Taheen
Encyclopedia
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
. They are mentioned in Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series; most specifically, they are first hinted at in the revised edition of "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger". The Taheen are mentioned but not named when locals describe the kind of horrors that lie beyond Thunderclap. They are described by Roland as "Creatures neither of the Prim, nor of the natural world, but misbegotten things from somewhere between the two." They are sometimes known as "The Third People."
Finli O'Tego, first mentioned in the fifth book, is the best-known Taheen in the final Dark Tower book. Finli is over 300 years old and has the head of a weasel, but brief characters in Song of Susannah
Song of Susannah
Song of Susannah is the sixth novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The novel was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2005.-Plot summary:...
and final Dark Tower book include Taheen that have bird heads, such as Meiman (dubbed "Canaryman" by Susannah and "Tweety bird" by Jake for his yellow head) and Jey (who Susannah calls "Hawkman" for his brown feathers).
Taheen are long-lived and, allegedly, superior to humans physically and mentally. Most of them regard humans (or "humes", a pejorative term) as inferior, although some enjoy human arts, such as literature, and some human activities, such as basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. They are not to be confused with the Can-toi
Can-toi
The Can-Toi are fictional creatures from Stephen King's Dark Tower series and related works. They are unofficially but more commonly known as low men, as in Low Men in Yellow Coats due to their often garish yellow clothing...
(or low men) who are mostly rat-faced, wear human masks, and are admittedly inferior to humans. In Book VII "The Dark Tower" it is also hinted that they have a culture of their own (a name-change ritual is mentioned) and that their religious beliefs (if any) are quite different (praying seems to puzzle Finli O'Tego).
"Taheen" seems to be plural as well as singular. ("I saw a bird-faced taheen." "I saw some taheen playing basketball.")