In the writing of a book, a lot of focus is placed on creating a good protagonist. Are they good, kind, and brave enough that a reader will want to follow them through one book, and maybe even more? But equally important is creating a good antagonist. No one will care much about your protagonist unless they have a worthy adversary to go up against.
Writers can use books with great villains for inspiration. And readers can just buckle in and enjoy the ride. Here are 15 books with fantastic villains we love to hate, and where you can read them online.
1) Dracula by Bram Stoker
A lot of vampires you find in literature these days are of the charming, sparkly variety that are more brooding and misunderstood than evil. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is plenty charming, but he is a blood-sucking monster who shows a total lack of remorse for his actions. He wants to spread his power by making more vampires, attacking innocent young women.
You can read Dracula here on Project Gutenberg.
2) It by Stephen King
As someone who already had a fear of clowns, I was completely spooked by Pennywise, the evil clown that stalks a group of friends in this book. There’s something about taking something meant to inspire joy in children and turning it frightening and murderous that is just so effective. Tim Curry played a particularly horrifying version of Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries.
You can read It here on Scribd.
3) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
What’s more terrifying than a villain that’s actually inside you? This novel masterfully analyzes the light and dark in one’s psyche and what would happen if you could separate them. It has inspired many villains since and is the go-to way to describe a particularly two-faced individual.
You can read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde here on Project Gutenberg.
4) Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The world of Shakespeare’s plays is full of deliciously wicked villains—Iago and Richard III both come to mind. But Lady Macbeth has become the ultimate archetype for the woman behind the man, pulling his strings to get what she wants. Modern villains like Cersei Lannister would be nothing without Lady Macbeth for inspiration.
You can read Macbeth here on The Literature Page.
5) The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Anthony Hopkins made Hannibal Lecter an icon of villainy in the 1991 film, but he’s a plenty chilling character in the book as well. He is a psychiatrist who is also a serial killer that eats the flesh of his victims, after all.
You can borrow The Silence of the Lambs here from Open Library.
6) Animal Farm by George Orwell
George Orwell described Animal Farm as a “fairy story”. But anyone who has read it can tell that this novel is no mere whimsical tale about talking animals. It is a political allegory about the reign of Joseph Stalin. In the book, Stalin takes the form of a pig named Napoleon who helps inspire the animals to take control of the farm from the farmer who owns it, then wields his power to create a fearsome dictatorship.
You can read Animal Farm here on Scribd.
7) The Hundred And One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
In this novel, Cruella de Vil kidnaps puppies so that she can skin them and use their fur. It really doesn’t get much more evil than that. Oh, except that she also is cruel to her own Persian cat and drowns kittens.
You can borrow The Hundred And One Dalmatians here from Open Library.
8) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Through countless Sherlock Holmes adaptations over the years, Professor Moriarty looms large as Holmes’ main enemy. He has a massive intellect that rivals the great detective and consistently eludes capture. In the story “ The Final Problem”, Moriarty manages to kill Holmes—though it becomes clear later on that Holmes survived. If you haven’t watched it, definitely check out Sherlock to see Andrew Scott’s masterful portrayal of this character.
You can read “The Final Problem” in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes here on Project Gutenberg.
9) The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Though written first, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe takes place second in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. In it, the White Witch freezes Narnia in an everlasting winter. As someone who hates going out in the cold and spends winter longing for the warmth of summer, this seems like one of the cruelest curses there is.
You can read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe here on Scribd.
10) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
There are a few different villains in this book. Henry corrupts Dorian, and James stalks him and tries to kill him. But the greatest villain of all in The Picture of Dorian Gray is vanity. The true cause of Dorian’s troubles is his obsession with his own youth and beauty.
You can read The Picture of Dorian Gray here on Project Gutenberg.
11) Matilda by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl gave us plenty of terrible villains over the years—I still have nightmares about the boat scene in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. But Agatha Trunchbull is the Dahl villain that sticks in my head as truly evil. She flings a little girl out the window by her pigtails, terrorizes the nicest teacher in school, and has a punishment cupboard full of broken glass and nails called “the Chokey”.
You can borrow Matilda here from Open Library.
12) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Those who haven’t read the book may think that the villain must be the big, hulking monster with screws on either side of his neck. But the novel shows that the true villain is Dr. Frankenstein, who created the monster in the first place. He’s the one who decided to play God with no thought to the consequences.
You can read Frankenstein here on Project Gutenberg.
13) Moby Dick by Herman Melville
This is another novel where you may feel tempted to think the titular “monster” is the villain. In this case, the monster would be the white whale who bit off Captain Ahab’s leg. But the true villain of this story is Captain Ahab himself, consumed with his desire for revenge. He is driven mad by his obsession with hunting Moby Dick and has no concern at all for the safety of his shipmates.
You can read Moby Dick here on Project Gutenberg.
14) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
When people think of the villain of the Harry Potter series, many will think of Voldemort, or He Who Must Not Be Named. But if you were to ask a true Harry Potter fan who is the most evil—Voldemort or Dolores Umbridge—I bet the majority would go with Umbridge. She’s a teacher who abuses and terrorizes her students and even admits at one point, “You know, I really hate children.”
You can read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix here with Kindle Unlimited.
15) Assassin’s Choice by shadowmuse
In this story, morally gray protagonist Runa was raised by the Guild of Assassins to be a killing machine free from emotion. The master assassin Kuno assigns her to murder a traitor to the guild who happens to be her only friend. Kuno is a cool, calculating character that will send chills up your spine with his twisted mind games. As Runa struggles to decide what to do, you know Kuno is pulling the strings of the Guild in the background.
You can read Assassin’s Choice right here on Fictionate.Me.