Gollum is a fictional monstrous character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became important in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields. In The Lord of the Rings it is stated that he was originally known as Sméagol, he was corrupted by the One Ring and later named Gollum after his habit of making “a horrible swallowing noise in his throat”.
Sméagol obtained the Ring by murdering his relative Déagol, who found it in the River Anduin. Gollum referred to the Ring as “my precious” or “precious”, and it extended his life far beyond natural limits. Centuries of the Ring’s influence twisted Gollum’s body and mind, and, by the time of the novels, he “loved and hated [the Ring], as he loved and hated himself.”
Gollum eventually left the Mountains and pursued Bilbo a few years later, but the trail was cold. He made his way south to Mordor where all evil was being drawn at the time, discovering the secret Stairs of Cirith Ungol located near Minas Morgul and surviving an encounter with Shelob. He was captured on his return, taken to the dungeons of Barad-dûr and forced to reveal to Sauron under intense torture what he knew about the Ring. Gollum was then freed, as Sauron had learned all he needed from him and sensed he might draw out the Ring. He was then subsequently caught by Aragorn, then interrogated by Gandalf, who placed him in the care of the Silvan Elves living in Thranduil’s kingdom in Mirkwood. Assisted by Orcs he escaped them, and set off looking for the Shire. He passed through Moria, but could not make it out of the Doors of Durin. Seemingly he then just waited there until he got lucky when the Fellowship passed through. However, as Frodo was a ring-bearer he might have foreseen the passing of the ring. Alternatively, some of Saruman’s or Sauron’s spies may have revealed to him the Fellowship was heading towards Moria.
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