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The Lord of the Rings

Scariest lord of the rings moments

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33contenders high-voltage

440votes

5TopList

0commentsUpdated on 10/17/2026 at 06:00 AM

III – Sméagol's transformation into Gollum1366

The worldwide ranking generated by 440 votes

33 / 33

III – Sméagol's transformation into Gollum1366

III – Denethor's meal1333

I – Boromir possessed by the Ring1301

I – The Black Riders hunting at the edge of the Shire1296

I – Bilbo possessed by the Ring1295

III – Denethor's madness burning Faramir alive1281

II – Frodo facing the winged Nazgûl at Osgiliath1276

III – The Mouth of Sauron1276

III – Pippin looking into the Palantír1270

#10

III – Shelob's lair1265

#11

II – Théoden possessed by Saruman1262

#12

II – The Dead Marshes1258

#13

I – The Nazgûl in the room at the Prancing Pony1254

#14

II – Wormtongue with Éowyn1253

#15

II – Merry and Pippin captive to the orcs1238

#16

I – The future shown in Galadriel's mirror1208

#17

III – Frodo possessed by the Ring1205

#18

III – Gollum biting off Frodo's finger1199

#19

II – Gollum attacking Frodo and Sam in the Emyn Muil1196

#20

I – Galadriel possessed by the Ring1193

#21

I – The Nazgûl stabbing Frodo at Weathertop1184

#22

III – The Paths of the Dead1180

#23

I – The Watcher in the Water1177

#24

II – Frodo and Sam vulnerable before the Black Gate1170

#25

III – Frodo and Sam among the orcs1165

#26

II – Sméagol and Gollum plotting to deliver Sam and Frodo to Shelob1155

#27

III – Frodo drawn helplessly toward Minas Morgul1143

#28

II – Merry and Pippin trapped by the trees of Fangorn1079

#29

I – Gandalf startling Frodo at Bag End1076

#30

I – The arguments at the Council of Elrond1071

#31

I – Frodo putting on the Ring for the first time at the Prancing Pony1055

#32

III – Gandalf sleeping with his eyes open1051

#33

II – Treebeard's appearance952

What the community says

Rank the scariest and most horrifying moments from The Lord of the Rings.

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →