Warning: This article discusses topics such as child abuse, sexual assault, and extreme violence.
Stephen Kinghas introduced some incredible antagonists throughout his career, but his human villains are some of the most memorable.Stephen King’s best villainsare often connected to the supernatural, but others are just normal people. However, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of being just as deranged and scary as the likes of Pennywise the clown or Randall Flagg.
Many ofStephen King’s booksfeature a human villain, and the King of Horror is known to writecharacters that demonstrate that humanity can be just as dangerous as otherworldly figures. From obsessive fans to the rich and power-hungry, Stephen King has written some brilliant human villains.
10The Policeman
The Library Policeman - Four Past Midnight (1990)
There are several reasonswhy Stephen King’sThe Library Policemanprobably won’t be adapted, but especially because it would be incredibly difficult to depict Sam’s harrowing experiences appropriately. While the demonic Ardelia Lortz is a terrifying villain, the “Library Policeman”from Sam’s childhood is far scarier.
The titular character only appears as an embodiment of Ardelia at one point, but other than that, he is only mentioned through Sam’s memories. However, this doesn’t make him any less impactful.As a child, Sam is raped by this strange figureafter he returns an overdue book.
There is no seeming rhyme or reason for this, and he threatens to kill Sam if he ever tells anyone. The character doesn’t hurt anyone else, at least it’s established otherwise, but even though he isn’t a tyrannous dictator or manipulative leader, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a danger to other people. The man may not kill, but he scars Sam in a hugely life-changing way.
9Margaret White
Carrie (1974)
Readers’ opinions on whether Margaret White inCarrieis a villain or not are often widely debated. The titular character’s mother is a complicated person who has faced a lot of abuse and torment throughout her life, and she is simply pushed too far. Interestingly,Margaret’s experiences parallels Carrie’s story as well, but this doesn’t justify how she treats her daughter.
Margaret uses her religion as a way to berate Carrie for sins she hasn’t committed, physically beats her with Bibles, and even locks her up.Stephen King’sCarriefocuses so much on the teenager’s bullying that Margaret doesn’t appear to be the main villain of the book, but she’s still a notable antagonist.
Every Stephen King Movie Ranked, From Worst To Best
Stephen King is one of the most adapted authors of all time, and the bestselling horror writer has over 50 movies released to his name.
Margaret is a great example of King demonstrating that humans are complex and layered, and while there is no such thing as purely good or evil, actions define a person. Carrie’s mother isn’t the biggest King villain ever, but the fact she doesn’t end the generational cycle of abuse proves that she is far from a hero.
8Mrs. Carmody
The Mist (1980)
Mrs. Carmody fromThe Mistis another ultra-religious character by Stephen King. However, most importantly,she is a hypocrite. Carmody goes on and on about the military turning against the will of God, yet she doesn’t hesitate to suggest that others are sacrificed.
While she preaches the word of her beliefs, she also contradicts them by encouraging putting people in danger.The Mist’s movie ending differs from the book, but the way Carmody’s story wraps up in King’s novella is far more satisfying. Of course, Carmody is not qualified to lead any of those in the supermarket, but her ego makes her believe otherwise.
It’s selfish that she forces a narrative that the enigmatic mist outside the doors is a biblical prophecy, and it’s even wilder that she takes it upon herself to decide who should be offered as a sacrifice.Mrs. Carmody isn’t inherently evil, just deranged and obsessive, and it’s not the worst thing that Ollie shoots her.
7Greg Stillson
Greg Stillson is the major villain inThe Dead Zone, although he also serves as an unseen antagonist inCujo, too. The fictional US President causes all manner of chaos and pain to the public from the early days of his career and through to his presidential term. From blackmail, harsh violence, emotional torture, and threatening nuclear war, Greg Stillson has done it all.
From blackmail, harsh violence, emotional torture, and threatening nuclear war, Greg Stillson has done it all.
One of the most shocking things he does, however, is trying to use a baby as a human shieldduring a rally, which is so unbelievably wrong that it borders on psychopathic. The reason why Stillson is so scary, though, is that his actions and attitude are hauntingly realistic. Even his non-political experiences are unnerving.
For example, Stillson kills a dog in retaliation as a child and thrives off the exhilaration of the act. He simply has no regard for any life other than his own, but he’s so oblivious to anything outside his little bubble that he barely acknowledges his corruption. While this is frustrating, his lack of self-awareness suggests that he could’ve been far more dangerous.
6Norman Daniels
Rose Madder (1995)
Rose Madder’s Norman Daniels is another King character that demonstrates that the horrors of humanity are just as scary as the paranormal. Rose’s husband is unlikable for several reasons.He’s abusive, manipulative, controlling, and has disgusting opinions of those who differ from him sexually and racially.
What makes this even worse, though, is that he is only this way because of his father’s teachings, and he had the potential to be a very different person before this. Any reader would be terrified of Daniels, especially because there is such a long list of things he could possibly do to them.
On top of being generally violent and hateful,Daniels murders people in some wildly inventive ways and even eats their remains.However, he is so antagonistic that it’s sometimes hard to see him as human. There is little knowledge of his backstory other than his father, and that he is a police officer.
