Shelob is a fictional monster in the form of a giant spider from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Her lair lies in Cirith Ungol leading into Mordor. The creature Gollum deliberately leads the Hobbit protagonist Frodo there in hopes of recovering the One Ring by letting Shelob attack Frodo. The plan is foiled when Samwise Gamgee temporarily blinds Shelob with the Phial of Galadriel, and then severely wounds her with Frodo's Elvish sword, Sting.
Artist's impression of the Phial of Galadriel, which helped the hobbits to defeat Shelob.
The Hobbits' fight with Shelob derives from multiple myths. Panel in Hylestad Stave Church showing Sigurd's sword penetrating Fafnir.
The portrayal of Shelob in Peter Jackson's film of The Return of the King is said to be based on a New Zealand species that Jackson personally dislikes.
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
Beowulf's eotenas [ond] ylfe [ond] orcneas, "ogres [and] elves [and] devil-corpses" helped to inspire Tolkien to create the Orcs and Elves of Middle-earth.
Barbara Remington's cover illustrations for the Ballantine paperback version "achieved mass-cult status" on American college campuses in the 1960s. They were parodied by Michael K. Frith's cover design for the 1969 Bored of the Rings.
"Welcome to Hobbiton" sign in Matamata, New Zealand, where Peter Jackson's film version was shot
![Beowulf's eotenas [ond] ylfe [ond] orcneas, "ogres [and] elves [and] devil-corpses" helped to inspire Tolkien to create the Orcs and Elves of Middle-e](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Beowulf_eotenas_ylfe_orcneas.jpg/640px-Beowulf_eotenas_ylfe_orcneas.jpg)
