Be sure to read Part 1 of our Top Ten Creepy Creatures and Characters series before reading this post.
Happy Halloween! We’re celebrating the spookiest day of the year by releasing the second and final part of our Top Ten Creepiest Creatures and Characters in the Inheritance Cycle list! We scoured Alagaësia’s lore for some of our favorite eerie personas and mysterious creations… and the top five are truly terrifying!
In our first post, we detailed five creatures and characters that might make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and today we’d like to give you five more sinister beings that we thought were equally scary and impactful in the Inheritance Cycle!
Without further ado, our top five creepy characters:
The shade Durza was one of the first major villains that fans of the Inheritance Cycle were introduced to, making his debut in the very first page of Eragon. While he was slain by the end of the book, Durza had a profound impact on several of the main characters in the Cycle.
Why he’s scary: No longer a man, but not quite undying, a shade is one of the most intimidating foes around. Once a troubled sorcerer named Carsaib, a moment of rage caused this character to summon spirits that he could not control, which then possessed him and turned him into a shade named Durza. The half-man, half-ghost had long hair the color of dripping blood, a tall muscular frame, and translucent, pale skin. Durza also used sadistic magic and torture techniques on his prisoners, namely Arya.
One of the most unfortunate characters of the Inheritance Cycle is certainly the child Elva. Way back in Eragon, when Eragon was still learning magic, baby Elva was offered to the future Shadeslayer to receive a hero’s blessing. Due to inexperience with the Ancient Language, the intended blessing was instead a curse.
Why she’s creepy: It isn’t her fault, but the curse that Eragon incidentally gave Elva had several strange effects. For one, her aging/growth was accelerated in addition to her mental capacity, so the words she would speak in conversation were those of no typical child. The curse also caused her to have violet eyes, and the ability of foresight and sensing the pain of others often put her in a miserable state. And who could forget that low, cynical laugh of hers?
These giant snails are found on Vroengard island, and for many years served as a source of sustenance of the dragons who lived there.
Why they’re creepy: They’re giant snails! At over five feet tall, these huge, slimy creatures are resistant to magic and unlike any beast in Alagaësia. Even author Christopher Paolini agrees that the Snalglí are frightening things:
The followers of the Helgrind religion made a few memorable appearances during the Inheritance Cycle. They were responsible for capturing Eragon and Arya at Dras-Leona and planning to leave them at the mercy of the Ra’zac.
What makes them scary: From top to bottom (of what’s left of them), the priests of Helgrind will make your skin crawl. As practicers of flesh offerings, many of the followers are missing limbs and appendages that were cut off in a sacrifice to the Old Ones (Ra’zac and Lethrblaka). The High Priest was missing all of its arms and legs, and did not have a discernible gender. Eragon and Roran witnessed a gruesome display of the bodily sacrifices in Brisingr.
These dark creatures served as assassins for Galbatorix and were responsible for killing Garrow, Brom and countless others. After the slayings, Eragon vowed to hunt the last remaining pair of Ra’zac down and avenge the deaths of his family.
Why they are so creepy: The Ra’zac are pure nightmare fuel, starting even before they’re born. Birthed from a pupa, the creatures form hardened exoskeletons and beaks, with large black orbs for eyes. They wear cloaks so that they may walk amongst people, hiding their hunched backs and rotten breath. Though they do not practice magic, they are adept at combat, highlighted by their many killings. Oh, and their favorite food? Human flesh, of course!
Now we ask: What is your favorite creature or character(s) from our top ten list? Would you change the order of our list in any way? Which other characters would you add to this list that we didn’t include?
