Favorite villains in books

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Who are your favorite literary villains?
Here's some of mine:
Visser Three (Animorphs)
Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Tigerstar (Warrior Cats)
Voldemort (Harry Potter)
The White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia)
The Emerald Witch (Chronicles of Narnia)
Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz)
The Nome King (later Oz books)
Saruman (Lord of the Rings)
Sauron (Lord of the Rings)
Jack Torrance (The Shining)
William Wharton (The Green Mile)
Mr. Murdstone (David Copperfield)
Inspector Javert (Les Miserables)
Mustapha Mond (Brave New World)
Professor Moriarity (Sherlock Holmes)
Judge Wargrave (And Then There Were None, aka Ten Little Indians)

I don't read many books, to be honest, but Bellatrix Lestrange from the "Harry Potter" franchise is one of those villains whom you just love to hate.

I truly detest Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harold Skimpole from Bleak House. They're two fictional characters I've actually wanted to murder with my own two hands. Skimpole isn't actually a villain per se, but he is completely reprehensible and with absolutely no redeeming features (at least Tulkinghorn has an intellect you can admire, and Grandfather Smallweed has a grotesquely comic value).

But in books, my favourite villains (as in villains I admire and enjoy reading about) include...

Randall Flagg of Stephen King's books, but particularly The Dark Tower.

Artemis Fowl (a villain protagonist in the first book) and Opal Koboi from the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer.

Francis Dolarhyde from Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, and Hannibal Lecter from the books by the same.

Francis Urquhart from House of Cards by Michael Dobbs.

Gollum and Saruman from The Lord of the Rings.

Uriah Heep from David Copperfield.

Faction Paradox from the Doctor Who spin-off novels.

The Auditors of Reality, Mr Pin and Mr Tulip, Reacher Gilt, Cosmo Lavish, Esme Weatherwax, Lord Hong, Mr Teatime and the Elf Queen from the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.

Baron Harkonnen from Dune.

Livia, Sejanus and Caligula from I, Claudius.

Moderator with homicidal ideation for fictional characters... I guess that explains a little bit how you attacked me, though I'm no fictional character.

Exactly when did QM attack you? If you are going to post an accusation like that, I'd like to see the back up; I'm getting a little tired of a few members acting like the moderators are to be used for target practice (not to say you are, but it's been a recent frustration). Don't confuse doing his doing his job in a blunt style (if that was the case) for anything personal.

It was a VERY personal attack, plain and simple. Guess you mods have that liberty, though, to abuse your power whenever it suits you.

I was blunt in my speech, but I was not attacking you maliciously. Take this dispute elsewhere.

But in all seriousness, Meadow, what are your favourite villains in literature? I only hold homicidal thoughts towards Harold Skimpole because he is so repugnant, and if you read Bleak House, you'd understand why. And Dolores Umbridge, well, she doesn't even have any style in her villainy. Those two are rather like the characters of Atlas Shrugged, including the so-called heroes of that particular piece of work. Repugnant and nasty. Skimpole's the worse of the lot because he always claims that he doesn't know anything, that he is but a child.

Watch this clip from the recent adaptation from Bleak House. This is from early on in the story, but keep in mind that this is before he does some of his worse acts.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoQslcn_Ec4[/youtube]

Despite the claim that he is but a child, he actually is a smiling sociopath who is responsible for the deaths of at least two characters, albeit indirectly, and lives off the charity of Mr Jarndyce, only (in the book) to claim in his memoirs that Jarndyce was the most selfish of men. That was why he was so repugnant to me.

Society (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

I don't know anything about villains in fiction, Quatermass. My favorite characters in fiction are more like Donald Duck or Charlie Brown.

I didn't see the post in question, but I do know an attack wouldn't be consistent with QM's style. Bluntness that might rub one the wrong way - that would be consistent with his style (sorry, QM, just calling a spade a spade ).

The moderators try hard not to abuse the power. They do have to consider all the members, and what is best for the membership as a whole. While you have posted you are able to self-mitigate, that isn't completely true, and it rarely is completely true for anyone. There is at least one poster afraid to post on WP right now out of fear for feeling attacked by you and ending up in a meltdown. That is information the moderators know, that you would not. Is that a result you support, that your presence would make someone feel unsafe here? I really don't believe it is; you are not an unkind or mean person, but you do have your moments. You could listen a little better about when you might be in the wrong, and jump to conclusions about things being personal less often.

Anyway, I'm not much of one for villains, either, although I confess I found Dolores Umbridge to be an interesting character, largely because she was written to have no understanding at all of her own meanness. She thought she had life wrapped up in pretty little package with a bow on top of it, all the while leaving havoc in her wake that she contentedly blamed on everyone else. Those are the most dangerous characters out there.

I do like Charlie Brown. That is a character with a heart of gold that tends to go unrewarded by those in his real life, because he can be a little clueless. Something many can relate to.

I don't attack anyone. If someone wants to take something I say out of context and play victim around it, what can I do? Some folks are very good at playing victim, and which they would never do if they ever knew what it was like to really be victimized. It isn't attention seeking or any of that. It's painful to live through. How could anyone take me that way? I honestly don't know and don't believe that can possibly be construed as fair. I have problems which I always take responsibility for. But I'm not responsible if someone wants to make their problems my fault. That's a load of bull-shit, and you know it.

I think you are incredibly crafty and manipulative, DW_a_mom.

If there is some sort of consensus that I am some sort of "bad seed" here, then why am I not informed about this????? Why the hell am I being allowed to post on your board then, while you give me crap like this as a side dish???????? Why doesn't someone answer this for me!! !! !

People are trying, but the efforts tend to be misconstrued. I don't know what to do about that.

I am sorry you see me as crafty and manipulative. That isn't how I see myself or my efforts, but maybe many of us could use some help seeing ourselves more accurately?

The simple rule of thumb, to me, is that if you find yourself in frequent conflict with others, maybe it is time to look at what you may be doing to create that conflict, instead of assuming that once again you are the innocent victim. Sometimes you will be, sometimes not, but you do have to take a critical look into it.

Right now I know that the stress in my real life is affecting my ability to post with perfect judgment, one of many reasons I thought it best if I resigned as a moderator (which I did a month ago). I know I'm not in the best mood to figure things out with you, but choose to try anyway, which maybe was a foolish choice. Still, I want you to know I've tried with good intentions.

Well, that's your load of mallarky and you're sticking to it, I'm sure. You have just made criticisms of me, nothing more. You have never been in any way helpful. You have your own agenda. Nothing whatsoever to do with me. You are using me as a sounding board for a lot of your nonsense, put downs, and labels, whatever best suits YOU. You have an excuse for that, too. I don't have any of the kind. I'm struggling with my own life being autistic on top of that, and you're a major ass-hole, to put it bluntly. That's the difference between you and me. I'm honest and direct and you are cunning and manipulative.

I have known more than one person who ties up all their bull-shit in pretty wrapping.
When you open the pretty wrapping, it still smells like bull-shit.