4 Fail-Safe Steps for Writing a Truly Terrifying Villain

By Allison Grace

You’ve done everything you can think of: your villain has an ancient castle with lots of gargoyles and cobwebs, he murdered his family to claim the throne, he dresses all in black, and his bodyguards are ruthless cut-throats. 

But it’s still not working. He’s not scary enough. So you have him burn a few villages to the ground. 

And still, no one cares. 

Why? 

Blood-thirsty villains aren’t necessarily frightening. They might be disturbing, yes, but not give-you-chills-up-your-spine scary. 

So what exactly sets apart the generic villain and the Truly Terrifying™?

Let’s look at four tips to transform your mediocre bad guy into a full-fledged villain. 

Make Them More Than the “Bad Guy”

Cookie-cutter villains are no fun. It’s hard to be afraid of something you’ve seen a million times.

I’ve heard that you should develop your antagonist as much as you do your protagonist. While that takes a lot of time, I think it’s good advice. 

Your hero has motivations, your villain does too. Your hero has flaws, your villain should too. Your hero has a long backstory, your villain needs one as well. 

Speaking of backstories, don’t throw an “everyone made fun of me when I was a kid” or “someone related to the hero wronged me and I am out for revenge” at your villain and walk away. Those are overused and boring. 

Think of Vulture and Mysterio from the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. Their basic motivation is “Tony Stark took something from me” or “Tony Stark offended me in some way.” 

Meh.

Sure, a baddie driven by revenge can be done well, but it often feels like a cop-out. 

Think about Gollum. He wasn’t always evil. He actually was a decent guy at one point. 

But then he found the Ring. It corrupted him and changed him from a hobbit-like person into a creature living in a cave. The Ring motivates him and drives him. 

Gollum has a backstory and a reason for being the way he is. He has motivation for his actions. He is an interesting and dynamic character.

Take fifteen minutes and figure out what makes your villain tick. What gets him up in the morning? What makes him afraid? Why does he want to rule the world? Why does he have a collection of sentient garden gnomes?

All the questions you ask about your protagonist, ask about your villain. 

And here’s something really important: Every villain is a hero in his own mind (a quote I found on Pinterest from Tom Hiddleston). 

The best villains are the ones who are trying to do “good,” not the “blow everything up” type. 

Your bad guy can’t go around kicking puppies all day. He shouldn’t be pure evil all the time. 

Show him tucking his daughter into bed. Show her helping an old lady across the street. Show him jumping in front of a runaway horse to keep it from trampling some beggars. 

Just like your hero needs to be flawed and not perfect all the time, your villain should show some light in the midst of their darkness. 

Make Their Plans Logical

There’s something to be said about those villains that make sense. Yeah, what they are doing is horrible, but it’s logical. 

The best example of this I can think of is Thanos. 

He wants to kill half of all life in the universe to stop overpopulation. Horrible, right? He even admits it’s genocide, but justifies it by calling it “random.”

Here’s the scary part: Thanos isn’t doing this to get revenge, he’s doing this because he thinks this is the right thing to do.

And it makes sense (somewhat, there are some plot holes). If there are fewer people around, there should be less starvation. Less people = less pollution. Fewer people = fewer wars.

Or take Karli Morgenthau from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Her methods might not be the right ones, but her ideology makes sense. 

People want to live in her idealized world. She offers them something they cannot resist and they blindly follow her. That is until they see how far she is willing to go to win.

This is what makes a good villain. At first blush, their plans for the world don’t seem too bad. And even if you are a bit uncomfortable with them, the ends justify the means, right? 

Hitler wasn’t always hated. He once was lauded. People accepted him as their leader and when they found out what he was doing, it was too late. 

And remember, your villain’s plans should be logical, but they also need to make sense. I know that sounds redundant, but hear me out. 

Their plans shouldn’t be round-about, need-a-handbook-to-understand-them schemes. A logical villain will go about achieving their goals in a straightforward way. They won’t waste time on side-quests when the real deal is in their grasp. 

Give Them Control

Your hero should struggle to defeat your villain. 

Not because your hero is incompetent. Not because he hasn’t finished his Jedi training. Not because he can’t pronounce the magic spell. But because your villain has control. 

