Blog Post: Spooky Fantasy Characters

Spooky Season is upon us. This is the time of year when we like to pick up that classic horror book that’s always given us the fright we need or grab the latest stabby book that sends chills down our spine. We love to think about the scary, the monstrous, or the haunting. It is in this spirit that I want to draw your attention to some spooky fantasy characters that have left me feeling afraid.

Raaku from The Last War Series

The first character that is sure to give us a fright is Emperor Raaku, Son of Kage. This spooky son of a god comes to us from Mike Shakle’s The Last War series. It was Raaku’s desire to rid the world of the false gods by any means necessary and send plenty of souls to his father Kage in the Great Darkness. There was nothing he wasn’t willing to do to mold the world in his image. He would send his Egril Army and horde of vicious monsters slicing through enemy territories to kill or convert every last person until there remained no remnant of the unbelievers.

Raaku used multiple chilling methods to get what he wanted. He used newly rediscovered magic to go around his enemies’ defenses. He infused his most faithful subjects with terrifying powers to destroy his enemies. He also transformed others into terrifying monsters that were hellbent on preforming his sinister will.

Sauron from The Lord Of The Rings

Next we turn our attention to the Dark Lord himself. Though we never really get a good glimpse of Sauron in the Lord Of The Rings, (You need to go to The Silmarillion for that) his looming presence and great eye is always watching. From the dark land of Mordor he wields his power sending the black riders known as the Nazgûl to seek out the ring that he lusts for. His armies of orcs are sure to terrify as they pillage and burn their way across middle earth to fulfill their master’s desire.

Endued with dark power, Sauron created rings that were meant to control his enemies, thus giving him the power in Middle Earth that he desired. Through the One Ring he would hold sway over all who would stand against him. With such power it’s no wonder he was called the Dark Lord. Whether it’s your first time exploring Tolkien’s world or you are a returning traveler, Sauron’s ever watching eye is sure to give you a scare.

The Elf from The Edan Trilogy

Now let’s continue our travels of terror to Philip Chase’s world of Eormenlond where we will encounter an ethereal elf that thinks the world would be better off if it could only wipe it clean of humanity. It’s not that this elf being is good or evil, it’s simply indifferent. But what makes it so terrifying is that if only givien the chance it has the power to cure the world of the disease that is humanity. It considers all of the problems and pains of the world and draws the conclusion that mankind is the cause of it all. It longs to set people free of all their pain, which sounds great until you realize that set free also means to suck the soul from the body. Yikes! Something even more uncomfortable to consider is whether the elf is right. Is humanity worth keeping around? Can human kind be redeemed? The elf doesn’t think so and it’s determined to fix the problem.

Credit for artwork: Mike Shackle for Raaku and Daniel Clouser for the elf.