[OD&D] Balrog

[Havard]

there is also the obscure reference to Were-wûrms in the Hobbit, which Tolkien based on the Mongolian Death Worm

I hate to further derail a thread which has already been derailed, but can you tell me more about this? Peter Jackson has them in the 3rd Hobbit movie and I'll be darned if I can recall where they come from. (Also there is a reference to giant bats which eludes me. I must be having a rough day. :? )

I had to google the Were Wurms myself after watching the film. The passage from the Hobbit goes:

"Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert."
—Bilbo Baggins, in The Hobbit

More details on what these are and where Tolkien got the idea here: http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Were-worms

Bats are IIRC mentioned as part of the Goblin Army in the Battle of Five Armies chapter, though only in passing.

I have read the Hobbit multiple times, but missed the reference to werewurms every time and also the passage about the Stone Giants early in the book.

-Havard