Top Ten Stephen King Villains

[adrianmarley]

Found this link in one of SK's EW columns:

http://www.examiner.com/x-4886-Stephen-King-Examiner~y2009m3d3-The-Top-10-Greatest-Stephen-King-Villains

It's the top ten Stephen King villains.

Agree/Disagree? Who would be in your top ten (and why)?

[sam peebles]

I was actually surprised to find myself agreeing with the list (for the most part). Before the page loaded, I thought Pennywise should be first and Flagg second. I would have liked to have seen some other choices, like maybe the mangler, or Barlow, but overall its a pretty good list (not sure I agree with the Crimson King being on it, as he turned out to be a big joke).

[Srbo]

I would put on that list a few "real" people, with no supernatural powers, but are evil just like people in the real world can be...

Anne Wilkes
Jack Torrance
Patrick Hockstetter...

to name a few...

[JRLauer]

I think the top three would look like this:

1. The Crimson King
2. Randall Flagg
3. Pennywise

[BRUMMIEYID]

Hi,
Pretty good list IMO.....only

The Overlook !!!! can a hotel really be classed as a villian? Not if we class the villians as characters I suppose.
Cujo I didn't see cujo as a villian, more as an unfortunate victim transformed by a disease. I felt a little sorry for the critter!

I personally would have liked to see George Stark on the list.

[sam peebles]

I would put on that list a few "real" people, with no supernatural powers, but are evil just like people in the real world can be...

Anne Wilkes
Jack Torrance
Patrick Hockstetter...

to name a few...


Annie Wilkes is number four on the list.

[kisun]

I would put on that list a few "real" people, with no supernatural powers, but are evil just like people in the real world can be...

Anne Wilkes
Jack Torrance
Patrick Hockstetter...

to name a few...

Completely agree. They're more scary because you know there actually are people like that.

And Sai King's response: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20268412_2,00.html

[Jax]

I would put on that list a few "real" people, with no supernatural powers, but are evil just like people in the real world can be...

Anne Wilkes
Jack Torrance
Patrick Hockstetter...

to name a few...


Ooooh yeah, I forgot all about Patrick Hockstetter! Don't know how I could have forgotten that creepy little kiddo. Thanks for the refresher Srbo! Maybe I should join in on the reread of It after all.:biggrin2:

[Roseasharn]

I think Perse should be in the top 10. Scared me more than pennywise.
Or the townspeople in Bag of Bones.

[Sweet One]

Here are mine:

1. Gasher
2. The Ticktock man
3. Christine Hargenson--she's far worse than Christine the car
4. Margeret White
5. Tak
6. Bernie the Fisherman
7. Sunlight Gardner/Osmond
8.Rhea of Coos
9. Munshun
10 Barlow

Notice I didn't put Flagg or Crimson King. They would have been higher, excpet that they both were kind of letdowns when each met his end. Plus, some of these more obscure ones are interesting.



The Overlook !!!! can a hotel really be classed as a villian? Not if we class the villians as characters I suppose.
Cujo I didn't see cujo as a villian, more as an unfortunate victim transformed by a disease. I felt a little sorry for the critter!


I agree with the previous poster who said Cujo didn't really belong here. Wouldn't the ghost of frank Dodd--or whatevere vil enitity possed Dod and then Cujo--be the REAL villian?

The Overlook better qualitifies as the villain than Jack Torrence does. I recently saw a list of borror movie villians in entertainment weekly, and Torrence was on the list. I seriously doubt SK would approve. That was the main point of the Shining remake. Then again, it was refering to the Kubrick film, not the novel, and both are really different stories set in different universes.

If you read any of Bentley Littles satiric horror novels, universities, prep schools, resorts, and even store chains qualify as villains. Yes, these institutions are not just haunted--they are living entities, not just infected with evil.

[davidbo32]

1. George Stark
2. Randall Flagg
3. Todd Bowden

IMHO

[Blitzkrieg]

Hi,
Pretty good list IMO.....only

The Overlook !!!! can a hotel really be classed as a villian? Not if we class the villians as characters I suppose.
Cujo I didn't see cujo as a villian, more as an unfortunate victim transformed by a disease. I felt a little sorry for the critter!

I personally would have liked to see George Stark on the list.

