Rumpus Riddle Answer

First, I would like to thank everybody who played and took a stab at the answer. Congrats to those who submitted the correct answer to this riddle.

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter."

• Kate
• Conservative in VA
• Tim

For the rest of you...

• Wonderdog submitted "Time" --
  
• Bilbo Baggins -- "Time" (Funny...I would have thought Bilbo would have had the correct answer...I smell an imposter.
  
• Anonymous -- "Death"
• Sadeeg -- "either water or air" (Okay, wait. Either? Sadeeg...please get off the fence.)
• Stewdog actually submitted two answers of which neither should be repeated here.

Of course, this riddle was originally used by Gollum in the Hobbit. We thank him (and Tolkien) for his contribution.

Oh...and the answer? Darkness, of course. (Bilbo actually simply said, "Dark.")

This also from The Hobbit, "Curse it! curse it! curse it!" hissed Gollum. "Curse the Baggins! It's gone! What has it got in its pocketses? Oh we guess, we guess, my precious. he's found it, yes he must have. My birthday-present." ...gullummm.