5 Horrific Moments from The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved fantasy film trilogies of all time thanks to its sweeping landscapes, stories of courage, and beloved characters. Fans of the series know that part of what makes the magic and adventure so effective are the horrors that the heroes encounter along the way.

In fact, Peter Jackson’s first love in film was horror, and it is one that he masterfully carried with him as he directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With Halloween fast approaching, here are our five favorite horrific moments in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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5. The Balrog – The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship finds themselves surrounded by Orcs in the Mines of Moria until the goblin horde flees in terror. The relief of the Orcs’ retreat is short-lived as the cavernous Dwarven halls are illuminated in the distance. The music features drums and chanting as orange light slowly advances on the Fellowship, illuminating the halls from floor to ceiling. Gandalf quietly informs the Fellowship that it is a Balrog, and tells them, “This foe is beyond any of you. Run!” The company races through Moria and over the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Suddenly, the company seems small and vulnerable despite the powerful members that make up their numbers in the vast halls of Durin.

When the other eight members are safely on the other side of the bridge, Gandalf stops to face the enemy that pursues them. Just as it seems they have made it out, the Balrog appears. The Balrog is every inch the demon Gandalf tells them it is, with curved horns, bat-like wings, and a flaming sword and whip. As it releases a deafening roar, it reveals fire burning in its mouth like a furnace. The fight that ensues and the cost of victory highlights what a fearsome foe the Balrog was. The sense of dread before the Balrog appears is perfectly executed and proportionate to the creature that pursues them.

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4. The Dead Marshes – The Two Towers

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through a bogland on the way to Mordor. Sam notes in alarm that there are “dead faces in the water.” Gollum tells them that the people they see in the water fell in battle long ago and that the land is known as the Dead Marshes. He goes on to instructs the Hobbits to not follow the lights in their eyes lest they “light little candles of their own.” Despite Gollum’s clear warning, Frodo’s gaze locks onto one of the ancient Elves. When its eyes open, Frodo plunges into the water and, fully submerged, comes face to face with the dead.

A rotting ghostly figure cast in sickly green rises from the depths with lips peeling back from fully exposed teeth, bulging white eyes, and a rotting hand that reaches to pull Frodo further down. As Frodo recoils, more ghoulish ghosts appear and surround him. He is only saved when Gollum wrenches him from the water and firmly warns him again to not follow the lights. Peter Jackson’s experience in horror movies is abundantly apparent in the moments Frodo spends beneath the water. While the dead appear to merely be sleeping from the land above, beneath the surface, their true form as the thing nightmares are made of is revealed.

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3. Shelob’s Lair – The Return of the King

Frodo makes his way through the Pass of Cirith Ungol with Gollum as his guide. The Hobbit recognizes that he is in grave danger as he sees corpses of Orcs, birds, and beasts wrapped in webs. Gollum abandons him, and Frodo stumbles blindly in the darkened, senseless halls. The passage is illuminated when Frodo wields the Light of Eärendil and viewers finally see the horror that dwells in the dark. Shelob, descended from the legendary spider Ungoliant, pursues Frodo through the tunnels. Believing he is safe once he is back in the open air, Frodo lets his guard down.

With massive pincers and eight legs that move alarmingly fast despite her massive body, she is terrifying to behold. She is both quick and patient, fully trusting that she will claim her next meal in the end. She sneaks up behind Frodo, stings him, and begins to wrap him in a web. Frodo is only saved by the timely appearance of Sam, who fights the spider armed with Sting and the Light of Eärendil. The brawl between the predator and would-be prey shows Shelob’s form in all its horrific glory. She is hideous, strong, fast, and cunning. It is only Sam’s small size, courage, loyalty to Frodo, and quick thinking that allows him to claim victory against the ancient arachnid and send her crawling gravely wounded back into the dark.

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2. The Paths of the Dead – The Return of the King

Legolas notes the unease among the Men and the horses at the encampment at Dunharrow. Éomer tells them that the mountain is evil, and none that take the passage to the Dimholt ever return. Elrond journeys to the encampment and gives Andúril, reforged from the shards of Narsil, to Aragorn. He instructs him to take the mountain pass and enlist the help of the dead that dwell there. Accompanied by Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn takes the narrow road to the dreaded door. Legolas tells Gimli that the Mountain’s inhabitants abandoned Gondor when their aid was needed, and that Isildur had cursed them in return.

In the passages beneath the mountain, the three travelers are enshrouded in a green mist that swirls in the shape of grasping hands as their boots crunch over the bones of the dead. They finally come upon a edifice in a large cavern and are quickly surrounded by ghosts. Peter Jackson’s love of horror is once again on full display. The skeletonized ghosts are all unnerving to behold, but none more so than the King of the Dead. His amorphous visage is at one moment rotting corpse and in the next an all but hollowed out skull. The three travelers narrowly escape an avalanche of skulls with the pledge of the dead to redeem themselves.

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1. Bilbo’s Transformation

Frodo and the Fellowship prepare to depart for their journey to Mordor. Safe within the borders of Rivendell, Frodo visits Bilbo in his rooms. Bilbo gifts Frodo his sword Sting, as well as his coat of Mithril armor. Bilbo encourages him to try armor on. As Frodo unbuttons his shirt, Bilbo’s eyes immediately alight on the Ring that Frodo wears on a chain. Bilbo asks to hold it, and an uneasy Frodo begins to button his shirt back up.

Bilbo’s loving, elderly face morphs in an instant to something unfamiliar in its aggression and desperation. His eyes bulge to an unnatural roundness and his teeth become crooked and rotten as he lunges for the Ring. Although the frightening image only lasts for a few frames, many fans of The Lord of the Rings will agree that few moments are more effective at striking fear into their hearts than this scene. Beyond being perhaps the biggest jumpscare of the entire trilogy, this moment is also profoundly effective at communicating the evil of the Ring. Even within the safety of the halls of Elrond, the Ring’s power still holds enough sway over the innocent heart of Bilbo to cause him to momentarily lash out at his beloved nephew.

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From ghosts to ancient demons to unexpected transformations, The Lord of the Rings has no shortage of terrifying dangers. The sense of dread, the visual horrors, and the high stakes involved are integral to the world-building of Middle-earth and the story of the War of the Ring. Few directors could have brought the frights to fantasy better than Peter Jackson. He expertly showed fans that horror not only has a home in fantasy, but can enrich it as well.