Ungoliant

Ungoliant (Sindarin pronunciation: [ʊŋˈɡɔljant]) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, described as an evil spirit in the form of a giant spider.

Her origins are unclear, as Tolkien's writings do not explicitly reveal her nature, other than that she is from "before the world"; this may mean she is a Maia, an immortal spirit.

Houghton, the story of Ungoliant and Morgoth is comparable to the account in John Milton's Paradise Lost in which Sin conceives a child, Death, by Satan.

[4][5] On Ungoliant's race, he notes Tolkien's remark in The Theft of Melko (in The Book of Lost Tales) that "Mayhap she was bred of mists and darkness on the confines of the Shadowy seas, in the utter dark that came between the overthrow of the Lamps and the kindling of the Trees, but more like she has always been [Abbott's italics]; and she it is who loveth still to dwell in that black place taking the guise of an unlovely spider.

"[4][T 3] He draws attention to Tolkien's suggestions that Ungoliant has always existed and that she is simply choosing to appear (in the "guise") as a spider, and states that this means she must be an immortal Maia, a spirit-being able to take on physical form.

[4] In Mythlore, Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride write that Ungoliant and the lesser spider Shelob signify purely irrational evil, "wholly preoccupied with their own lusts; they operate on the pleasure principle.

[6] They further assert that the spiders' irrationality required Tolkien to make them female, while the Dark Lords' analytical thought identified them as male.

On their 2006 album The Morrigan's Call, the Irish Celtic metal band Cruachan featured a song "Ungoliant" as well as one named after Shelob.