Here is some info for you:
The Dead
The cursed Men of the White Mountains
The Men of the
White Mountains at the end of the Second Age who swore an oath of allegiance to Isildur. Breaking it, they were cursed to walk the Paths of the Dead until they could redeem themselves, which they did more than three thousand years later when they followed Isildur's descendant Aragorn in the War of the Ring.
White Mountains
The snow-capped peaks that separated Gondor from Rohan
Also called
Ered Nimrais, an important mountain range in the southwest of the known parts of Middle-earth. In the latter part of the Third Age, they formed the border between Gondor in the south and Rohan in the north.
Paths of the Dead
The haunted caverns beneath the Ered Nimrais
A subterranean realm beneath the White Mountains above the valley of the River Morthond. The dwelling place through the Third Age of the Dead, Men cursed by Isildur for breaking their oath of fealty to him, and made to remain in Middle-earth until his rightful heir was to call for their aid.
Notes
1) Isildur laid a curse on the King of the Dead and his people that they would not rest until their broken oath to him was fulfilled, and that curse was the reason that these people haunted the Paths of the Dead. Isildur laid his curse before he went to war with Sauron, but he couched it in these terms: 'And if the West prove mightier than thy Black Master, this curse I lay upon thee and thy folk...' (The Return of the King V 2). The West did indeed prove mighter than Sauron, but not until II 3441, about eleven years after Isildur originally said these words.
It can't be stated with certainty that the Paths were occupied immediately after the curse took effect: their settlement may have taken years or even decades. Nonetheless, the curse that founded the Paths of the Dead took effect with the first Fall of Barad-dur, hence the dating shown above.
2) 8 March III Age, 3019 is the date that Aragorn led the Dead out of their Paths towards the final fulfilment of their oath, after which the Paths of the Dead would be deserted. The Dead themselves continued to exist for several days, until they were released by Aragorn at Pelargir on 13 March.
Info from:
http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/;
...and "do they need to eat?" - I don't know that...
And here's a little quote from the book (ah, how I love this book
):
- from
The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 2: The Passing of the Grey Company
Quote:
...
‘Oathbreakers, why have ye come?’
And a voice was heard out of the night that answered him, as if from far away:
‘To fulfil our oath and have peace.’
Then Aragorn said: ‘The hour is come at last. Now I go to Pelargir upon Anduin, and ye shall come after me. And when all this land is clean of the servants of Sauron, I will hold the oath fulfilled, and ye shall have peace and depart for ever. For I am Elessar, Isildur’s heir of Gondor.’
And with that he bade Halbarad unfurl the great standard which he had brought; and behold! it was black, and if there was any device upon it, it was hidden in the darkness. Then there was silence, and not a whisper nor a sigh was heard again all the long night. The Company camped beside the Stone, but they slept little, because of the dread of the Shadows that hedged them round.
But when the dawn came, cold and pale, Aragorn rose at once, and he led the Company forth upon the journey of greatest haste and weariness that any among them had known, save he alone, and only his will held them to go on. No other mortal Men could have endured it, none but the Dunedain of the North, and with them Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas of the Elves.
They passed Tarlang’s Neck and came into Lamedon; and the Shadow Host pressed behind and fear went on before them, until they came to Calembel upon Ciril, and the sun went down like blood behind Pinnath Gelin away in the West behind them. The township and the fords of Ciril they found deserted, for many men had gone away to war, and all that were left fled to the hills at the rumour of the coming of the King of the Dead. But the next day there came no dawn, and the Grey Company passed on into the darkness of the Storm of Mordor and were lost to mortal sight; but the Dead followed them.
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