Top Ten Favorite Villains in Books or Film

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
Every once in a while I participate in this one when I either
1) Like the theme, and/or 2) Have the time!

This week's topic:

Top Ten Favorite Villains in Books or Film

This week's Top Ten Tuesday had a little wiggle room. There are a lot of ways you can specify villains...you could talk about movies, tv series, books. Bonnie and I couldn't really pick one over the other so our list will comprise our favorite villains in books or film!

In no particular order...

1) Ursula from The Little Mermaid

Out of all the movies and all the books I've ever seen, Urusula has and always will be my favorite. Poor Unfortunate Souls is my jam ya'all.

2) The White Witch from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The White Witch was the first book villain that I really loved. I found her so intriguing, especially since I read this before The Magician's Nephew, which actually has her origin story in it. She's cold, powerful, kind of fear inducing and awe inspiring all at once.

3) Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda

Who doesn't love to hate a grownup that bullies kids. I feel like Matilda was one of the first "kid power" books I ever read, which gives Trunchbull a special villain spot in my heart.

4) Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations

The big coat around her tiny body just calls me. The black and white hair is iconic. She has a song about her. Need I say more?

5)Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter

Listen I'm a reader and a child of the 90's. You knew this would make my list. I mean I grew up feeling like I wanted to watch Voldemort a horrible death, but also feeling bad for him. I think he was the first villain that really made me wonder about backstories, the how and why that makes a villain.

6) Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs

This is probably the first villain that truly scared me, on deep psychological levels that fascinated and horrified all at once.

7) Michael Myers from Halloween

How many times have you come up behind a friend and done the "Ooo ooo ooo ooo, ahhh ahhh ahh ahh" effect from this movie? Michael Myers is iconic...terrifying...and silent, which was so different at the time. He's definitely one of my favorite villains.

8) Jack Torrence from The Shining

"Heeeere's Johnny!" What makes Jack Torrence such a favored villain for me is that it wasn't easy for me to dislike him. In a sense he was a victim, driven to the point of insanity by forces bigger than himself.  

9) Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

She turns into a dragon. INTO A DRAGON. No matter how old I get watching that scene from Sleeping Beauty gives me goosebumps. Maleficent is powerful, poisonous, everything a good villain should be!

10) The Evil Queen from Snow White

Just the way she's drawn was scary to me as a kid. Everything about her face says beautiful but dangerous, she's a cautionary tale about what vanity can do to a person, which is a theme I think a lot of other villains cover too. But nobody gives me that nostalgic punch like she does when she stands there with a box meant to hold Snow White's heart.

Your turn guys! Who are some of your favorite villains from films or books?

Let us know in the comments!