The Most Evil Literary Villain
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Which baddie from a book do you secretly love? Bloomsbury are running a vote to find the nation’s favourite literary villain in a children’s book. His Dark Materials' Mrs. Coulter has made the shortlist: “The head member of the General Oblation Board, Mrs Coulter, along with her cruel monkey daemon, secretly kidnapped children and subjected them to terrible experiments.” Philip Pullman commented, “the most evil character in any story I know is the stepmother (of course) in the Brothers Grimm tale ‘The Juniper Tree’. She makes Mrs Coulter look like Mary Poppins.” Place your vote.

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33 Responses to The Most Evil Literary Villain

  1. Alexandra says:

    Definately Mrs Coulter:P Sometimes I felt her monkey was even worse…

  2. JV says:

    I have to say Mrs. Coulter is one of the greatest villains ever. Not just that but she has a great character arc too, the way she kind of redeems herself in the end.

  3. Alewyn says:

    Oh hey, I voted for this like a month ago–but for Coulter, so it's all good. Right on, JV.

  4. Lynxdaemonskye says:

    I voted for Magneto… Although he's technically not in a book, I think he's the coolest in that list. (I was tempted to say Zaphod Beeblebrox…) 🙂

  5. The Bard says:

    I was going to vote for Dracula or Heathcliff and I wanted to vote for Shere Khan, but I then remembered just how damn evil Coulter really is and I decided to vote for her.

  6. trilogyfreak9 says:

    NO DARTH VADER!!!!!!!
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

  7. Glittercloud says:

    I think it should just be the monkey because in the 3rd book, i felt sorry for mrs coulter because she's so mucked up

  8. Scooter says:

    Zaphod Beeblebrox isn't a villain! 'He's just this guy, you know?'

  9. Missy-Me says:

    I voted for the white witch (Narnia)
    She baaddd :tongue:

  10. Alewyn says:

    Yeah, Zaphod's just really dumb…I LOVE Hitchhiker's Guide (yes, I HAVE read it, not just seen the movie)

  11. mapthestars says:

    I'm sorry but I am also a rather big Harry Potter fan so my vote went to Moldy-warts (voldemort)instead of Miss. Coulter but it was really hard for me to dicied. :crying:. But I agree with you that they should also have the monkey on there too.

  12. at-the-stars says:

    Mrs Coulter's the most believable vilain, I'd say. She has her motivations, it's within a believable personality… but she also has a good side, which we see at the end.

    Voldemort is pure evil. Probably way more evil than Mrs Coulter, but personally, without a slight good side, I find him hard to believe. But I'm still a huge Harry Potter fan anyways, I love the series.

  13. quinnyqueen says:

    i agree with at the stars. mrs coulter is bad, but Voldermot is EVIL! especilly in the first book. brrrr.

  14. JV says:

    I suppose they could have had The Church, or The Authority or Metatron as a villain because they do horrible things, but I suppose they wanted individual characters that interacted with the protagonist a lot. Like Mrs. Coulter, and as said she's not just a great villain but a great character too.

  15. rory says:

    hmmmm, after reviewing the list, i found many of them to not truly be villians. First of all, Fagin is about one of the best characters I've ever read (and Ron Moody is AMAZINZG) ad well, let's just say I've read Wicked one too many times to even go there…………

  16. MCH says:

    rory: I agree – hardly any of them were actually proper villains! Like Mrs Coulter is just a normal person who made mistakes, but she still cares, so she can't be a villain. It's the same with Heathcliff – he loves Cathy, and he only acts and feels the way he does because of his tragic situation and the way his life has been. And there is absolutely NO WAY that Artemis Fowl is a villain! If he were he would have to be the antagonist of the story, but he's not; he's the protagonist, and he can't be the antagonist and the protagonist both at the same time. It doesn't make sense!
    I think that the best literary villain on that list is the White Witch from Narnia, although I have to admit that, Philistine as I am, I think she was a slicker, more rounded villain in the film when Tilda Swinton played her than she was in the books. She was too 2-D in the book. Not that I don't love the books or anything – I do. I just loved the way Tilda Swinton played her.
    Sorry. I'm rambling now.
    Anyway…

  17. reba<3 says:

    i voted for god ole voldy too….. love harry potter

  18. mapthestars says:

    reba<3: Yeah Voldy is SOoOoOoOoOo cool!!

  19. Aerandiel says:

    Woah, am I the only person who voted for The Grand High Witch from Roald Dahl's book? Now THERE'S a villain! Unambiguously evil, and quite frightening for a kids' book. I mean, dude — she turns kids into mice and tries to kill them. Dahl was the best.

  20. rory says:

    I totally agree! That book scared me sooooo much when i was little. You know when something isn't, like, scary, but it's so creepy it's scary. Yeah. Dahl was awesome. The first chapter of the BFG always kinda creeped me out, too.

  21. Shanna says:

    I voted for Fagin because I thought I was supposed to pick the villian that I secretly LIKED. While I love Harry Potter and HDM, I don't secretly like the villians – in fact, I really really HATE Voldemort and wish him naught but ill. =) Whereas Fagin is kind of loveable, and it doesn't hurt that the guy who I had a crush on played him in our grade 8 play of Oliver Twist. =P

  22. MCH says:

    Shanna: You hate Voldemort? Really? You don't think he has ana AMAZING character? I mean, I suppose I would hate him if I bumped into him in the street (aaaaargh, scary thought), but as a villain in a story i LOVE HIM!

  23. Shanna says:

    MCH: Yeah, I think voldy is a great character and very scarey, but yeah, I don't like him – he's not someone I'd be willing to spend time with. 😉

  24. 50-50% says:

    i've looked at the list and i don't know who to vote 4, ms Coulter or voldemort.i think i'll go voldemort, as i love Harry Potter and he really is evil. i mean, killing a mother just because she was protecting her son! that is TOTALLY disgraceful

  25. Alewyn says:

    I voted Coulter and Capt. Hook. I would never, ever vote for voldy simply because I find him boring, cliche, and 2-dimensional. Capt. Hook is a childhood favorite. Coulter is human, really cool, and has great lines and reasons for her actions.

  26. Aerandiel says:

    oooh yes, Hook is a good choice too! I wouldn't vote for Voldemort or even Coulter (even though she is a good villain) just because they're too generally popular; I'm trying to think childhood fear and Hook is almost on the same level as the Grand High Witch 🙂

  27. Elphie says:

    OK no body vote for the Wicked witch of the West!!! she is too cool (see WICKED) and totally not her fault that she's evil!!

  28. Victoria says:

    It was so hard to choose. All those villians are so great. I had the hardest time choosing! Even Lex Luthor was on there.

  29. rory says:

    yes, see Wicked, it's amazing, but i suggest reading the book first 😉

  30. Aerosaz says:

    I voted Cruella Devile, she was well evil, completely selfish and willing to kill something as cute as puppies.
    At first I though Mrs Coulter was the most evil character I've read about for a long time but you do get to see her good side, and despite how horrible she was you kind of have to admire the power that she has over people and the way she does it.

  31. jan says:

    has anyone read that grimm short story pullman mentioned? he's absolutely right when he says the stepmother in that is the worst villain in the history of the world. you can't get it out of your head, it's so bad.

  32. loui says:

    I think that Mrs. Coultrer is the best one and the most seductive villian that there is, sheis irresistible, I vote by her

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