made him quail;

It's that something inside the statues that scares me, that of which we know almost nothing, except that it's evil.


Another one:

They will come to you in the wild, in some dark place where there is no help. Do you wish them to find you? They are terrible!

For chapters we presumed just that. Now, instead of telling us about them what he knows, Strider just confirms us of what we feared. (And if Strider calls them terrible, they must truly be) And as if that wasn't enough:

You fear them, but you do not fear them enough, yet.

And if there is one Gothic place in Middle-earth, it must be Minas Morgul. The corpse light (blowing like a noisome exhalation of decay, noisome light that blows?... whoa), the white flowers (Luminous these were too, beautiful and yet horrible of shape, like the demented forms of an uneasy dream; ). You start to freeze reading the first two pages of the Stairs of Cirith Ungol.


What my point is? Um, none really. I somehow got carried away about this and it took me more than an hour to write this.
Great topic, Lal!

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by SpM

Bb, my comment on that thread was directed more to my feeling that Tolkien had morally cleansed Faerie - "the high purged of the gross". The principal characters of Tolkien's Faerie are not the mischievous and sometimes amoral characters of traditional Faerie. But the "horrors" of the perilous realm are certainly there, as the collection of quotes that have accumulated on this thread clearly show.

Tolkien does side step the amoral nature of Faerie, but he does not miss out the Monsters or the Wonders. When he says 'purged of the gross' I think he's referring to a certain aspect of Fairy Tale that's fascinated with bodily fluids, sex and even toilet humour. Tolkien doesn't really go in for sly jokes about 'swiving' and belching (though Mr Jackson put that right back ).

But he doesn't flinch from describing a Monster, nor does he flinch from having his Monsters do or suggest unspeakable things. He even gives his Orcs a voice.

I'm sure Tolkien would have been aware of horror at the very least, and I think he may well have read quite a bit too, as he was very fond of contemporary fantasy and sci-fi. Though maybe he veered away from the 'pulp' and went more for the classics of the genres; his descriptions of Thuringwethil suggest he had indeed read Dracula (and having been to Whitby he may have been inspired to pick up the book after his visit, as the story pervades the town and always has since publication). However, how do we know whether or not he had a few pulp fiction works stuffed in his bookshelves?

Originally Posted by Child

Many people complain about the lack of characterization in Tolkien's book, saying that we don't get inside the characters' heads the way a reader would in much modern fiction. This point can be debated endlessly, of course, but too often we fail to see things Tolkien puts inside his characters just because the author uses techniques and images that many other authors would not. I'm speaking particularly of Tolkien's handling of the horrific and how he links horror to what is going on inside the heart of a particular character.

Of course, even though there's a lack of Interior Monologue from Tolkien's characters (that's not a feature of traditional epic anyway) Tolkien makes use of dreams to convey what's disturbing people. That's why I recognise symptoms of PTSD in Frodo - he has the crazy dreams that I have, where you wake up sweating and absolutely terrified. Who else uses this? Doesn't Edgar Allen Poe?

Originally Posted by Boromir88

I'm reminded by the Mel Gibson movie, Signs. Which I thought was very effective and unnerving through most of the movies. You have the build up and the hysteria with crop signs popping up, then the aliens land and you just see their shadows, or hear them running on the roof...etc, and that starts getting you even more terrified.

I'll hold my hand up right now and say I do enjoy M Night Shyamalan films - old fashioned storytelling always works for me. And I've not seen the latest one so please - NO SPOILERS! Anyway, these do merely suggest at things going on, and we see the characters slowly descending into their madness and confusion. Like these subtle horrors, I also loved Blair Witch Project which merely had symbols of evil and the terror of the protagonists to convey horror. However, Tolkien is not quite like that as he does depict the Monsters. He also has a lot of them.

But one thought occurs here. An M Night Shyamalan film is always most enjoyable the very first time you watch it as when the surprise hits, this is the high point of the story, and you can only experience that once. maybe some of you who don' t quite see the horror in Tolkien any more are not getting that kick or shock any longer. You know what's coming. But you can still get the kick of the horror; I still get it just by focussing even more on those images, playing with them, wondering what, exactly this or that Monster looks like, what their nature is, what they might potentially do.

EDIT:

I had some more thoughts on the issue of Tolkien's characterisation and how he does not favour the interior monlogue approach common to modern fiction (and common by the time he wrote, too). Yes, we might not get to see what's going on inside Frodo's head, but we do see the terror he feels when confronted with a Monster, and we do get to see his fears in general by seeing his actions and hearing him speak.

