The King of the Dead — once the King of the Mountains and a living man — was the lord of the Dead Men of Dunharrow, whose spirits lingered in the Paths of the Dead. In the Second Age he and his people swore allegiance to Isildur upon the Stone of Erech, but broke their oath, and Isildur cursed them to find no rest until it was fulfilled.
During the War of the Ring, Aragorn, heir of Isildur, summoned the Dead at the Stone of Erech. Once their oath was discharged, the King broke his spear, bowed to Aragorn, and vanished with his people 'like a mist driven back by a sudden wind.' He appears in The Return of the King (2003), portrayed by Paul Norell. This summary follows public reference material under CC BY-SA; see the Timeline for chronology.
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