5Wild Bill
The Green Mile (1996)
While there are multiple disturbing criminals inThe Green Mile, one ofStephen King’s best non-horror books, William “Wild Bill” Wharton is one of the worst. Theserial killer, rapist, and child abuserrefers to himself as “Billy the Kid,” whereas everyone else calls him Wild Bill. Even thoughKing doesn’t go into much detail about what Bill does to the Detterick girls,the implications and subtle details are still impactful.
Everything The Green Mile Changes From Stephen King’s Book
The critically acclaimed movie The Green Mile is based on a book by Stephen King. Here are all of the differences between the film and the novel.
Bill loves to create trouble and tries to cause as much chaos as possible before his execution, but shows little remorse for his actions. Without him, there would be no story, and John Coffey wouldn’t be imprisoned for a crime that Wild Bill commits.
However, he has some depth, which is demonstrated through his fear of being put into isolation. While it doesn’t deter him from killing others in prison, his claustrophobia suggests thathe is more than a cold-blooded killer, which makes sense, considering thatThe Green Mileuses real-life inspiration.
4Jack Torrance
The Shining (1977)
There are certaindifferences betweenThe Shiningbook and the movie, and one of the biggest ishow aggressive Jack Torrance is. Jack is so much more than “Here’s Johnny!” and he is so terrifying because of how his character develops throughout the book. He starts as a loving family man, albeit a troubled one, untilThe Shining’s Overlook Hotelpossesses him.
While it can be argued that Jack is only a villain because of the hotel’s ghostly presence, there is plenty about him before this that makes him antagonistic. Alcoholism is undoubtedly a difficult thing to live with, and his childhood abuse is heartbreaking. However, these struggles result in Jack taking out his frustrations on others and even animals.
His past is definitely traumatic, but it can only be used as an excuse to a certain point. Depending on the point of view of the reader,Jack trying to kill Wendy and Danny could be because of a mental breakdown rather than the hotel,which makes his actions even more eerie. However, these complexities are also why many consider Jack Torranceone of Stephen King’s best human villains.
3Big Jim Rennie
Under The Dome (2009)
No matter whatUnder the Dome’s Big Jim Rennie does, he always believes he is right. The car salesman and Selectman lures the public into a false sense of security, stating that everything he does is in the name of God, but he only cares about himself. He runs a secret methamphetamine laboratory out of a building behind the church, and this highlights just how power-hungry he is.
Big Jim kills directly, but he also causes the deaths of othersthrough his manipulation of the police force. Every decision he makes is in the interest of gaining more control. The staged riot, the framing of Barbara, and the alcohol ban are all so that Big Jim can keep a hold on Chester’s Mill.
Even outside his political activities,Big Jim is a terrible person, and he attacks his son on several occasions for challenging his ideologies. However, his selfishness and his deep-rooted need to benefit himself is also his downfall, and when he dies, he is haunted by those who passed chasing him.
2Patrick Hockstetter
It (1986)
Patrick Hockstetter is wasted in theITmovies, but in the book, he’s a notable threat. Although Henry Bowers is also a massive villain inIT, Patrick is arguably worse because Pennywise doesn’t have to influence him. Patrick is only 12 when he is first introduced in the novel, but he already has a number of heinous acts under his belt.
Although Henry Bowers is also a massive villain inIT, Patrick is arguably worse because Pennywise doesn’t have to influence him.
He kills his baby brother when he is five years old, fearing he will be replaced, and gets a reputation for himself at school for groping female students. On top of this, Patrick has a fascination with animals and keeps their corpses in the junkyard refrigerator after starving them to death.
Of course, he is also violent toIT’s Losers Club. Unlike many of King’s other human villains,Patrick doesn’t have a traumatic past to justify his behavior,although he is diagnosed with solipsism disorder, which makes him believe he is the only real being in the universe. The only reason he isn’t the scariest villain is that he is a child, and it’s sad that his family didn’t support him more.
1Annie Wilkes
Misery (1987)
The best and most terrifying ofStephen King’s iconic horror charactersis easily Annie Wilkes inMisery. Annie is the number one fan of Paul Sheldon, but she takes her devotion to the author to the extreme.She keeps Paul locked inside her home, drugs him, and punishes him, all because she is so obsessive.
Her stalkerish and psychotic behavior isn’t just towards Paul, though; it’s revealed that her husband divorced her for mental cruelty and that she is responsible for the deaths of several patients while she worked as a nurse. The scariest thing about Annie is thatshe has no limits.
Why Misery Changed Stephen King’s Most Brutal Scene From The Book
The film Misery is often remembered for its most brutal scene, but Stephen King’s novel held a far darker moment that changed Paul’s victorious end.
There is no crime or action so heinous that makes her stop and reflect. In the lead-up toMisery, she kills close to 70 people, but her ability to blend into the crowd and avoid suspicion makes her that much more petrifying. Annie is undoubtedly one of the most developed andbest female horror villainsever, but in relation toStephen King’s other human antagonists, she is the very best.
Stephen King
Discover the latest news and filmography for Stephen King, known for The Dark Tower series, The Stand, IT, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Misery, the Bill Hodges trilogy, and more.
