Talk:Undead

With this article I try to develop a notion in order to categorize and systemize "beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive ... both incorporeal ... or corporeal" (WP) in the works of Tolkien. Any thoughts? Such creatures were just scattered in the category Creatures, and I believe we need to get a better organization in this section of TG. --Morgan 23:09, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Wights

"Wight" does appear by itself, albeit as mostly as an abbreviation for "Barrow-wight", e.g.:

"Get out, you old Wight! Vanish in the sunlight!" - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs"

"He bade them lie there 'free to all finders, birds, beasts. Elves or Men, and all kindly} creatures'; for so the spell of the mound should be broken and scattered and no Wight ever come back to it" - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs"

But, crucially:

"And some said: 'They are Elvish wights. Let them go where they belong, into the dark places, and never return. The times are evil enough.'" - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Passing of the Grey Company"

Also, I think it's clear that Tolkien is using Wight in its poetic sense which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a spirit, ghost, or other supernatural being" which seems pretty Undead to me! --Mith (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 00:22, 18 December 2010 (UTC)

I thought that wight meant "person" and the supernatural sense is only post-Tolkien. Thanks for clarifying. Sage 16:58, 18 December 2010 (UTC)