Are we assuming that only the interior monolgue applies to the Gothic form? Because it doesn't! A very obvious example occurred to me - Wuthering Heights! This book is never narrated by either Cathy or Heathcliff, yet throughout we see their state of mind, the terror or joy they feel, simply through being told about what they did or said. The method Emily Bronte used was to narrate via Lockwood and Nelly Dean (an aside - I love Nelly Dean!); Tolkien narrates in the third person, too, and because we are reading an external story told to us, he also has to convey the fear throguh words and actions. Perhaps its also the very heightened extremes that they go through that conveys this kind of Gothic terror?

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I'm sure Tolkien would have been aware of horror at the very least, and I think he may well have read quite a bit too, as he was very fond of contemporary fantasy and sci-fi. Though maybe he veered away from the 'pulp' and went more for the classics of the genres ...

Lal, if by "pulp" you are picking up on my reference to the works of HP Lovecraft, I am afraid that I will have to disagree with you. He is often given this label and I acknowledge that his works are not considered literary classics. Then again, we often complain that Tolkien's works similarly are not accorded classic status. I would argue that Lovecraft's works are actually a lot better than he is generally given credit for and are certainly not deserving of the "pulp" label they seem to have acquired.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Tolkien does supply us with a few more gripping details as far as the fell beasts go

Yes, but they are still not clearly defined. Are they birds? If so, they are featherless. Are they reptiles? No clear answer is given. Indeed, those additional descriptions that you give, to my mind, merely serve to heighten their horror by the vagueness of their description rather than giving any clear picture of what they actually looked like. Some clues are given, by reference to things (like vultures) that we are familiar with, but most is left to the imagination. It is very similar to the way in which Lovecraft describes his horrors.

Originally Posted by Tolkien via Macalure

Luminous these were too, beautiful and yet horrible of shape, like the demented forms of an uneasy dream ...

The similarity here with Lovecraft's style is uncanny. The possibility of a connection of sorts is beginning to intrigue me ...

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Lal, if by "pulp" you are picking up on my reference to the works of HP Lovecraft, I am afraid that I will have to disagree with you. He is often given this label and I acknowledge that his works are not considered literary classics. Then again, we often complain that Tolkien's works similarly are not accorded classic status. I would argue that Lovecraft's works are actually a lot better than he is generally given credit for and are certainly not deserving of the "pulp" label they seem to have acquired.

Not at all! Blimey, 'pulp' is the last thing I'd call Lovecraft! Not least of all as Lovecraft often featured on reading lists on the various modules available for study on my degree (Gothic, Modern Horror etc). Lovecraft is one of the clasic writers in the Gothic/Horror genre you'll be pleased to know.

I'll admit now I've not read much - but I'm sure I've spied a Lovecraft book on the shelf at home so I might give it a whirl.

[Anguirel]

Those beautiful yet horrible flowers actually scream Baudelaire to me!

[Lalwendë]

Gardeners' Gothic World

Originally Posted by Anguirel

Those beautiful yet horrible flowers actually scream Baudelaire to me!

They make me think of those Purple Passion Plants. Ugh. I used to work with a woman who had one and she was a bit odd (the woman, though she did have a 1st edition of LotR), and delighted in the fact that the luminous orange flowers on this plant smell of rotten, cheesy feet. They also have hairy, purple leaves and look quite sinister and Triffid-like. Thankfully the thing never flowered while I was working with her.

Like how Tolkien even has evil flowers though. It shows up just how evil really has infused everything in Arda.

Still, even a Ringwraith must have to get flowers for the girlfriends from somewhere.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Lovecraft is one of the clasic writers in the Gothic/Horror genre you'll be pleased to know.

Indeed I am!

It's a long time since I read any of his novels. As I recall, some are rather turgid at times. But they are well worth a try if you like gothic horror (his novels are generally described as "weird horror", although I wonder whether "fantasy horror" might be a more apt descriptor). I recall finding the world that he created (or, rather, his depiction of our world) both fascinating and horrifiying.

[Lalwendë]

I've been looking for some more of "the old bogey-stories Fatty's nurses used to tell him, about goblins and wolves and things of that sort".

How is this for a dream worthy of the fevered imaginings of Mary Shelley:

In the dead night, Frodo lay in a dream without light. Then he saw the young moon rising; under its thin light there loomed before him a black wall of rock, pierced by a dark arch like a great gate. It seemed to Frodo that he was lifted up, and passing over he saw that the rock-wall was a circle of hills, and that within it was a plain, and in the midst of the plain stood a pinnacle of stone, like a vast tower but not made by hands. On its top stood the figure of a man. The moon as it rose seemed to hang for a moment above his head and glistened in his white hair as the wind stirred it. Up from the dark plain below came the crying of fell voices, and the howling of many wolves. Suddenly a shadow, like the shape of great wings, passed across the moon. The figure lifted his arms and a light flashed from the staff that he wielded. A mighty eagle swept down and bore him away. The voices wailed and the wolves yammered. There was a noise like a strong wind blowing, and on it was borne the sound of hoofs, galloping, galloping, galloping from the East.

