Were-worms

Were-worms were creatures told of in the stories of hobbits. Though possibly mythical, Were-worms were believed to inhabit the Last Desert, said to be located far to the east of the Shire., Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"
For a hobbit to declare himself prepared to fight Were-worms was a sort of proverbial way of saying that he was ready to do anything.
== Etymology ==
The prefix were- originates from wer, the Old English word for "man".
In The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, Robert Foster suggests that Were-worms may have been misremembered dragons among Hobbits, noting that "worm" is often used as another name for dragons and that the usage of "were" is similar to "Werewolves", suggesting that Were-worms may have a relation to them.
== In other versions ==
In the first version of The Hobbit, Bilbo mentioned to Thorin and Company that he was capable of walking to "the Great Desert of Gobi and fight the Wild Wire worm of the Chinese" there; Tolkien subsequently made the term plural.The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, "The First Phase", I(a). "The Pryftan Fragment", pg. 9 In the second version of The Hobbit, the phrase was changed to "...the last desert in the East and fight the Wild Wireworms of the Chinese".The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, "The First Phase", I(b). "The Bladorthin Typescript", pgs. 40, 43 The Were-worms of the Last Desert may have, therefore, been based on the legend of Mongolian death worms in the Gobi Desert.
== In adaptations ==
=== Middle-earth Role Playing ===
In the 2012 second edition of the 1994 Creatures of Middle-earth module of , Were-worms are shapeshifters that evolved from wingless and legless Dragons. There are two breeds: Sand-drakes and True Were-worms. Sand-drakes are beasts which mimic anything they touch while True Were-worms were intelligent creatures that wielded sorcery.
=== The Hobbit (2003 video game) ===
Were-worms were monsters appearing in the as large, fearsome worms that live in underground dens. They are first seen after the Troll-hole boss fight. They look like caterpillars and when Bilbo kills one, another comes forward to take its place. They are blind and can be snuck up upon. They make a fearsome snarling noise that sounds similar to dogs.
=== The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II ===
The Wyrms that appear in may be based on Were-worms.
=== The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ===
In the of , Were-worms make a brief appearance before and during the Battle of Five Armies.
Tunnels dug by the creatures first appear as Azog and Ragash inspect the path their armies will travel. After Thorin II and Thranduil hear a rumbling noise below the battlefield, several Were-worms suddenly burst through the ground near the hills surrounding the Lonely Mountain, only to disappear again soon after. As they appear, Gandalf in horror identifies the creatures as Were-worms. Here, they dig tunnels for reinforcements of the Dol Guldur Orc army. They look somewhat like colossal rainworms with rock-like skin and massive jaws. They don’t appear to be used for combat, and they don’t take part in the actual battle. Despite a short appearance, the worms remain the largest creatures in the live-action films after with Smaug, who was said to be over 130 meters (426 feet) in length.Ian Failes. 2014. Behind the scenes of Weta Digital’s Smaug. the fxguide. Retrieved on December 22. 2014 The Were-worms resemble Carnictis from King Kong (2005); the worm-like creatures which devoured Lumpy, portrayed by Andy Serkis. For Peter Jackson's self-homage to his King Kong, there were more scenes of similarity in the franchise; during the battle under the Lonely Mountain, Thorin landing on Smaug's nostril resembled Ann Darrow falling on the tip of Vastatosaurus Rex's jaws during the battle between Kong and the dinosaurs, and the facial structure of a War Troll in the of the third film strongly resembles that of King Kong. These Were-worms also resemble the Nydus wormshttp://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Nydus_worm of the Starcraft series.
=== Middle-earth: Shadow of War ===
In the The Desolation of Mordor DLC, Were-worms, referred to as Were-wyrms, appear as native to the plain of Lithlad in The Desolation of Mordor DLC, an expansion to . Their appearance is similar to how they appear in , though the creatures vary greatly in size.
== See also ==
*Withered Heath
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Chinese (Hong Kong)	噬地獸
Czech 	Zeměžrouti
Danish 	Kæmpeorme ("Spøgelsesdrager")
French 	Mange-Terre
German 	Werwürmer
Norwegian 	Vârorm
Polish 	Robołaki
Portuguese (Brazil)	Homens-dragões (book)Vermes-gigantes (film)Grãs-serpes (book²)
Russian 	Червеоборотни
== References ==
de:Werwürmer
fr:Mange-Terre
ru:Червеоборотни
Category:Azog's army
Category:Monsters
Category:Mystery
Category:Non-canonical Servants of Sauron