Bad guys with complete control over the situation are super scary. The hero can be charging at them with an army and the villain is sitting in their easy chair, sipping their Starbucks, and reading the newspaper. 

I remember watching Star Wars Rebels and being creeped out by Thrawn. He is unruffleable. He seems to know everything that is going on. He is two steps ahead of the rebels no matter what they do. 

And here’s an awesome thing about unruffled villains. When they get flustered, when their shirt gets rumpled, you know something is wrong. 

Now, by saying “unruffled,” I’m not meaning cocky. I’m meaning cool and collected. 

Think of the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. He watches Luke and Vader fight with obvious glee. He tells Luke to strike him down and fulfill his destiny. He’s not afraid of dying if it means his plan is fulfilled. 

Figure out what might scare your villain. What is the one thing that might put a hole in their plans? What worries them at night? What are they counting on the hero to do, or not to do, in order for their schemes to succeed? 

Make Them Scare the Hero

No one is going to be afraid of your villain if your hero isn’t. 

There needs to be a connection between the hero and villain. No connection, no fear. 

Maybe they have a history together. They were on the same team during a dangerous military operation and the villain abandoned the hero. Or the hero wronged the villain in some way and now he’s back for revenge. 

Maybe your villain has done something to your hero’s family. Perhaps he has the ability to kill them in an instant or has convinced them the hero is in the wrong. 

Maybe the villain is a reflection of what the hero could become if he doesn’t change his ways. Think of some of the darker Clone Wars episodes where Anakin has a vision of himself becoming Vader (forgive me if I’m wrong about the details, I didn’t watch all of these episodes). In a way, Anakin is his own villain. He knows that he will become Vader if he continues on the path he’s on. He’s afraid of his potential future. 

Maybe the hero is afraid of the villain because he knows what the villain can do if he remains unchecked. In Infinity War, Tony Stark is clearly afraid of Thanos. He tells Dr. Strange that Thanos has been in his head for six years. Tony might not know the full extent of what Thanos is going to do, but he knows enough to be frightened. He’s had a taste and he doesn’t want to experience more. 

A faceless bad guy who only wants to destroy the world holds no fear for the hero. Sure, he doesn’t want anyone to blow up NYC, but he has no stake in the fight. It’s just another day saving the world. 

But when his world is attacked by a villain he knows or understands, suddenly everything changes. He has a stake in the matter and he is afraid. 

And if the hero is afraid, your readers will be too. 

Bonus Tip: Give Them a Cool Outfit

We all know bad guys must dress in all black, bonus points if they have capes. (Wait, does that mean Batman is a villain?)

In all seriousness, what your villain wears can expose a lot about them. 

I’ve seen things discussing the Winter Soldier’s outfit and how it shows how he was being controlled by Hydra. They talk about how the mask he wears is like a muzzle and reminds him he is following orders. If that’s true, it’s some interesting symbolism. 

But just think about his appearance for a second. A masked man with wild hair, black clothes, and a metal arm. And he usually has a gun and a knife or two. 

Pretty scary right? 

Or think about Kylo Ren. Once again, there are lots of theories about why he wears a helmet in some movies and abandons it in others. He’s uncertain about whether to follow the Dark Side or not and honestly, seeing him without a helmet makes him much more human than if he wore it the whole time. 

His clothes are black. His helmet is also black. His lightsaber is red. 

Just his appearance is intimidating. 

Since black and red are usually associated with darkness, blood, and evil, those are obvious choices for your villain’s wardrobe. 

But think about the White Witch for a minute. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is an allegory and she represents Satan. And what does the Bible say about him? (I’m actually just now making this connection myself.)

He masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

White is associated with innocence and purity.

By having the White Witch dress in white, Lewis is doing something really clever. Not only is he twisting the cliche of black = evil, white = good, but he is also adding a deeper meaning to his allegory. 

So don’t just go instantly for the traditional black and red. Sure, they can be used powerfully, but consider other options. 

Did the villain’s mom love purple? Is green associated with dark magic in your world? 

Don’t settle for the cliches when crafting your villain. Take time to develop him and make him into his own character. 

Give him logical plans and make him frightening to the hero. Be sure he’s more than just a “bad guy.” Let him be in control of the situation. And, of course, have him wear an epic outfit while conquering the world. 

What makes a villain terrifying to you? What villain has the coolest outfit?