And not without some good alliteration, even rhythm. There's a high Gothic tower. A mysterious man, his physical being somehow tangled up with the elements themselves. Eerie sounds. Darkness and pale, glacially cool moonlight. And not just an eagle but a mighty eagle.

Another favourite incident that I've remembered was the attack by the wolves on the Fellowship, and I'm sure that must loom large in a fair few minds, judging by the Werewolf craze on the Downs.

It builds up with unseen fears surrounding them, Bill the pony betraying his animal sixth sense. Like a pack of Black Shucks creeping up on the Fellowship.

Poor Bill the pony trembled and sweated where he stood. The howling of the wolves was now all round them, sometimes nearer and sometimes further off. In the dead of night many shining eyes were seen peering over the brow of the hill. Some advanced almost to the ring of stones. At a gap in the circle a great dark wolf-shape could be seen halted, gazing at them. A shuddering howl broke from him, as if he were a captain summoning his pack to the assault

Some brave deeds worthy of an episode of Sharpe.

In the leaping light, as the fresh wood blazed up, Frodo saw many grey shapes spring over the ring of stones. More and more followed. Through the throat of one huge leader Aragorn passed his sword with a thrust; with a great sweep Boromir hewed the head off another. Beside them Gimli stood with his stout legs apart, wielding his dwarf-axe. The bow of Legolas was singing.

The image of an ancient, powerful wizard.

In the wavering firelight Gandalf seemed suddenly to grow: he rose up, a great menacing shape like the monument of some ancient king of stone set upon a hill. Stooping like a cloud, he lifted a burning branch and strode to meet the wolves.

Marvellous stuff!

[Laitoste]

Firstly, between this thread and my English class, I no longer have the appetite to finish the Pride and Prejudice re-read I started...it is FAR too tame and mundane to follow the romantic and marital difficulties of Elizabeth Bennet when I could be rejoicing in deliciously gruesome descriptions!

And now for the point. Perhaps this lack of an "inner monologue" heightens the fear and terror...because we don't know for sure what the character is thinking and/or feeling, we must put our own emotions in the character's place. So instead of the Ringwraith sniffing out the hobbits, we feel as if it is actually searching for us. Any thoughts?

Oh, and one more thing: dragons! How are they horrific? In their description, or their cunning, or malicious personality? Did Smaug frighten anyone? I personally was not scared by him, but was intrigued by his way of speech. Once I read the Sil, however, I was (naturally) far more impressed by Glaurung, for his clever manipulation of Turin if nothing else--come to think of it, Glaurung was probably my favorite character in that story... For example:

Then suddenly [Glaurung] spoke, by the evil spirit that was in him, saying: 'Hail, son of Hurin. Well met!'

Then Turin sprang about, and strode against him, and the edges of Gurthang shone as with flame; but Glaurung withheld his blast, and opened wide his serpent-eyes and gazed upon Turin. Without fear, Turin looked into them as he raised up his sword; and straightway he fell under the binding spell of the lidless eyes of the dragon, and was halted moveless...But Glaurung spoke again, taunting Turin, and he said: 'Evil have been all thy ways, son of Hurin. Thankless fosterling, outlaw, slayer of thy friend, thief of love, usurper of Nargothrond, captain foolhardy, and deserter of thy kin. As thralls thy mother and thy sister live in Dor-lomin, in misery and want. Thou art arrayed as a prince, but they go in rags.'

And so on. Glaurung's destructive qualities lay not so much in the actual fact that he was a dragon with all the physical strength and attributes of a dragon, but that he was able to manipulate Turin to make poor choices. He captivates Turin, preventing him from following the obvious choice: rescuing Finduilas. What is it about cunning and manipulation, the "dragon-spell", that is so frightening? Do we see too much of it in ourselves? Or because we are terrified of falling under the spell ourselves and having the wool pulled over our eyes?

