Stephen King’s 10 Best Human Villains, Ranked

Stephen King has introduced some incredible antagonists throughout its career, but its human villains are some of its most memorable. Stephen King’s best villains are often connected to the supernatural, but others are just regular people. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of being just as deranged and scary as people like Pennywise the Clown or Randall Flagg.

Many of Stephen King’s books feature a human villain, and the King of Terror is known for writing characters who demonstrate that humanity can be as dangerous as figures from another world. From obsessive fans to the rich and power-hungry, Stephen King has written some brilliant human villains.

10

The policeman

The Library Policeman – Four Past Midnight (1990)

There are several reasons why Stephen King The library policeman it probably won’t be adapted, but especially since it would be incredibly difficult to portray Sam’s harrowing experiences adequately. Although the demonic Ardelia Lortz is a terrifying villain, the “Library Police” from Sam’s childhood is much scarier.

The titular character only appears as a personification of Ardelia at one point, but other than that, he’s only mentioned in Sam’s memories. However, that doesn’t make it any less impactful. As a child, Sam is raped by this strange figure after he returns a late book.

There’s no apparent rhyme or reason to this, and he threatens to kill Sam if he tells anyone. The character doesn’t hurt anyone, at least the opposite is established, but even though he isn’t a tyrannical dictator or a manipulative leader, that doesn’t mean he isn’t a danger to other people. The man may not kill, but he leaves Sam with a scar that changes his life enormously.

9

White Daisy

Carrie (1974)

Readers’ opinions about whether Margaret White in Carrie is 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 was simply pushed too far. Interestingly, Margaret’s experiences also parallel Carrie’s story, but that doesn’t justify the way she treats her daughter.

Margaret uses her religion as a way to rebuke Carrie for sins she didn’t commit, physically hits her with Bibles, and even locks her up. Stephen King Carrie focuses so much on the teenage girl’s bullying that Margaret doesn’t seem to be the book’s main villain, but she is still a notable antagonist.

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 bad, actions define a person. Carrie’s mother isn’t King’s greatest villain of all time, but the fact that she doesn’t end the generational cycle of abuse proves that she’s far from a hero.

8

Mrs.

The Mist (1980)

Mrs. Carmody of The fog is another ultra-religious character by Stephen King. However, most importantly, she is a hypocrite. Carmody talks endlessly about the military turning against God’s will, but she doesn’t hesitate to suggest that others be sacrificed.

Although she preaches the word of her beliefs, she also contradicts them, encouraging putting people in harm’s way. The fogThe film’s ending differs from the book, but the way Carmody’s story ends in King’s novel is much more satisfying. It’s clear that Carmody isn’t qualified to lead any of these things at the supermarket, but her ego makes her believe otherwise.

It’s selfish that she pushes a narrative that the enigmatic mist outside the doors is biblical prophecy, and it’s even wilder that she takes it upon herself to decide who should be offered as a sacrifice. Mrs. Carmody is not inherently evil, just deranged and obsessiveand it’s not the worst thing Ollie has thrown at her.

7

Greg Stillson

The Dead Zone (1979)

Greg Stillson is the main villain of The dead zonealthough he also serves as an unseen antagonist in Whosealso. The fictional US president causes all sorts of chaos and pain to the public, from the early days of his career through his presidential term. From blackmail, severe violence, emotional torture and the threat of nuclear war, Greg Stillson has done it all.

One of the most shocking things he does, however, is try to use a baby as a human shield. during a rally, which is so incredibly wrong it borders on psychopathic. The reason Stillson is so scary is that his actions and attitudes are frighteningly realistic. Even his non-political experiences are unnerving.

For example, Stillson kills a dog in retaliation as a child and revels in the joy of the act. He simply has no regard for any life other than his own, but is so oblivious to anything outside his little bubble that he barely recognizes his corruption. While this is frustrating, his lack of self-awareness suggests he could have been much more dangerous.

6

Norman Daniels

Rosa Madder (1995)

Rose MadderNorman Daniels is another King character who demonstrates that the horrors of humanity are just as frightening as the paranormal. Rose’s husband is unpleasant for several reasons. He is abusive, manipulative, controlling, and has abhorrent views about those who differ from him sexually and racially.

What makes this even worse, though, is that he’s 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 since there is a long list of things he could do to them.

