Gollum
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48 free Gollum trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Gollum is the creature everyone remembers from The Hobbit, and the one Tolkien rewrote. In the first edition he offered Bilbo the Ring as a prize and showed him the way out; once The Lord of the Rings turned the trinket into the ruling Ring, that version became the lie Bilbo told the dwarves. By the time he dies at the Crack of Doom he is nearly 600 years old, split between Slinker and Stinker, and, as Tolkien insisted, not altogether wicked. These 48 questions cover the whole of him: the Stoor hobbit of the Gladden Fields, the birthday murder of Deagol, the grandmother who disowned him, the lamp-like eyes and paddle feet, his hatred of lembas and Elven rope, the oath sworn on the Ring, the near-repentance on the stairs that Sam ruined, and the fall that finished the quest. Then the scholarship and the screen: the Old Norse word behind his name, the Gagool and Morlock comparisons, the British Medical Journal diagnosis, the Russian Gollum with cabbage leaves on his head, the cat that gave Andy Serkis the throat noise, and the Two Towers argument scene shot as a dialogue with himself. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation.
30 of 48 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01A doctor was prosecuted in 2015 for sharing images comparing Gollum to which leader?
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: unsure whether a Gollum comparison even counted as an insult, the court ordered a panel of experts to judge.
Q 02To which branch of hobbits did Gollum originally belong?
Stoors
Stoors: that breed migrated west, but a group later fled Angmar back to the Anduin, where Sméagol's people lived by the Gladden Fields.
Q 03Tolkien built the name Sméagol from which old language?
Old English
Old English: Tolkien had it stand in for a Mannish tongue, so Sméagol 'translates' his real name, Trahald, meaning 'burrowing'.
Q 04How did the name Gollum arise?
From a swallowing noise in his throat
From a swallowing noise in his throat: his own relatives mocked the habit by turning it into his nickname.
Q 05Whom did Smeagol murder to get the Ring?
His cousin Deagol
His cousin Deagol, who had found the Ring on the riverbed after a large fish dragged him into the water.
Q 06On what occasion did Smeagol demand the Ring as a 'present'?
His birthday
His birthday: Sméagol insisted the gold ring his companion had found should be his present, and strangled him when refused.
Q 07Which relative disowned Smeagol after his thieving and spying with the Ring?
His grandmother
His grandmother, the family matriarch, cast him out to keep the peace, and he wandered off alone into the wilderness.
Q 08Where does Gollum live when Bilbo meets him?
An island in an underground lake
An island in an underground lake, reached through the goblin tunnels where Bilbo had only just found the Ring.
Q 09What does Gollum eat under the Misty Mountains?
Cavefish and stray goblins
Cavefish and stray goblins: his eyes had grown lamp-like in the dark, and he dropped the Ring in a tunnel while out catching a goblin.
Q 10What contest do Bilbo and Gollum play in the dark?
A riddle game
A riddle game: Gollum promises to show Bilbo the way out if he loses, but secretly plans to use the Ring to kill him.
Q 11What is Bilbo's last, unanswerable question to Gollum?
What have I got in my pocket?
What have I got in my pocket? Gollum can't guess, and only later, finding his Ring gone, realises the answer and flies into a rage.
Q 12The Lord of the Rings stage musical, with Michael Therriault as Gollum, premiered in 2006 in which city?
Toronto
Toronto: the three-and-a-half-hour show was significantly rewritten and cut to three hours before it reopened in London's West End.
Q 13Why does Bilbo not kill Gollum as he escapes the cave?
He is overcome with pity
He is overcome with pity, a mercy Frodo and Sam later repeat, and the spared Gollum ends up causing the Ring's destruction.
Q 21Where does Gollum lead Frodo and Sam, warning them against the eerie lights?
The Dead Marshes
The Dead Marshes: warriors killed in a great battle long ago lie in their pools, and their pale faces glimmer beneath the water.
Q 22Which two nicknames does Sam give Gollum's two personalities?
Stinker and Slinker
Stinker and Slinker: the fawning Slinker held sway at first, but the plotting Stinker won out as they neared Mordor.
Q 23Who ruins Gollum's moment of near-repentance on the stairs up to the pass?
Sam, with harsh words
Sam, with harsh words: waking to find Gollum touching Frodo, he accuses him of sneaking, and the chance of redemption is lost.
Q 14Which monstrous spider did Gollum serve as a spy, bringing her food?
Shelob
Shelob: Gollum later leads Frodo and Sam into her lair, planning to get the Ring back once she has dealt with them.
Q 15Which two words did Gollum reveal to Sauron under torture?
Baggins and Shire
Baggins and Shire: those two words told Sauron that a hobbit of the Shire, of the Baggins family, now held the Ring.
Q 16Who finally catches Gollum so that Gandalf can question him about the Ring?
Aragorn
Aragorn: Gandalf questions the prisoner at length, but Orcs later raid the Elves guarding Gollum and set him free.
Q 17Where does Gollum begin trailing the Fellowship?
Moria
Moria: Gollum had gone there after escaping the Elves, and he was already lurking inside when the Fellowship passed through.
Q 18How does Gollum follow the Fellowship's boats down the Anduin?
Paddling a log
Paddling a log, Gollum trails the boats downriver, then follows Frodo and Sam when the pair strike out alone for Mordor.
Q 19In which hills do Frodo and Sam finally confront Gollum?
Emyn Muil
Emyn Muil: Gollum nearly strangles Sam there, until Frodo subdues him with his sword, Sting.
Q 20What do the hobbits tie around Gollum's ankle as a leash?
Elvish rope
Elvish rope: its mere touch pains him, and Frodo frees him only after Gollum swears an oath to help them.
Q 24Which pass does Gollum lead the hobbits toward as another way into Mordor?
Cirith Ungol
Cirith Ungol: the Black Gate had proved too well guarded, and when Faramir learned the name, he warned Frodo of that evil place.
Q 25What is Gollum's final word as he falls into the Crack of Doom?
Precious!
Precious! Dancing and gloating over the Ring he had just seized, Gollum stepped too far and toppled over the brink.
Q 26What does Gollum bite off Frodo at Mount Doom?
A finger
A finger: Frodo had just claimed the Ring and put it on, so Gollum bit it off to get the Ring back.
Q 27Roughly how old was Gollum by the time the Ring was destroyed?
About 600
About 600: the Ring's malignant influence had stretched his life far beyond a hobbit's natural limit.
Q 28Which Old Norse word, meaning 'gold' or 'treasure', may be the source of the name Gollum?
Gull
Its dative form is gollum; another theory points to the golem of Jewish folklore.
Q 29What did an Ithilien ranger, glimpsing Gollum in the trees, think he might be?
A tailless black squirrel
A tailless black squirrel: he did not shoot, since he was forbidden to kill wild beasts needlessly.
Q 30Which food that the hobbits carry can Gollum not bring himself to eat?
Lembas
Lembas: when he tried a bite, it choked him, so he spat it out and complained that he would starve.