The White Walkers from Game of Thrones are more than just ice monsters. These ancient beings have a deep history and surprising traits that even casual viewers might have missed. Known as The Others in George R. R. Martin’s original books, their story began thousands of years before the events of the series. Their return threatens every living person in Westeros, yet most characters are too busy fighting for power to notice.
This guide shares eight detailed facts about the White Walkers. These facts come from the books, the TV show, and comments from the creator himself. Learning these details makes the world of Westeros feel even more real and complex.
Their Origin Was a Terrible Mistake
The White Walkers were not a natural evil. They were created as a weapon. Long ago, the Children of the Forest were at war with the First Men, who were cutting down their sacred trees. Out of desperation, the Children used powerful magic on a captured man.
They tied him to a weirwood tree and pushed a dagger made of dragonglass into his heart. This act transformed the man into the first White Walker, who would later be called the Night King. The Children hoped he would destroy their human enemies. Instead, the creation broke free from their control. It turned against both the Children and all of humanity, becoming the greatest threat the world had ever known.
They Speak Their Own Icy Language
In the very first chapter of the first book, White Walkers are heard communicating with each other. George R. R. Martin describes their voices as sounding like “the cracking of ice on a winter lake”. For the TV show, a language creator named David J. Pearson officially developed this into a full language called Skroth.
While the show never had the Walkers hold long conversations, the existence of their own language is a key detail. It suggests they are not mindless monsters but beings with their own culture and ways of thinking. This makes them more mysterious and frightening.
Fire Cannot Harm Them, But Two Rare Materials Can
A common mistake is to think fire works against White Walkers. While fire is very effective against their reanimated servants, the wights, it does little to the Walkers themselves. The intense cold that radiates from them can snuff out flames.
There are only two substances known to kill a White Walker:
- Dragonglass (Obsidian): This black volcanic glass is fatal to them. A direct stab will cause a Walker to shatter into ice.
- Valyrian Steel: This rare, magically forged metal has the same effect. Jon Snow proved this when he shattered a White Walker with his sword, Longclaw, at Hardhome.
The Night King Could Create More Walkers from Babies
The series revealed a horrifying way the White Walkers grow their numbers. A wildling named Craster made a deal with them. In exchange for safety, he gave his newborn sons to the White Walkers. The Night King would then touch the baby, and its eyes would turn a bright blue. The child would transform into a new White Walker.
This process shows the White Walkers do not breed like humans. It also explains how they built their forces over thousands of years while hiding in the far north. Craster’s many wives believed his sons literally became “the cold gods” he prayed to.
They Are Connected to a Real-World Threat
George R. R. Martin has confirmed that the White Walkers are a symbol for a real global danger. He started writing the books in 1991, long before climate change was a common topic. He saw a parallel between the people of Westeros and our world.
“The people in Westeros are fighting their individual battles over power and status and wealth. And those are so distracting them that they’re ignoring the threat of ‘winter is coming,’ which has the potential to destroy all of them,” Martin said.
He compares this to how the world argues over politics and elections while the larger, proven threat of climate change worsens. The White Walkers represent an existential crisis that is ignored until it is almost too late.
There Was a Female White Walker in Legend
All the White Walkers seen in the TV show appear male. However, ancient stories tell of at least one female. The legend of the Night’s King (a different figure from the show’s Night King) says he was the 13th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
During a ranging beyond the Wall, he found a woman with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars. He brought her back to his fortress, married her, and ruled as a tyrant for thirteen years. This woman, often called a “corpse queen,” is believed to have been a White Walker. This tale suggests a more complex history between humans and Walkers.
They Are Modeled on Mythical Ice Fairies
Martin did not base the White Walkers on typical zombies or demons. When giving notes to an artist, he described them as being like the Sidhe (pronounced “shee”) from Celtic myth, but made of ice. The Sidhe are a supernatural race often called fairies. They are known for their otherworldly beauty, terrifying power, and indifference to human life.
This inspiration is clear in Martin’s book description. He writes that the Others are “strange, beautiful… think, oh… the Sidhe made of ice, something like that… a different sort of life… inhuman, elegant, dangerous”. This makes them more elegant and alien than most fantasy villains.
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Their True Purpose Remains a Book Mystery
The TV show gave the White Walkers a simple goal: to bring an endless night and erase all memory of life. Their leader, the Night King, was destroyed for good. In Martin’s unfinished books, their story is likely different and more complicated.
The books plant many clues that the White Walkers may not be purely evil. They communicate, laugh at their foes, and have a society. Martin himself has said the final books will explore their history and nature more deeply. Some fans believe they may have motives humans cannot understand, or that a pact or negotiation with them might be possible. How this story ends in The Winds of Winter and beyond is one of the biggest unanswered questions in fantasy literature.
The White Walkers are central to the title A Song of Ice and Fire. This is confirmed in the prequel series House of the Dragon, where it is revealed that Aegon the Conqueror dreamed of their return, which he called “The Song of Ice and Fire”. This dream was his reason for uniting the Seven Kingdoms—to prepare the realm for the ultimate threat from the north.
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