I'm not into horror fiction, but I feel like I've always enjoyed the scariness of Tash since I've first read about him. (Well, technically, I first read about him in The Horse and his Boy, where his name is first mentioned, and I wasn't scared of him then, but you guys know what I mean. ) I think he's an awesomely creepy bad guy. That said, I'm not particularly interested in him being expanded on in adaptations, as we were talking about in General Movie Discussion because it would require rewriting his character to a large extent and, anyway, familiarity breeds contempt (though I am willing to listen with an open mind to specific ideas on how this could be done.) As intriguing as he is, the more we'd learn about him, the less freaky he'd become.

Posted by: @jasminetarkheena

For my reaction, I wasn't traumatized by it. I was about ten when I was introduced to the series. I think I would've been traumatized if I've been younger. When I read it for the first time, at that moment, I was like, "What is that thing?" I'm sure this moment would traumatized a child for life (maybe some).

What were your reactions to Tash in the stable?

It's funny you mention being traumatized by a character in a book - for me, that was the White Witch (especially after reading the Magician's Nephew).

My reaction to Tash showing up was more of a "what the...?  He's real?"  It just seemed so random.  It didn't make sense.  Like if he were real, why are we only seeing him now?  I thought the picture was cool, but I didn't understand it.  I was excited to see what would happen next, but I didn't get why Tash would only show up now.  Might as well have been Dracula, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, the Shredder, or any other villain from any other story just randomly popping up because it's the end of the world.  I seriously need to re-read the books and see if I can make more sense of it as an adult.

But I think that's just because of what I was like as a kid (and maybe still am):  Very literal.  Like in VDT when Aslan said he was in our world too, I thought of how horribly we would treat a talking lion in our world.  I imagined them trying to put him in a circus or something!  Then the line about, there I go by another name, just seemed weird.  I didn't get it.  Even after I became a Christian (a couple years later), I never made the connection between Aslan and Jesus until I learned what symbolism was. 😀

I was 18, and reading the book for the first time, I was uncomfortable with what was happening in the story, so I don't remember how I felt, but I suspect I was a bit shocked. I had seen drawings and photos of 'gods' from other countries, which probably softened my shock. 
Happily for me, within a few years this book became my go-to cheer-up book on wet Sunday afternoons,

I wonder how many of a child after reading this scene and seeing the picture would actually remember. 

While Rishda is a cruel man, I think we could almost sympathize with him when he’s taken away by Tash. He has called on Tash, though doesn’t believe in him. And he was in for a rude awakening when Tash shows ups. I actually kind of feel bad for Rishda. 

I think I was in middle school the first time I read The Last Battle. I don't remember Tash suddenly appearing in the stable scaring me. Like @geekicheep, I remember being shocked that Tash actually showed and thinking "wait, he's real?!" And then I remember thinking, "oh boy, aren't they (meaning Rishda and all the others with him) going to be surprised."

Suddenly having Tash be real made me realize that even though this is the last book in the Chronicles, chronologically, and I've have six other books to explore Narnia and the surrounding countries, there is still apparently things about this land that I don't know. As a reader and Narnia lover, it made me really excited that Lewis was still able to add new, surprising, and exciting elements to the Chronicles.

@narnianrose I wonder how Netflix is going to pull this off.  It's as Rishda was saying, "Oh, the great god Tash and Aslan and blah blah." Then all of a sudden, Tash appears.

It almost makes me think of Smaug in The Hobbit or the raptors in Jurassic Park. You hear about Smaug terrorizing Dale and the Lonely Mountains but don't actually see him until later. You hear about the raptors, then midway through, they make a sudden appearance.

I first read the books when I was quite young, so I don't remember precisely what I thought when I first read about Tash's appearance in the stable. I think the scene where he passes Tirian and his followers at the tower helped to mentally prepare me for seeing him again. When it comes to the illustration, it's not so much Tash himself that impacts me than it is the look of horror and despair on Risha's face! In once sense it's almost comical, but in another it is terrifying.

That's why I think the High King's calm dismissal of Tash in Aslan's name moments later is so powerful.

