In continuing my series of favorite characters from books, I wanted today to explore fictional villains, those people we love to hate or who capture our imagination. They sometimes make us quake in fear and wonder about the darkness.
There are so many wonderfully written villains to draw from that the choice of my favorite is difficult. Among the many possibilities are Sauron from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings, Dracula from Bram Stoker’s novel, Dr. Hannibel Lechter from Thomas Harris’ The Silence Of The Lambs, and Claudius from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As I mentioned, there are many other possibilities. Would it be immodest to suggest my own character Maledicus from my novel Maledicus The Investigative Paranormal Society Book 1?
My choice, however, is from the book that is one of the largest influences on me as a reader and writer, and that is Dracula!
So, I ask all of you: who is your favorite fictional villain?
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The book trailer:
Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I
My radio interview:
As you say, there are a lot of great choices. I would agree with Dracula and Sauron, and would be tempted to say James Moriarty and Voldemort as well. But I think I would have to pick Dolores Umbridge as the one I love to hate the most.
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And that is a great choice!
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Dracula and Sauron are favourites of mine, too – Sauron because he is largely unknown, which adds an extra dimension of scary! Other contenders feature in Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ – arch-baddy Randall Flagg and his crazy henchman Trashcan Man.
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Thank you! They are excellent choices!
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I’d have to agree and say DRACULA! 🦇🧛♂️🦇
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Thank you!
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So many good villains out there! The first one that jumped out to me though is Lord Voldemort. He’s got no likable qualities, and yet he built an empire that almost toppled society. Very evil!
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Yes! Wonderful choice!
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I’ve been reading the Brontes recently, and my favourite villain is the dashing Arthur Huntington who manipulates the heroine into marrying him. She’s so ‘proper’! There are some comic moments when he is courting her. Not a horror story, but at the time it was terribly risque and nouveau. A ‘horror’ of its time.
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An excellent choice!
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Has to be Hannibal Lecter!
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He is a terrifying villain.
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…but strangely likeable, or am I just weird?
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I am no one to judge anyone else on being weird!
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I’m in good company then!
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Thank you!
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I think, perhaps, Iago – the ultimate representation of treachery!
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Thank you! That is a great answer!
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Good question! There are so many ‘good’ fictional villains! So I’ll restrict myself to three: Dorian Gray, Professor Moriarty and Tom Ripley. 😊
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Sarah, thank you! All are excellent choices!
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I definitely agree that Dracula is interesting. Not so sure about Sauron — he remains sort of amorphous right to the end, which perhaps makes him more terrifying but not approachable enough to be fascinating. Hannibal Lecter is just too repellent. Then there’s H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West. He has more personality than many of HPL’s human characters. No tentacles or gills, though.
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Thank you!
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Definitely Moriarty.
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That is a great choice!
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Mr Hyde is one of my favourite villains, because I find the concept of an ordinary, good person battling with his evil, darker side, frightening and fascinating.
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Yes, that is a fascinating idea!
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Woland, Azazello, Behemoth, Fagott (Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita) 🙂
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Great choices!
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How about Darth Vader?
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Excellent choice!
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There are so many great villains, but I would have to say Professor Snape. Primarily because there is so much more to him than meets the eye. At first, he’s simply a nasty teacher who’s easy to dislike. But the more you read into the series, the more you find out about him and the more you realize he’s not really the bad guy you thought he was. Most other villains are simply flat, too easy to hate or fear, archetypes of our worst fears. I like a villain who has some depth and character.
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Thank you for this excellent choice!
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Thank you!
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Dracula is probably my favorite. His actions show there is no redeeming him- giving the baby to his wives and then siccing his wolves on the baby’s mother are examples of nonredeemable actions. But he also has this charisma to him that draws people to him, which I think is a true mark of a good villain. It’s easy to get people to follow you or bow down to you out of fear- like Lord Voldemort- but to charm someone to your side is a trait that very few villains have.
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Michelle, Dracula is an excellent choice!
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This is a real tough one, Charles. I think it must currently be Straker from Salem’s Lot.
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Great call!
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Voldemort from Harry Potter or Thanos from Marvel.
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Both are powerful and deeply terrifying villains!
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True!
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The evil queen in Snow White.
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Yes!
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