In addition to being generally violent and hateful, Daniels kills people in extremely inventive ways and even eats their remains. However, he is so antagonistic that it is sometimes difficult to see him as human. There is little knowledge of his history other than his father, and that he is a police officer.

5

Wild Account

The Green Mile (1996)

Although there are several disturbing criminals in The green mileone of Stephen King’s best non-horror books, William “Wild Bill” Wharton is one of his worst. THE serial killer, rapist and child abuser refers to himself as “Billy the boy”, while everyone calls him Wild Bill. Although King doesn’t go into much detail about what Bill does with the Detterick girls, the implications and subtle details are still impactful.

Bill loves to stir up 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 would not be arrested for a crime committed by Wild Bill.

However, he has some depth, which is demonstrated by his fear of being isolated. While this doesn’t stop him from killing other people in prison, his claustrophobia suggests that he’s more than a cold-blooded killerwhich makes sense considering that The green mile uses real-life inspiration.

4

Jack Torrence

The Shining (1977)

There are certain differences between The Shining book and the movie, and one of the biggest is how aggressive Jack Torrance is. Jack is much more than “Here’s Johnny!”And he’s so scary because of how his character develops throughout the book. He starts out as a loving, if troubled, family man until The ShiningIdaho’s Overlook Hotel owns it.

While it could be argued that Jack is only a villain because of the hotel’s ghostly presence, before that there is a lot about him that makes him antagonistic. Alcoholism is undoubtedly a difficult thing to live with, and the abuse he suffered as a child is heartbreaking. However, these struggles cause Jack to take 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 extent. Depending on the reader’s point of view, Jack trying to kill Wendy and Danny may be because of a mental breakdown and not because of the hotel, which makes his actions even scarier. However, these complexities are also why many consider Jack Torrance to be one of Stephen King’s best human villains.

3

Big Jim Rennie

Under the Dome (2009)

No matter what Under the domeLike Big Jim Rennie does, he always believes he is right. The car salesman and councilman lulls the public into a false sense of security by claiming that everything he does is in the name of God, but he only cares about himself. He runs a secret meth lab in a building behind the church, and it shows just how power-hungry he is.

Big Jim kills directly, but also causes the deaths of others through its manipulation of the police force. Every decision he makes is aimed at gaining more control. The staged riot, the framing of Barbara, and the prohibition of alcohol are all so that Big Jim can maintain control over Chester’s Mill.

Even outside of his political activities, Big Jim is a terrible personand he attacks his son on several occasions for challenging his ideologies. However, his selfishness and ingrained need to benefit are also his undoing, and when he dies, he is haunted by those who persecuted him.

2

Patrick Hockstetter

It (1986)

Patrick Hockstetter is wasted on THIS movies, but in the book, he’s a notable threat. Although Henry Bowers is also a major villain in THISPatrick is arguably worse because Pennywise doesn’t need to influence him. Patrick is only 12 years old when he is first introduced in the novel, but he already has a series of heinous acts under his belt.

He kills his little brother when he was fivefearing being replaced, and gains a reputation at school for groping female students. Additionally, Patrick is fascinated with animals and keeps their corpses in the junkyard’s refrigerator after starving them to death.

Of course, he’s also violent THISLosers Club. Unlike many of King’s other human villains, Patrick does not have a traumatic past to justify his behavior, although he is diagnosed with solipsism disorder, which makes him believe that he is the only real being in the universe. The only reason he’s not the scariest villain is that he’s a kid and it’s sad that his family wasn’t more supportive of him.

1

Annie Wilkes

Misery (1987)

The best and most terrifying of Stephen King’s iconic horror characters is easily Annie Wilkes in Misery. Annie is Paul Sheldon’s number one fan, but takes her devotion to the author to the extreme. She keeps Paul locked inside her house, drugs him and punishes himall because she is so obsessive.

His psychotic, stalkerish behavior isn’t just toward Paul; it is revealed that her husband divorced her out of mental cruelty and that she is responsible for the deaths of several patients while working as a nurse. The scariest thing about Annie is that she has no limits.

There is no crime or action so heinous that it makes you stop and reflect. In preparation for Miseryshe kills around 70 people, but her ability to blend into the crowd and avoid suspicion makes her even more petrifying. Annie is without a doubt one of the best and most developed horror villains of all time, but in terms of Stephen KingOf the other human antagonists, she is the best.