Who was the most compelling VILLAIN you've ever come across and why

[Johnny]

Check out this book review from someone who has just discovered romantic thrillers. I only wish we could convert many other readers like her. Please check out her blog here.
Like most writers I love to get reviews like this one.

http://looking-for-a-breath-of-life.b...

[Charlotte (Buried in Books)]

I thought there was a specific thread in the group for Author self promotion???

[Elizabeth]

Stephen King's "The Shining". Jack Nicholsen will scare me forever.

[Marilyn]

Alexis wrote: "I gotta answer this one...for me it was a true to life villain
TED BUNDY
I read several books on him during my "true crime period" but it hit me personally since I went to Florida State [tho 10 yea..."

I read about Ted Bundy in a book I don't remember the name something like "the killer beside me" it scared me

[Marilyn]

I have a strange one. It is also true crimeHelter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders and it was not even Manson that was the scariest. It was Susan Atkins and I just found out she died when I was looking up her name. Now that is spooky and scary

[Val]

Marilyn wrote: "I have a strange one. It is also true crimeHelter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders and it was not even Manson that was the scariest. It was Susan Atkins and I just found out she died w..."

Marilyn, Charles Manson was the scariest. He changed his followers and made them into the killers they were. Whole thing horrible.

[Val]

Some of this topic has changed from the scariest fictional villains to real life ones. As scary as fiction is, what happens in reality is the worst. BUT it's not our topic. I can't even begin to deal with real life horrors. maybe that's why I choose to read thrillers. to lessen the impact of real life.

[Marilyn]

I used to read true crime and I agree it is the scariest.Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Faye Kellerman had a scary villian in her bookDay of Atonement. I think the villian is so scary because he is not one sided. I think I will read the whole Peter Decker series one day

[Deb]

"The Surgeon" in the first two Rizzoli and Isles by Tess Gerritsen.

[Deb]

Pennywise from Stephen King's "IT"

[Seeley]

Milan from JF Penn's PROPHECY. He's creepy, sick, and rich enough to keep the inquiries away.

[Marilyn]

Mike wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "I used to read true crime and I agree it is the scariest.Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Faye Kellerman had a scary villian in her bookDay of Atonement. I think the villian i..."

hi Mike,
I loved her husband so much and didn't like some of the titles I noticed but after this book. I am going to read the entire Peter Decker series and I think you might be right about her writing aloha

[Sabri]

@Deb...Pennywise is most definitely one of the greatest literary villains...I have another one...Temple Gault from the Scarpetta Series by Patricia Cornwell he is absolutely devious and seems to have no soul...

[Ava Catherine]

Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

[Elizabeth]

Ted Bundy "Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule" He was from my area and a mass killer. I do not think they ever found out all his victims. If you do not know Ann Rule she writes true crime.

[Brian]

Definitely the iconic "Mr. Peters" from A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS, by Eric Ambler, a must-read for any lover of this genre.

[Renee]

Brian wrote: "Definitely the iconic "Mr. Peters" from A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS, by Eric Ambler, a must-read for any lover of this genre."

Oooh! Good one! Amen on "must read".

[Georgia]

Renee wrote: "Brian wrote: "Definitely the iconic "Mr. Peters" from A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS, by Eric Ambler, a must-read for any lover of this genre."

Oooh! Good one! Amen on "must read"."

I will have to read this one as it is considered one of the top 100 mysteries of all time.

[Stacy]

I alway answer Hannibal Lecter to this question because he was so diabolical and so frightening, and yet I wanted him to get a way. To me, that's the sign of an amazing character. Also have to say Dexter for many of the same reasons. I truly believe he's one of the most interesting characters in fiction.

Lord Voldemort is another great one, Terry.

Lots of books/bad guys in here I haven't read - thanks!

[VickiLee]

Cathy Ames in East of Eden. Her evil penetrated my imagination and has never left.

