Iago made the perfect Shakespearean villain. Evil to the core, he was determined to abuse Othello’s trust. He manipulates Othello and plots to destroy him.
Wow. My bad guys are murderers, but Iago would eat their lunch. But then, that’s Shakespeare for you.
What makes a really frightening villain? I’ve always found the calm, emotionless psychopaths in movies and literature to be terrifying.
What about the eerie “bad seed” children out there in books? They give me the willies, too.
Extremely capable villains are frightening. More than competent in their evil-doing, they match wits with authorities and win over and over—until the end of the book when they’re (usually) captured.
The British newspaper Telegraph did a piece last December on “The 50 Greatest Villains in Literature.” I thought that was a pretty provocative title, and sure enough, there were plenty of dissenters. Some of the greatest villains were a little odd, but the list as a whole was very interesting.
One interesting point they made was in reference to Moby Dick. Was Ahab the bad guy, or was the whale the villain? Interesting.
Here’s a recap of the Top 10. See what you think:
10 Vindice from The Revenger’s Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton
9 Mr Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
8 Claudius from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
7 Ambrosio from The Monk, by M G Lewis
6 Robert Lovelace from Clarissa, by Samuel Richardson
5 Voldemort from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
4 Iago from Othello, by William Shakespeare
3 Cruella de Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith
2 Samuel Whiskers from The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter
1 Satan from Paradise Lost, by John Milton
Hey, where’s the Grinch on that list?
Didn’t he steal all the kid’s toys in Whoville? What could be more evil than that?
It was definitely the wicked witch or stepmother or whatever she was in Snow White that terrified my brother when he was little. The scariest villain for me was Hannibal Lechter. The way Anthony Hopkins played him was brilliant and chilling. I stopped reading serial killer novels after seeing that movie.
Patricia
Interesting list and topic. I too am most terrified of the cold, calculating, intelligent and completely unconscionable bad guy.
The Old Silly from Free Spirit Blog
Children give me the creeps – the evil ones, that is.
You know, Alan, someone actually mentioned the Grinch in the comments under the “Telegraph’s” story! I think they mentioned the witch from Snow White, too.
He’s got garlic in his soul….what could be worse than the Grinch?
Elizabeth
I gotta be honest; I’m not literary enough to know some of these villains. However, how can you argue with Satan as the number one villain of all time. Sorta the Godfather (so to speak ) of villains. Still, it’s a bedeviling list, for sure.
Best Regards, Galen.
GalenKindley.com
A Beatrix Potter character made the list? Really? That’s quite a list. Interesting. Cruella always lands near the top of these lists.
I am terrified, like you said, of the real life quiet sociopaths. No conscience or ability to feel remorse removes their humanity, IMHO And look at all the real life examples there are: Jack the Ripper, Green River Murderer, Charles Manson family… Okay, it’s late and now I’m going to be nervous thinking about these horrible folks. Sleeping with the lights on tonight. Yup. Yup.
Nancy, from Just a Thought…