Both the Harry Potter universe and Tolkien's legendary The Lord of the Rings are replete with entities of the vilest nature -- magical creatures that do not fit into the human range of consciousness.

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The Nazgl are the Ringwraiths, some of the most powerful servants of the Dark Lord, Sauron. They have a major role to play as they hunt for the Ring and go after the Fellowship of the Ring and Frodo Baggins, the ring-bearer. On the other hand, the dementors are nasty, dark creatures that act as prison guards at Azkaban, the wizard prison in the Potterverse.

Let us see the ways in which they are similar and how they differ from each other.

The dementors, too, are wraithlike creatures, hooded with no concrete physical form. They are more like dark shapes, to be precise. In terms of appearance, the Nazgl and the dementors are quite similar in that both are dark, formless shapes that ignite fear in peoples hearts.

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Dementors, on the other hand, look like decaying corpses and were never humans in the first place. They are, Rowling says, one of the foulest creatures to walk the earth, inhabiting some of the darkest, filthiest places. The absence of anything remotely human in them is one of their defining traits. Being non-humans, they also never had a physical form, unlike the Nazgl.

The Nazgl are the most terrible servants of Sauron, the primeval dark force that presides over Mordor, and plan to take over the whole of Middle Earth, in Tolkiens epic fantasy universe. These are dark entities whose souls have been tarnished by the extraordinary power of the Rings and their fate is now bound to that of Sauron.

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The Nazgl, though, having been humans once, require the use of actual physical weapons to fight their enemies. They are shown to be using daggers, swords and terrifying maces. Although they are invisible to those who cannot see into the wraith world, their past history as men makes it imperative that they carry weapons.

Similarly, the dementors, as the name suggests, are symbols of gloom and despair, leaving a person without a happy thought. They feed off happiness and their arrival drowns people in the depths of depression. The more they feed the more their numbers multiply, making them some of the most hated, disgusting and terrifying creatures in the wizarding world.

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The dementors, in the Harry Potter universe, are innumerable and nowhere does Rowling state whether or not they can die and if so, how. One can assume that since they feed on human happiness, they might also rot away if they are not able to feed. But this is pure conjecture since Rowling never actually mentions whether dementors have specific longevity, or for that matter if they can be killed.

The dementors presence, although not poisonous per se, can be felt from quite a distance. The victim feels a sweeping sensation of cold as the dementor approaches. The feeling precedes the dementors arrival and is capable of turning water into ice. Both entities bring with them a sense of doom and overwhelming horror.

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The dementors, however, are not bound to anybody elses fate. Although they chose to ally with Voldemort in the final battle, they are not necessarily servants to You-Know-Whos whims. It is said that they go where they can feed the most, so it is safe to assume that they owe no loyalty to anyone. While the Nazgl serve the Ring and Sauron, the dementors as such serve no-one in particular.

Similarly, the dementors, as Potter fans know, disperse at the sight of pure happiness. The Patronus charm that is used to get rid of them is nothing but concentrated happiness of the purest kind. The blinding Patronus created from a happy memory scares the dementors away.

Unlike these winged wraiths, however, the dementors are never seen traveling on mounts. They are floating creatures that were never human and hence do not need mounts, winged or otherwise, to carry them.

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Surangama, or Sue, as she is called by many, has been writing on films, television, literature, social issues for over a decade now. A teacher, writer, and editor, she loves nothing better than to curl up on a lazy afternoon with her favorite book, or with a pen and a notebook (a laptop would have to do!) and a foaming cuppa tea on the side.

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Nazgul & Dementors: 5 Things They Share (& 5 Ways They Are Completely Different) - Screen Rant