So Ive noticed in most of the great fantasy series there is always that one creature that is not the main enemy but usaully a minion of him/it and proves extremely hard to deal with. For example in Eragon you have the Ra'Zac theBird like creatures that kill Eragons grandfather and do many horrible things in the books, in HP you have dementors which are extremely powerful, and are very hard to get rid of which can suck your soul right out. In LOTR you have those hooded riders on horses that follow Frodo in the Fellowship trying to get the ring, and they are quite powerful. Anyone else notice this plot element in any other seris or in these series, care to discuss them??

Nope, well it's impossible not notice the ringwratihs having asimularity to dementors, but the other things, not one bit. of course, i don't pay close attention to eragon as i don't like that book.

I can however think of a spell that does the same thing as a dementor's kiss, only the person who was bespelled can be saved. Have you Read Juniper

I know what you mean ... In the Wheel of Time it's the Myrddraal who have this role. I agree there often seems to be some creature that is powerful but not the main bad guy. I do wonder if they are there to make us feel a greater sense of danger? Like 'if this is what the lesser minions are like, I don't want to meet the 'real' baddy'? I just don't see any other reason to have them there. And they do seem to pop up over and over again in different forms in many fantasy series.

In terms of the hero's journey symbolising inner truths, I would say that lesser villains are the obstacles we have to overcome in order to face our greatest foes, be they psychological foes or creepy wizards with gleaming red eyes. We have bigger challenges and lesser challenges.

But personally, I think the most important aspect of the sideshow monsters is that they add an extra layer of excitement. 'Hero battles the big bad' is the crux of the story, but it would be a poor lookout for fantasy if the battle ranged from the start to 'the big bad is gone' without any distractions between and around it. Minor villains and monsters are also a convenient way to explore right and wrong in different aspects and levels, and the monsters in particular are also commonly symbolic of something more abstract than a human or humanoid character can generally be.

I don't think it's remotely surprising that some of these monsters share traits in common. Black-clad spectres are pretty obvious. If you think about it, the very first monster that spooked over-imaginative humans was darkness. The hooded spectres are basically the shadows were still scared of, whether they represent death or the unknown or suffering. Besides, you truly realise how scary the imagery is if you've ever been a bit drunk and seen a furled-up outdoor pub table umbrella appearing to hover on its pole in the darkness. Hint: it looks like a Dementor. Or possibly a ring wraith. Or the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, if you're feeling festive.

Although I do think the Dementor are a very effective representation of depression/fear etc. and a very valid presence in the series, I do definitely see that they do fall in the same category as the ringwraiths and Ra'Zac as a kind of stock boogieman type character, representing the human fear of darkness and the unknown, it has become a sort of literary archtype within the fantasy genre

This is a intersting point to consider, and one can look at it from various points of view.

From a purely literary point of view, you need something to put a sense of urgency into your hero in fighting the battle. If there are only fluffy bunny rabbits and butterflies running around in the story, the Hero would think "Hmmm maybe that big glowing eye isn't so bad after all." or "Well maybe he killed my parents by accident..." and your plot collapses, and your readers lose interest.

The way to do this is to have a constant threat over the hero: something is out to get him (or her) and needs defeating. It gives the motivation needed to climb the volcano and throw the ring in or to face the evil dark lord and tell him he should feel sorry for the bad things he did.

From a mythos point of view, one wants to deal with familiar shapes to your audience, so you make the bad guys scary looking so that you dont have to explain why they're bad for three pages before getting to them being bad. You play to the archetypes to do this: The Bad guy wears black and possibly wears a mask. The hero is helped by an old wise man. He has the faithful side kick(s) who just happens to provide some comic relief either by being silly or having sharp wit. He's on a quest that will save the world(s) and this is so because of something that happened to him.

George Lucas realised this when he was writing Star Wars - he did lots of research into mythology; Tolkien realised this when he was writing the stories of Middle Earth being an academic who once translated Beowulf into english; and Jo Rowling knew this when she penned these fantastic tales of the Boy Who Lived, as illustrated by her vast ammount of references to mythological people and creatures in her books.

This seems to work well within a Monty Python-type sketch, though, but it is hard to convey the same reaction in a strictly literary work.