wight

 

A wight (Old English: wiht) is a mythical sentient being, often undead.

In its original usage, the word wight described a living human being, but has come to be used within fantasy to describe certain immortal beings. The earliest example of this usage in English is in William Morris's translation of the Grettis Saga, where haugbui is translated as "barrow-wight". Wights also feature in J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, especially in The Lord of the Rings, and in George R. R. Martin's HBO television series Game of Thrones and novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. Since its 1974 inclusion in the RPG Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), it has become a recurring form of undead in other fantasy games and mods, such as Vampire: The Masquerade.