I think I read somewhere there were vampires in Middle-earth. Does anyone have any knowledge of these vampires and any noteworthy events in history they were a part of?
Answer
Not much is known about them, but Vampires in Tolkien's mythology seem to be bat-like creatures under the service of Morgoth and Sauron. They don't play a major role in any of the stories, and seem to be quite distinct from the tuxedo-wearing Dracula archetype. It's generally assumed that Tolkien used the name simply because it evoked the idea of a "bat-monster," rather than bringing along all the common tropes of vampires, like crosses and wooden stakes.
One vampire is named in Tokien's world (Thuringwethil), and Sauron took the form of a vampire at least once. While they are normally described as bat-like, they were at least somewhat humanoid, as Thuringwethil is described as a "woman of shadow" (emphasis mine).
However, there is no mention of Vampires after the First Age ended, and they presumably became extinct after the destruction of Morgoth.
It's possible that these are the "bats bred for war" shown briefly in the Battle of Five Armies film, although a quote from The Hobbit book implies that the war-bats are merely similar to vampires, not vampires themselves:
"There a host of Wargs came ravening and with them came the bodyguard of Bolg, goblins of huge size with scimitars of steel. Soon actual darkness was coming into a stormy sky; while still the great bats swirled about the heads and ears of elves and men, or fastened vampire-like on the stricken."
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