Oh my god i agree man where is George Stark he was like my favourite.

[Teddy Duchamp]

Agree on most of these!

However I would have had Andre Linoge in there!

[Sweet One]

Agree on most of these!

However I would have had Andre Linoge in there!

I was just thinking about that---I forgot entirely about Linoge!

[boogerb53]

Hi,
Pretty good list IMO.....only

The Overlook !!!! can a hotel really be classed as a villian? Not if we class the villians as characters I suppose.
Cujo I didn't see cujo as a villian, more as an unfortunate victim transformed by a disease. I felt a little sorry for the critter!

I personally would have liked to see George Stark on the list.

I would classify the overlook as having a personality. It did, after all, drive Jack Torrence insane. I see it as more than inhabited by ghosts. Maybe more like.....possessed.

[Srbo]

Ooooh yeah, I forgot all about Patrick Hockstetter! Don't know how I could have forgotten that creepy little kiddo. Thanks for the refresher Srbo! Maybe I should join in on the reread of It after all.:biggrin2:

Jax, my dear friend - that creep is unbelievable evil, I don`t think Sai King described evil so well ever...
It gives me shivers over and over again whenever I think of IT...especially the scene where Patrick smothered his baby brother in the crib.
He scared me more than Pennywise ever did, honestly...
And this might sound cruel, but I was actually glad when Pennywise took him away. " Hello, Patrick...and goodbye."

That was an actual relief for me...

[GeorgiesArm]

Why is it that Sai King seems so upset with people loving Pennywise so much? Like in his EW column, or when he asked for suggestions for shirts, but specifically asked for NO CLOWNS!!!

Is it just that he is tired of people talking to him about scary clowns or what?!?

[All Hail The Crimson King]

I think the top three would look like this:

1. The Crimson King
2. Randall Flagg
3. Pennywise

Agreed. I would add to that list 4. Lord Malshun 5. The Overlook Hotel and last but not least .5 Norman Daniels.

[marew1]

I agree with the list for the most part but my list would include Andre Linoge from Storm of the Century.

[tillyn]

Well that's a pretty good list, i can't argue with it. Doc #3 is a real bugger( finishing off In.)

[karend3]

Randall Flagg
Ace Merill of Stand by Me, The Dark Half, Needful things, and Bag of BONES
Andre Linoge
The overlook
Margaret White
Tak
Rhea of the Coos

[nomadnyc]

Leland Gaunt from Needful Things is on my list. Great, great villain.

[LittleRedKing]

Another vote for the "human" villains...

Smokey Updike from the Talisman. Just a rotten, no good low life that beats up kids and women. Because he can...

Sunlight Gardner - another piece of work that gets his rocks off by torturing kids.

[Benita]

I love your dancing bear! :laugh:

[Smikes]

Patrick Hockstetter
Randall Flagg
The Kid (from The Stand- you know, the one who violates Trashcan Man with a gun)
Barlow the Vampire
Pennywise
The Low Men
Frank Dodd
George Stark
Mordred
That bone collector guy in Gerald's Game

[jchanic]

Agreed. I would add to that list 4. Lord Malshun 5. The Overlook Hotel and last but not least .5 Norman Daniels.

Finally, someone mentioned Norman Daniels from Rose Madder. There are lots of people out there like him! Truely scary!

John

[glyde69]

Leland Gaunt should have been on that list.

Some honorable mentions:

Raintree from Firestarter.
TAK from Desperation.
George Stark
Jack's uncle from Talisman(forget his name).

[Smikes]

Leland Gaunt should have been on that list.

Some honorable mentions:

Raintree from Firestarter.
TAK from Desperation.
George Stark
Jack's uncle from Talisman(forget his name).

Morgan Sloat. Yeah, he deserves at least an honorable mention - very frightening badguy.

Live, love, laugh & be happy,
Smikes

[TriggerHappy]

Finally, Norman Daniels gets a mention! I'm not easily scared as a rule, but that guy was almost enough to give me nightmares. Especially the italicized parts written from his POV. Creepy stuff, and believable.

[JRM]

Well, I haven't read too many SK books, but from the ones I've read, I'd have Rogette from Bag of Bones in there. That woman is crazy! She was creepier than her boss.