Halls of Waiting
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | Mahal's Halls (in dwarf-centric works) |
| Related tropes/genres | afterlife, Mandos |
| See also | Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Dwarven Culture (Tolkien) |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Halls of Waiting are a canon element of the afterlife in the works of Tolkien. They are watched over by Mandos. The different races are kept separate there, and elves may be re-embodied from the Halls.
Archives and Resources
- Trope: Afterlife on hobbit_kink's Pinboard
- Halls of Waiting, Mahal's Halls, and Afterlife (filtered by The Hobbit) on AO3
Dwarves
Many dwarves are canonically dead before main series starts, and others die during The Hobbit or between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Fanworks often discuss the dwarven afterlife and what it involves. Some also involve characters coming back to life, or contacting the living from the halls of the dead. Sometimes characters try to cross the barriers between races after death; this is common in the case of Kíli/Tauriel works and in works where Bilbo Baggins is in love with a dwarf.
Works that involve Challenging Mahal in order to return a dwarf to life usually take place in the dwarven portion of the Halls of Waiting. Many fanworks assume Mahal spends time with deceased dwarves in their section of the halls, and so dwarves in some works call the Halls of Waiting "Mahal's Halls".
Example Fanworks
The following works heavily involve dwarves in the afterlife:
- Sansûkh by determamfidd
- The Halls of Waiting by khazadqueen
- Let the Waking Morning Find by sunryder
- An Expert Burglar by Cinderstrato
- Divine Love by badskippy
Hobbits
The hobbit afterlife is not given in the text, but fandom has generally assumed they go to one of three places: the Halls of Mandos, the garden of Yavanna, or wherever Men go. The garden is a popular choice in the Hobbit subfandom.
Example Fanworks
The following works involve hobbits in the afterlife:
- And What Happened After by arrogantemu
- An Expert Burglar by Cinderstrato
- Let the Waking Morning Find by sunryder
- The last thing he heard - and the first by anonymous
- Divine Visitations by badskippy