[Sharon]

The character that always comes to my mind when you say 'villain' is the hit man in The Butcher's Boy He's actually the main character but I can't even call him an anti-hero ... he is, bottom line, a paid killer with no real socially redeeming qualities.

I'm not quite sure how the author manages to make you identify with him and but all the time he's killing people you are hoping he does not get caught.

[Jill H.]

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith had a great villain....Bruno Antony. He was quietly evil and a true psychopath as he took over the life of the main character. Alfred Hitchcock made a pretty good film out of this book with Robert Walker in his greatest role as Bruno. A very creepy guy.

[Georgia]

Jill wrote: "Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith had a great villain....Bruno Antony. He was quietly evil and a true psychopath as he took over the life of the main character. Alfred Hitchcock made a pre..."

Hi Jill, I, too, thought that "Strangers" was a great
movie, and I have never forgotten Bruno Antony played by Robert Walker. Farley Granger was good too.

[Brian]

Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker.

[Georgia]

As I live and breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!James Holmes

[T.J.]

What a great question!

My pick is Holden in Cormack McCarthy's Blood Meridian. He's violent and evil to the core, wonderfully brought to life by a master writer. His hairless body, as well as the rest of his physical characteristics contribute to almost a supernatural existence.

[Dipanjan]

The Heath Ledger version of Joker any day. That was not about good chasing evil. Instead, it was evil chasing good and making it squeal.

And Batman NEVER had control over Joker at any point. It was CHAOS delivered in its purest form, as promised!!

[Annelie]

My scariest villain is Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Why? Because he appears to be a normal person, is not even suspected to be a killer. He is the coldest SOB I ever read about, cares about skin care products and slaughters women with gusto. The few things that can stirr his emotions are superficial shit like that one collegue of his who had a business card that looked more expensive than his own.

Also read about Moriarty being the scariest villain. Hum... I didn't see enough of Moriarty in the Doyle canon to be scared by him. But the BBC "Sherlock" Moriarty is indeed very scary!

This threat is very interesting, btw! I'm just writing my own scary version of Moriarty in the sequel to "The Devil's Grin" and its compelling to be in the mind of someone so cold, calculating, and totally un-compassionate.

Cheers
Annelie

[Mark]

For me, purely evil villains are frightening because you know there's no use in trying to reason with them, but they aren't interesting. It's too easy to create a character that is really, really bad. Pure evil. There's no doubt that everyone will hate them and that if and when they are disposed of, everyone will cheer without feeling any guilt. For me, what's more interesting is a villain who is struggling to contain their own humanity. In fact, that may even be a more frightening villain because while we cannot really relate to people who are purely evil - have we ever known any? we can relate to people who can manage life up to a point but then, at some point, their ability to deal with problems, internal or external, just breaks down and they strike out. These people are more "like us" and we may even know some of them without knowing what they have done or are capable of. That's another side of scary, isn't it?

[Annelie]

Hi Mark,
interesting point! It makes a villain much more complex and interesting. Will keep that in mind when making my own.
Oh man, I think I have to read that entire threat for background research. Very cool but HUGE resource.
:-)

[Nancy]

For me it was and always will be Ted Bundy. He lived in our City for a while, and several of his poor victims were from around here. I had close family live in the same small apartment complex as he. And being there knowing you are touching many of the same things he touched daily,or after killing another human being was a feeling of pure evil. I believe some very few people are born without a knowing of right or wrong. Adolph Hitler is the most well known one now. These people simply have no conscience no idea of there even being a right or wrong. I strongly believe all serial killers are born this way. The Green River Killer endorsed my view. And having been to the same area where Ted Bundy lived, ate even breathed was a feeling of pure evil that I will never forget.

[P.A.]

Marilyn wrote: "Alexis wrote: "I gotta answer this one...for me it was a true to life villain
TED BUNDY
I read several books on him during my "true crime period" but it hit me personally since I went to Florida St..."
Oh, yeah. And Mark Harmon did such a great job in the movie, he gave me the creeps when I saw him for years. Then he became Jethro on NCIS and I got over it.

