As the weather turns cooler and my kids begin asking for creepy pastimes like roaming through graveyards, I find my mind thinking of the most frightening villains we love to hate. You know the ones, the antagonists whose twisted minds create havoc for our favorite heroes. The ones who, in a great story, often frighten us and we wonder how they will ever be defeated.
We Love to Hate Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter
You knew I had to start this list of favorite villains with Lord Voldemort, didn’t you? The infamous sorcerer who pursues power at all costs, even risking his own soul, sends chills through us. As J.K. Rowling grew the series, we see development not just in Harry Potter and his friends, but also in our understanding of just how horrific this villain and his followers are.
And yet, there is that little part of us wonders, could it all have gone down differently? What if someone could have reached him, swayed him toward the right kind of magic? What if Dumbledore could have found him years earlier than he did, helped shape him? Of course, our loss would be great as we would never have received this amazing series. Still, we wonder.
This is where the brilliance of a great villain comes from. It is the genius of J.K. Rowling who gives us just enough backstory to make the villain real and somewhat sympathetic. Don’t you agree?
We Love to Hate Levanna from The Lunar Chronicles
If anyone could compete with Lord Voldemort, it’s probably the Lunar Queen, Levanna from Marissa Myer’s Lunar Chronicles. Based on Snow White’s stepmother, this queen-of-the-moon-villainess has mind-controlling powers that can actually cause people to commit suicide if she desires it. And with those very powers, she keeps everyone in her presence mesmerized by her beauty, beauty that isn’t real after all.
Marrissa Myers, the author, even lamented in a Goodreads Q&A session that she felt she gave too much power to the moon-dwelling Lunars. As the series went on, she found it difficult to control them and she struggled to write an ending where good could win when evil was so, well, powerful.
In fact, Myers seems addicted to this storyline and even after completing the series, she went on to write several more novellas, two graphic novels, and Levanna’s own horrible backstory. Why was she disfigured and what made her so cruel? We authors just can’t seem to get away from our favorite villains, can we?
We Love to Hate: Eufemia, Rapunzel’s Witch From The Journey Series
With examples of villains like this before me, it’s no wonder that when I began publishing Rapunzel’s journey, I wanted to make sure that the villain was someone readers would love to hate. Since childhood, I have loved the story of Rapunzel and been intrigued by the witch who incarcerated her. I mean, what was her deal exactly? What would drive anyone to imprison someone you say you love?
One summer, I caught sight of huge sunflowers peeking over a wall surrounding a private home. Every day I looked forward to seeing their great, sunny heads bobbing in the wind. Then one day they were gone. And that’s where my seed of a story began for Rapunzel’s books, The Journey series.
Rapunzel had loved the sunflowers beyond the tower, just out of reach, but her witch cut them down. Why? Why was her witch cruel? As I wrote, I discovered that she was cursed as a young child. She sat in her rocking chair telling her tale in her gravelly voice. The curse had changed her entire life–and it began the series that has made my writing career. I went back and wrote the origin story, exploring what she would have been like as a child and the tragedy that left her twisted and strange. You can get your free copy here.
We Love to Hate: Lord Endrick from The Traitor’s Game
I had not read The Traitor’s Game when I began publishing The Journey series, but Lord Endrick is the kind of villain who fits in nicely with Lord Voldemort, Levanna, and Eufemia. One might even wonder if they would have a respect for one another and form a club, or turn their hostilities against each other with cataclysmic consequences.
A tyrannical meglomaniac, Lord Endrick has been draining the magical people of their power. Any who defy him will find their will turned against them and he violently harms those in his way. The series begins with a defiant Kestra, who hates but knows better than to cross Lord Endrick whom her father works for.
Lord Endrick commands an army of Ironheart soldiers in the dark kingdom of Antora, their hearts corrupted to do as he wishes. Only the Olden Blade threatens his immortality, a lost dagger believed to be the only thing that can kill the power-hungry king. With such a fantastic villain, my family was thrilled when the trilogy completed this year. Believe me when I say that variations of “Wait, I’m not to that part yet!” has been hollered more than once.
Your Turn
Do you and your bookish friends talk “villains we love to hate” and other silly banter? Who comes up? Whose backstory do you wish was available? Have you ever thought of writing an origin story for a villain/ess?
About JacQueline
As the author of The Journey series, a young adult fantasy retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures, JacQueline also wrote Memoirs of a Headcase: Held by the God of Hope, to share hope in the battle against chronic pain and depression. Currently she lives in North Alabama with her karate husband and three book-crazy kids. All opinions expressed on this website come from her own experience. Do not substitute it for professional therapy or medical advice. Any affiliate links used on this website will provide additional income to JacQueline’s family at no additional cost to you.
If you are a reader wanting to connect with JacQueline, you can get a free book here. Each month you will receive book recommendations and other booknerd fun.
Are you a writer or an author looking for help? JacQueline has been writing all her life and loves meeting others who think writing is living. As an author coach, helping other writers on their journey gives her joy. Schedule your free coaching call to learn what steps you should take next now.