@nain Interesting you've brought up the expression on Rishda's face in the illustration which I thought of not too long ago. I thought he would actually look more terrified. He almost looks like he has a permanent scowl on his face. I don't know if that's indicating he's the bad guy.

I think @gp said something about being comical and terrifying in the Talking Beast podcast Top Ten Funny Moments In Narnia. In some aspect, Rishda thought he was so big (CS Lewis doesn't give any description of him, but I guess we could assume he was tall and strong, maybe huge), and now in the stable, with Tash, it's like he's the smallest thing.

      Well, I was about 8 or 9 when I first read LB, and I believe I had read all the other chronicles by then, so I was surprised that Tash was actually real, like @geekicheep said, why are we just now seeing him? But his appearance didn't traumatize me, and I felt like it made sense, that if there was an inherently good being (Aslan), that there would be an inherently evil being (Tash), and that eventually the good would triumph over the evil.

      But I must say, I didn't feel sorry for Rishda Tarkaan... he extorted the innocent people of Narnia, called on devils and mocked Aslan. He played with fire and got burned. Bad. On the other hand though, he did not know the potency of what he was fooling with, so, in a way, I suppose he is somewhat pityable.

Child of the King: SonofStone

P.S. One person I felt absolutely not one bit of pity for was Shift, I hated/still hate him to the core, and I was so happy when Tirian launched him into the stable.

@sonofstone Did I understand right, that you saw Tash as on an equal footing to Aslan?  

I see him as no different from the other evil characters who are presented as lesser than Aslan (not like Yin & Yan). They may challenge Aslan and his people, but cannot defeat Aslan. 

Posted by: @coracle

Did I understand right, that you saw Tash as on an equal footing to Aslan?  

      Absolutely Not! I view them as I view God and Saten of our world, with God reigning supreme and omnipotent, and only allowing Saten to survive for a very short while, and to eventually be destroyed and cast into the lake of fire. So no, I do not see Aslan and Tash as equals, I see them as a Lion (literally) and a mouse, the Lion only allowing the mouse to live a second. Tash is only alive because Aslan allows him to be (sorry I didn't make that clear the first time!).

Child of the King: SonofStone

Thank you. I have seen people setting every villain up as an equal opposite to the Lion, and I'm glad you are not doing that. 

Posted by: @jasminetarkheena

@nain Interesting you've brought up the expression on Rishda's face in the illustration which I thought of not too long ago. I thought he would actually look more terrified. He almost looks like he has a permanent scowl on his face. I don't know if that's indicating he's the bad guy.

Maybe you're right. I though the big eyes were widened in shock and horror, but it could be a scowl I suppose!

Posted by: @sonofstone

I didn't feel sorry for Rishda Tarkaan... he extorted the innocent people of Narnia, called on devils and mocked Aslan. He played with fire and got burned. Bad. On the other hand though, he did not know the potency of what he was fooling with, so, in a way, I suppose he is somewhat pityable.

That's why Rishda Tarkaan is one of my all-time favorite Narnia villains (along with the White Witch and King Miraz. Though I'm sure a lot of Narnia fans would choose the White Witch as their all-time favorite villain).

Rishda doesn't believe in Aslan or Tash or any of the supernatural. I don't think even his own men were aware of it. I think he's someone you love to hate or hate to love. And it's so easy to do.

Posted by: @sonofstone

P.S. One person I felt absolutely not one bit of pity for was Shift, I hated/still hate him to the core, and I was so happy when Tirian launched him into the stable.

I've always thought Shift was too simplistic. I think Rishda is the more superior villain than Shift, but that's just my preface. Shift manipulates Puzzle into pretending to be Aslan. In turn, he gets manipulated by Rishda and Ginger. It's like you want to tell him, "Who's the puppet now?" It's poetic justice there.

Posted by: @nain

Maybe you're right. I though the big eyes were widened in shock and horror, but it could be a scowl I suppose!

I've always thought it was a scowl. It could be a combination of both. I'm sure Pauline Baynes had to come up with a way to indicate that Rishda is the bad guy.

Here's a close up of his face. Tell me if that's a shock and horror look or a scowl.