Wraith

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The word "wraith", marked by the Oxford English Dictionary as being "of obscure origin", is first attested in 1513, with the meaning of "ghost or spectre" (that is, an apparition of a living or once-living being, possibly as a portent of death). In 18th century Scotland it was applied to water spirits. Over time, it came to be used in a metaphoric sense to refer to wraith-like things, and to portents in general.

The word may be of Scots origin, possibly through Old Norse vörðr, meaning "guardian" (cf. the Modern English cognates "ward" and "warden"), and related to^{[citation needed]} Irish arrach, meaning "apparition". An association with the verb "writhe" has also been claimed. Philologist and fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien held this view [1], and his use of the word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraiths has influenced creators of fantasy and horror novels, television shows, and games, who use it with its meaning of a shadow-thing, a spirit of another world, or more generally a mysterious being to be feared.

The `Wraith` which appear in the Stargate Atlantis Television series are, much like the wraiths seen in other fantasy media, depicted to "feed" on the very essence of humans and have the ability to age them rapidly.

The wraith is a being of power, controlled by a greater spirit to do the creatures will. These creatures are shadows, floating amongst our realm with no purpose but that of their masters. They feed on humans, their emotions and their own strength, without these they would cease to exist. Information considering their lesser known qualities is difficult to obtain.

The classic depiction of a wraith is identical to the image of a tall, humanoid figure shrouded in a black cloak, under which no face can be seen, though a hand protrudes. This image may derived from the image of the Ringwraiths, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come described by Charles Dickens, the Grim Reaper, or a combination thereof. The word "wraith" is also used in modern fiction to signify the shifting wraiths of T.A. Barron's book series The Lost Years of Merlin and the mortiwraiths of Wayne Thomas Batson's Door Within trilogy. Whereas the shifting wraith is a bestial, snake-like predator able to change itself into the form of any animal, albeit always having a feature uncharacteristic thereof, the mortiwraith is an anthropomorphically intelligent, gigantic, cave-dwelling, but also snake-like predator having creased, furry ears, poisonous blood, and many clawed legs whose quantity increases with the passage of every five years. The use of the word "wraith" for either of these is not made clear by either author in the respective story.

In European Pagan beliefs; the wraith is seen as a spirit of vengeance. They are said to be ghostly figures with long, sharp fingers. Wraiths are considered rare amongst the spirit realm for they consist of pure revenge yet not all wraiths will be truly vengeful, some are said to just be so enraged that they'll seek revenge on people for almost anything.

Stories were told of dark witches and warlcoks using a ritual called the 'parycopsis' or 'pa-rahn heku' to manipulate wraiths to do their will but it was always for a price and the one performing the ritual had to prove it was out of revenge. Even in such events, however the wraith usually turned on its temporary master and returned to the spirit realm.

In a local legend of Cornwall, the Polbreen Mine is said to be haunted by a wraith named Dorcas.

Also from litature, the Dementors from Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, are also wraiths, albeit in a weakened form.

However, the greatest and most famous wraiths are the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien. These wraiths, the Nine (for there where only nine of them) where enslaved by the dark rings they once wore in life, and where servants of the Dark Lord Sauron. The fearful presence they cause has best been represented in adaptations wher in the film version.

Wraith also appear in the Sci-Fi channels Stargate Atlantis, as an enemy of humans. They are a predator race that essentially suck the life out of Humans as a form of sustainance.