Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
The one thing all of these books have in common are their memorable and scary villains. Thank goodness villains can’t go traipsing around to visit other books because we’d all be in trouble if these folks teamed up!
No, I won’t be going into detail there. I’d rather new readers be surprised by these villains than know ahead of time what to expect from them.
1. The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2) by Thomas Harris
2. Misery by Stephen King
3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
4. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
5. Othello by William Shakespeare
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell
7. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
8. Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1) by V.C. Andrews
9. The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King
10. 1984 by George Orwell
I read We Need to Talk About Kevin at the worst possible time…when I was raising teenage boys.
Oh, no! Poor you. 🙂
Oh gosh Flowers in the Attic!! What a creepy book!!!
Absolutely.
I’m glad that the villains stay in their books too!
Here’s a link to my post
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/%f0%9f%93%9atoptentuesday-villains-favourite-best-worst-creepiest-tuesdaybookblog-booktwitter-booktwt/
For sure. Thanks for the link.
Animal Farm and Matilda both have great villains! (Literarily speaking, of course.) My favorite villain is probably Capricorn from Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart.
Cool!
Iago made my original list ten+ years ago. Curious as to whom the villain of The Shining is to you — a person or a spirit or a place?
I think it had multiple villains, the father in the tale being one of them. But that old hotel had plenty of villains running around, too.
I always forget Matilda is a book first, but based on the Netflix adaptation, that’s a great addition! And I agree. Thank goodness they cannot escape the pages of their respective stories. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my list.
You’re welcome. Yeah, the book was great.
I love that you included Animal Farm and 1984 – they have the ultimate villain(s) in them.
Great list!
Thank you.
Ooh, between Matilda and Flowers in the Attic, you’ve got some real winners here I’d never have thought of!
Heh, thanks!
Great list! The first one always makes me cringe.
Same here. 🙂
These are some great classic villains!
Thank you.
I’ve only read a few of these, but for the ones I’ve read, I agree! It would not be good at all if those villains could team up.
Thank you.
There are several evil characters in these stories!
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/the-ps-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-p/
🙂
I have read several of these, but I don’t remember who the villains were…which is one reason why I went a different route today, LOL! I have seen Matilda’s villain on several lists today.
That makes sense. 🙂
Great list, Lydia. Can’t believe I didn’t think of Flowers in the Attic. Nasty people. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.
You’re welcome! Yeah, the antagonists in that series were awful.
Oh shoot! I forgot about Misery! That woman was crazy. LOL. Happy Tuesday!
Heh, for sure.
Othello is a great choice! I didn’t expect that one!
🙂
We Need to Talk about Kevin has been on my TBR for so long. Now I want to know who the villain is. Guess it is time I actually read it.
You’re in for a real treat when you do read it!
I think my favorite villain might be Falconsbane from Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows series, largely due to the song “Falconsbane” by Michael Longcor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8h9IzwwF8U
Oh, cool! Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh, Matilda!! That’s one that haunted me for a while. Such a great villain!
Agreed.
#2 has such a memorable villain! Kathy Bates’ movie portrayal of her is just ICONIC. So brilliantly terrifying.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I have never seen that film, but someday I really should!
What a great list! I’ve only read Animal Farm. I’ll avoid the others! Villains are not my fav!
No worries there. 🙂
Wow, you’ve outdone yourself this week! Hannibal Lecter and Annie from Misery sure are unforgettable villains. I belong to the generation that was repeatedly scarred by reading VC Andrews books as a young adolescent, so I know what you mean. And I loved The Shining – both book and movie.
Thank you, Leah! Yeah, The Shining film was great, too.
I haven’t heard of those books. But I read romance, YA, Middle Grade, and New Adult. I am kind new at this blog thing. I want to start doing the Top Ten Tuesday.
I hope you will join in on Top Ten Tuesday! There are lots of bloggers there who love the genres you do. 🙂
Here is the list of upcoming topics for it if you’re interested: https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/