Craster's sons

[yollo21]

Well I just finished reading the books, and I forgot all about that thing that takes his sons. I may have missed it I guess but is it explained any more than that? Like they're tall and shadow like, almost invisible like the shadow baby's melisandre has except they're in the wild. Are they related to the white walkers some how? I felt like they were doing something unrelated? Like are their just these shadow creatures running around? I don't remember any except those of Crastor but I feel like they must be very important.

[Lissa Nymeros Martell]

I think the book alluded that the sons became white walkers but this is a good question. I really wasn't sure what they were doing with the sons. They came after Ginny's son for a while so it must have been important.

[Ser Pigeon Pie]

Maybe Coldhands?

[Crannogman Pride]

I was under the impression that the reason Craster is safe amidst the WW threat (remember the other wildlings are all fleeing their homes) is that he is giving his sons to the Others.

Whether the sons become white walkers, as the Craster women believe, or are used for something else I have no idea.

[Mehmet Eren]

I am confuse about this how many type of others we have ( dead body walking, white walkers, crasters sons what ever they are )

[RedDeadWedding]

I always thought the Craster said he'd be safe because he was right with the gods, and since he sacrifices his son to something described as resembling and Other, I assumed he thought the Others were gods.

[Ser Greg of House House]

I am confuse about this how many type of others we have ( dead body walking, white walkers, crasters sons what ever they are )

White Walkers aka The Others are the enemy. The "zombies" you refer to as dead body walking are called Wights.

We don't know what happen to Craster's sons. They are sacrificed to the Others. His "wives" believe they become others, but we simply don't know.

[Lissa Nymeros Martell]

I always thought the Craster said he'd be safe because he was right with the gods, and since he sacrifices his son to something described as resembling and Other, I assumed he thought the Others were gods.

Oh wow good point. I never imagined he thought that. Which makes sense. I just thought he was using "gods" as an excuse like many do. Or sarcasm.

[corbon]

Well I just finished reading the books, and I forgot all about that thing that takes his sons. I may have missed it I guess but is it explained any more than that? Like they're tall and shadow like, almost invisible like the shadow baby's melisandre has except they're in the wild. Are they related to the white walkers some how? I felt like they were doing something unrelated? Like are their just these shadow creatures running around? I don't remember any except those of Crastor but I feel like they must be very important.

Thats because it doesn't exist in the books. The show invented that scene, which was merely implied (without Jon) by the books. The thing in the show that took the baby was clearly a White Walker/Other.

From the books:

i) Craster 'sacrifices' his sons 'to the cold gods'

ii) Craster's wives have clearly seen the White Walkers, as they tell Jon/Sam of the glowing blue eyes, and mention the cold that comes with them (or them with the cold)

iii) the White Walkers appear to have left Craster alone, more or less. Although most of their depredations have been further north, they have reach further south too

iv) at times, when their were no sons, Craster sacrificed sheep instead

v) The old wife claimed that when the cold came 'they' were coming, (Craster's sons).

This is all pretty straightforward really.

- from i) + ii) + iii) we can see that the cold gods are almost certainly white walkers, and that for some unknown reason they have left Craster alone other than accepting his sacrifices

Notes: Its quite clear that if Craster actually had any formal bargain with the WW, the wives would not have any actual knowledge of it. Craster does not share such important information, and doesn't allow his wives anything they don't strictly need. Its also clear that the wives would not be allowed to interact (if indeed even Craster does that much) with the WW so their information no doubt comes from a distance.

We saw in the prologue to AGoT that the WW appear to have a sort of dark sense of humour. Its possible they just accept the sacrifices and leave him alone because it amuses them, and they have no reason to attack him for now.

- from iii) + iv) we can tell that its not the sons that were the important part of the situation, since apparently sheep do just as well.

- v) clearly means WW and the old wife clearly believes that the WW use the sons and the sons become WW. However, there is no logical way for her to know that. There is clearly no interaction between them, and clearly no way for any of the wives to 'see' their babies in the fully grown humanoids alien WWs. Her statement is unsupported and doesn't actually makes sense logically.

However, it does make sense emotionally. One way the wives can live with the enormity of sacrificing their babies for their own safety, is to invent a belief that the babies are no harmed, and in fact become 'gods'.

So its all very simple.

There are WW/Others - alien ice-humanoids somewhat akin to Sidhe. One or more of them have been accepting Craster's sacrifices of babies and or sheep for years. We've never actually seen or heard of more than a handful of these, period.

There are Wights - the undead zombies that the WW appear to be able to create and control in some fashion - none of these had been around Craster's Keep prior to its destruction, but otherwise they are near limitless in number, both humanoid and animal.

Craster's sons (and sheep) are almost certainly dead (perhaps even fed to the ice spiders as per Old Nan's stories), not turned into Others. That is nothing more than an unsupported and illogical belief fashioned out of ignorance to slave consciences.

[LordStoneheart]

@Corbon, wow, I've never thought about it that way. I've just sort of taken the craster wife's word about the sons.