[Temple]

Hannibal Lecter. Just looking at him was chilling.

[Pat]

I'm now reading The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny and the character of Sylvain Francoeur certainly knows how to play with people's psyches in a very disturbing way.

[[deleted user]]

I'm not even going to tell you who the villain is, because you only find out who they are at the end, but they're in 'Watchmen' - their story is pretty amazing, to be honest: a retired superhero who thinks he's sick of SAVING the world, and yet is still drawn to the idea of helping people. He blows up New York - killing everyone in it in an attempt to destroy.... another thing.... in New York.

Okay, it sounds like just-another-superhero novel, and it IS a graphic novel - I was sceptical too, but don't worry! The superheroes are based around the 7 most common human emotions/stereotypes: passive, aggressive, happy, bipolar, straight, gay, black, female (not being sexist OR racist, the book talks quite freely about issues such as Sexism or Racism). I highly recommend.

I also loved Jacob Harding from Lucas Heath's self published book 'BoX', which is 2.99 on Kindle. It's a great quick read and is highly worth it.

[BK]

I'm gonna throw my votes in with Hannibal Lecter and Moriarty.

[Jeffrey]

Certainly Hannibal Lecter. It's such a creepy, psychological character. He really got under my skin.

[[deleted user]]

Fatal Attraction, Cape Fear, The Deliberate Stranger, Silence Of The Lambs, Deliverance, Offspring.

Alex Forrest from Fatal Attraction was one psychotic, scary villain.

Robert DeNiro was so menacing in Cape Fear.

The backwoods inbreeds from Deliverance were frightening.

Mark Harmon played Ted Bundy chillingly in The Deliberate Stranger.

Anthony Hopkins is outstanding and terrifying as Hannibal Lecter.

Offspring has some creepy cave throwbacks that are truly twisted and scary.

[R.M.F.]

Davros from Doctor Who. He was smooth, had a cool wheelchair, and he invented the Daleks!

[Jackmeister]

The most evil villain I have come across is Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell, the awful things she did to Archie Sheridan were beyond evil, and difficult to read, I'm not sure I can even carry on with the series!

[Marie-Jo]

Agatha Christie's Roger Ackroyd. He manages to fool everyone.

[Don]

Ming the Merciless.

[R.M.F.]

Marie-Jo wrote: "Agatha Christie's Roger Ackroyd. He manages to fool everyone."

Except me! I watched the TV adaption on ITV and knew he was guilty. He had beady eyes! :)

[R.M.F.]

Don wrote: "Ming the Merciless."

He couldn't defeat the dream combination of Brian Blessed and a soundtrack by Queen!

[Don]

R.M.F wrote: "Don wrote: "Ming the Merciless."

He couldn't defeat the dream combination of Brian Blessed and a soundtrack by Queen!"

What? Ming had rocket ships, death rays, robots...you name it. Did I mention he was merciless?

[Georgia]

Kyle, you made a great study of villains. bravo.

[Paul]

It's hard not to like Lecter and Moriarty but I think I may throw Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley into the mix as a "compelling" villain.

[R.M.F.]

Don wrote: "R.M.F wrote: "Don wrote: "Ming the Merciless."

He couldn't defeat the dream combination of Brian Blessed and a soundtrack by Queen!"

What? Ming had rocket ships, death rays, robots...you name it...."

Yeah, but Flash had Richard O'Brian backing him up!

[Pcdoctorswr]

Clyde Alexander Shelton from the movie "Law abiding citizen" takes my top pick.

[Joe]

The best and most memorable, that I have read, is Thomas Bishop in "By Reason of Insanity" by Shane Stevens. I read the book in the 80s, yet, every time I read a book or see a movie about a serial killer that book and character still comes to mind, as the best crime novel I have read.