[Mister Underhill]

I'm in the middle of a long overdue re-reading, and was recently struck by the imagery in this passage from Helm's Deep:

It was now past midnight. The sky was utterly dark, and the stillness of the heavy air foreboded storm. Suddenly the clouds were seared by a blinding flash. Branched lightning smote down upon the eastward hills. For a staring moment the watchers on the walls saw all the space between them and the Dike lit with white light: it was boiling and crawling with black shapes, some squat and broad, some tall and grim, with high helms and sable shields. Hundreds and hundreds more were pouring over the Dike and through the breach. The dark tide flowed up to the walls from cliff to cliff. Thunder rolled in the valley. Rain came lashing down.

That visual of a lightning strike suddenly illuminating a valley crawling with silent Uruks sent a tingle down my spine. There's something so insectile about it. Ugh. I shiver just thinking about it...

[Lalwendë]

Gandalf talks of 'something nasty in the woodshed' that dwells in Moria:

Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things.

Now there's another example of a hinted at Monster or horrible thing. What's more, not even Gandalf knows what they are called, though he has seen them. He doesn't tell what they are either, that's a nasty secret he has to keep to himself.

Something very like this is the Nidhoggr of Norse myth, also a mysterious creature, which gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil. Nidhoggr is its nature - but not its name. Maybe these Nameless Things are part of the evil that Morgoth caused to be part of the very fabric of Arda? There's an uncanny, and quite scary resemblance there.

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

That visual of a lightning strike suddenly illuminating a valley crawling with silent Uruks sent a tingle down my spine. There's something so insectile about it. Ugh. I shiver just thinking about it...

That's a great example as its so visual. Did you notice that in the film, Peter Jackson seems to have replicated exactly what Tolkien described here? Text as vivid as that must seem like a gift to a film director.

Originally Posted by Laitoste

Firstly, between this thread and my English class, I no longer have the appetite to finish the Pride and Prejudice re-read I started...it is FAR too tame and mundane to follow the romantic and marital difficulties of Elizabeth Bennet when I could be rejoicing in deliciously gruesome descriptions!

How could you just up and abandon Mr Darcy?! The Horror of it!

Originally Posted by Laitoste

Oh, and one more thing: dragons! How are they horrific? In their description, or their cunning, or malicious personality? Did Smaug frighten anyone? I personally was not scared by him, but was intrigued by his way of speech.

I too don't personally find dragons horrific, in fact I find them really exciting (I also love Pirates though Johnny Depp might have summat to do with that) and even hinted at (and got) the kids' Dragonology book for Christmas. Maybe Smaug was less frightening because it was a children's book. If Tolkien had left room for dragons in LotR I think we'd have seen some truly frightening ones, though he drew a line under the chance of having this by killing off the most powerful dragon in The Hobbit (I can imagine Tolkien kicking himself there).

There are the 'Wild were-worms in the Last Desert' though. Now there's a question. Does anyone else find the words "worms" or "wyrms" somehow more frightening than "dragons"?

[Lalaith]

As usual, I come to the best threads too late to say much other than "hear, hear".
But I'll add to the chorus of approval for the fell beasts - a gloriously sinister piece of writing.
I also want to come back to this bit, picked up by Lalwende:

and nursed it with fell meats

Think about all the words Tolkien could have used here. Reared, fed, bred, gave...instead he picks "nursed". The sheer perversity of this kindly, motherly word in a passage of description like this - brilliantly effective.

Oh and Nidhoggr...I'd always imagined him as a cross between a giant rat and a warthog with huge nasty tusks. And yes, Tolkien's gnawing nameless things also became in my mind warthoggy ratty things, in his honour.

[Annatar!]

I also agree that 'nursed' is so evocative. The juxtaposition of terminology that seems nurturing, wholsesome and good with the horror.
This juxtaposition is emulated in his characterisation of the actual agents of evil. Tolkien often shows a great respect for the darkness in all of the ME books, he endows it with, what are essentially, positive terms; Smaug The Golden, Shelob The Great, the most terrifying of the Nazgul is their 'King", the most terrifying of the Balrogs is entitled 'Lord'.
The second Dark Lord of ME creates his greatest work in a guise of fairness (as Annatar), the first Dark Lord is said to have received the greatest gifts of knowledge and power from Illuvatar.
He uses these terms to signify their importance as the elements of evil?
If something is a lord or a king of evil then it must imply a greatness of terror and horror.
Perhaps some of the effect of the horror of these creatures/ characters is that they are held by the author in some form of reverence, and in the context of the story often fell from a place of reverence.
To fear what once was good (i.e Balrogs, Nazgul, Sauron, Ocs, Uruks) illustrates the true horror of the corruption of Morgoth.
IMO the scariest and most horriffic element of the entire history of Ea is that first discordant note that Melkor uttered, one moment that caused all that is corrupted to be interwoven into fate, and the fact that the note is still resounding even after the servants of that chord are gone.