Fell Spirits

This page is about Fell Spirits in general. For a specific Fell Spirit, see Fell Spirit. 

Fell Spirits (sometimes Fell-spirits) are a type of Shade, ghostly creatures summoned from the Void outside the realm of Arda to serve the Witch-king and the Dark Lord Sauron. It is these beings that enter the bodies of the dead and animate them as Wights and who possessed enslaved Men in ancient times to create the Gaunt Men. They are also the guiding intelligence behind the Watching-stones of Angmar and Mordor. Fell Spirits in their natural form can be summoned by Nazgul or by Angmarim priests and unleashed upon unwary adventurers.

Like many creatures of darkness, their exact origins are unknown. They may be spirits of evil Men, Orcs, or other creatures, or fallen Maiar who were lured to evil by Morgoth in the First Age. While undoubtedly evil and malicious, they are nonetheless slaves of Mordor and do not always show loyalty to their masters if freed from their control.

Other ghostly beings such as the Darkwaters are presumably of similar origin as the Fell Spirits.