The darkness has taken over the second season of The Rings of Power. One of the first evidences of this can be seen in the fourth episode, where the company led by Galadriel and Elrond will have to cross the Hills of the Barrows, one of the most sinister places in Middle-earth.

Also known as Tyrn Gorthad, they are located in an area of low hills to the east of the Shire and the Old Forest, and to the west of the town of Bree. According to Tolkien's own descriptions, they were built by men in the ancient days of the Kingdom of the North and many of these hills were crowned with megaliths and barrows, which gave the place its name.

The Hills of the Barrows served as resting places for the men of the north, but after the great plague that occurred, evil spirits or Barrow-wights began to inhabit the place. It is these sinister beings who lurk around the protagonists at a given moment.

[Who is Tom Bombadil, the "oldest man in Middle-earth" and why his role is key in 'The Rings of Power']

What are the Barrow-wights

The Barrow-wights

The aforementioned Hills of the Barrows were for many ages a sacred and revered place, but the haunted realm of Angmar caused many terrifying spirits to traverse Middle-earth desperately trying to hide from the threatening sunlight.

Some of these demons ended up in the Hills of the Barrows, which from that moment on became an enchanted place that was better to avoid. The demons living there transformed into Barrow-wights or undead, animating the bones and armor of the ancient kings of men who had lived in that land in the First Age of the Sun.

[Who is the dark wizard that appears in 'The Rings of Power' and what is his power in the series]

These beings were made of a substance originating from darkness that could penetrate the eye, the heart, and the mind of people or nullify the will. They could change shape and animate any being they wished and often appeared to travelers they encountered, disguised as dark phantoms with cold, luminous eyes.

On the other hand, the voice of these figures was both dreadful and hypnotic, their hands were skeletal and as cold as ice, and when they took hold of prey, they stole their will.

[What are the mysterious tree-shaped creatures that appear in 'The Rings of Power': all about the 'Ents']

In the darkness, these spirits were extremely fierce and could only be appeased by powerful enchantments. That is why it is so difficult for the characters to escape from them.

Only exposure to light could kill them, and they were lost and tortured spirits whose only chance of remaining on Earth depended on the security provided by the darkness of the burial chambers. Once a crypt was opened, light would penetrate it and the barrow-wights would disappear forever like mist with the Sun.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence