Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things About Shelob Only Book Fans Know

Spiders often serve as secondary antagonists in The Lord of the Rings—the most famous of them being Shelob, who is pitted against Samwise and Frodo while they’re on their quest to destroy the One Ring. The movies use CGI to construct her frame, lending her a dreadful aura and turning her into a malevolent force of nature that the two Hobbits need to reckon with.

Shelob’s cinematic representation does not, however, capture the scale of her “evil”, since Tolkien describes her as “bloated and grown fat… weaving webs of shadow; for all living things were her food, and her vomit darkness.” In fact, the author’s writings prove that, despite her minor role in the films, Shelob carries with her the history of Middle-earth itself.

10 Shelob Is One Of Ungoliant’s Children

The first of all spider entities in Arda is Ungoliant, whose existence remains unexplained to date—she could have been an Ainur twisted by Morgoth, or arose in the void and somehow found a way into the world. Ungoliant is easily one of the most intimidating creatures in the history of Middle-earth.

Aside from sapping the Two Trees of their light, her other claim to fame is birthing her famous daughter, Shelob. Unfortunately, who or what Ungoliant mates with to produce her spawn is also unclear.

9 Shelob Is A Relic Of The First Age

The First Age of Middle-earth spans around six centuries, starting with the “Awakening of Men” and concluding with the removal of Morgoth from Arda through the Tarn Fui.

Shelob is born at some point during this era, making her several thousand years old at the very least. Gandalf the Grey once mentions that “the world is gnawed by nameless things” deep below the surface; Shelob is most likely one of them, given her life expectancy rivals that of Elves.

8 She Was Probably Spawned In The Ered Gorgoroth

Ungoliant parts ways with Morgoth after betraying him; she makes her home and her children in the dreadful valley known as Nan Dungortheb, located between the eerie mountain range of Ered Gorgoroth in Beleriand.

Further, Tolkien mentions that Shelob “had lived in… in the Mountains of Terror in Doriath” confirming that the spider’s original home used to be somewhere in the region.

7 She Occupies Mordor Prior To Sauron

Morgoth and his minions are utterly routed by the Valar and the Elves during the War of Wrath, a massive series of battles that leads to the destruction of Beleriand—”the Land of the Elves in the West that is now under the Sea.”

As a result, Shelob shifts her base to Mordor, probably because she doesn’t want to get caught in the middle of a war that is of no concern to her. Sauron arrives in Mordor around a millennium into the Second Age, establishing the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr and taking control of the territory.

6 Shelob’s Descendants Can Be Found In Mirkwood

Shelob produces so many offspring that a large fraction of them are killed and eaten for sustenance, with the rest of them spreading into forests like Mirkwood.

Interestingly, this Silvan region was once known as Greenwood the Great, earning its sinister name because of its resident spider population. This means that the spiders encountered by Bilbo and Thorin’s Company in The Hobbit are descendants of Shelob.

5 Shelob’s Lair Is A Putrid Complex Of Tunnels

It is unclear if Shelob builds the labyrinth of twisted tunnels around Cirith Ungol herself, or whether they are natural rock formations that just happen to serve her needs perfectly. In any case, her lair is nearly impossible to escape from, with most of her victims dying of thirst before Shelob gets hold of them.

Another central facet of the maze is its “stench… a foul reek, as if filth unnameable were piled and hoarded in the dark within.” The movies certainly don’t do the overpowering odor any justice.

4 Her Role As Sauron’s Macabre Pet

Shelob and Sauron are aware of each other’s existence, but they never interfere in each other’s business. In fact, the Dark Lord is more than happy to have a malicious, eternally starving spider keeping an eye on the backdoor to Mordor.

Tolkien writes that “Sauron would send her prisoners that he had no better uses for,” deriving vicarious pleasure from the “report brought back to him of the play she made.” The author adds that “he calls her his cat,” although Shelob couldn’t care less as long as Sauron supplies her with food.

3 Shelob’s Name Translates To Female Spider

The word Shelob is a portmanteau of the pronoun “she”, as used in modern English, and “lob” (also written as “lobbe” and “loppe”, a Proto-Germanic concept meaning “spider” and other bugs that jump). This contrasts with references like Torech Ungol and Ungoliant, where “ungol” refers to “spider” in Sindarin Elvish.

The idea of Shelob having a defined gender is elaborated in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, which depicts her as a human woman wearing an uncharacteristically fashionable black evening gown, replete with arm straps.

2 She Is Referred To As An Insect By Tolkien

There is a fair bit of confusion regarding the animal class the Shelob belongs to. Tolkien clearly defines her as a spider but then goes on to describe her eyes as “many-windowed”, “clustered”, and having “a thousand facets,” which are explicit features of insect eyes, not those of arachnids.

More confusingly, it seems that Shelob possesses a sting—like a scorpion or a wasp—but spiders only employ their mouthparts to transfer venom. That said, it could just be Tolkien exerting some poetic license.

1 She Might Still Be Alive

Gollum is initially snared by Shelob while stalking Mordor for his precious One Ring. However, he somehow convinces her to set him free, swearing to return with better-quality food; Gollum makes good on his promise when he leads two Hobbits directly to her.

Unfortunately for the spider, she is forced to face Phial of Galadriel and the undaunted spirit of Samwise Gamgee. The gardener-by-profession injures Shelob with Bilbo’s iconic Sting, forcing her to flee into the murky depths of her lair. Although she is never mentioned again, it’s quite possible that Shelob continues to lurk in the darkest recesses of the world.

About The Author

Ajay Aravind
(429 Articles Published)

In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don’t). You can find him @stain_dprinc_ss on Twitter.

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