In J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

's fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 writings, the term vampire

Vampire

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

is used loosely to designate mysterious bat-like creatures serving Morgoth

Morgoth

Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...

 and Sauron

Sauron

Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...

. Almost nothing is known about them, though Tolkien does name one: Thuringwethil

Thuringwethil

Thuringwethil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Her hide was used as Lúthien's disguise when she entered Angband on the Quest of the Silmaril. Thuringwethil was a vampire messenger of Sauron, probably a Maia, who took the shape of a bat-like creature. Her...

. Sauron also took the shape of a vampire on at least one occasion, while he still had the ability to change his shape

Fëa and hröa

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for "soul" and "body". The plural form of fëa is fëar and the plural form of hröa is hröar...

. They may have been fallen Maiar

Maia (Middle-earth)

The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...

 as was Sauron, lesser angelic spirits (as opposed to the Valar

Vala (Middle-earth)

The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...

, greater angelic spirits, as was Morgoth).