10 AMAZING Horror Villains That Made TV Shows Great

Baring its teeth since the dawn of television, horror has always been something of a niche business on the small screen. However, in recent years, the sheer quality and quantity of horror programming has caught mass attention. This surge in grisly content has paved the way for increasingly complex characters and smart narratives that sit comfortably aside buckets of blood and gore. What often makes these shows so endearing to viewers is not their unfortunate protagonists, the vast variety of vile villains that plague them on a weekly basis. Sure, we all like to root for the good guys and hope they'll come out unscathed, but there's no denying that we all secretly squeal when the bad guys come out to play. So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with 10 Amazing Horror Villains That Made TV Shows Great. 10. Detective Finney in Psychoville While Psychoville is often described as a black comedy before anything else, it constantly leaned into horror with bizarre characters like The Silent Singer and Freddy Fruitcake, but Detective Finney remains its most menacing creation. First appearing in the criminally overlooked second series, Detective Finney dramatically changed the tone of the show and thrust it into much darker territory than ever before. Sent in as a wet man to kill every surviving character from the previous series, Finney immediately caught the fans' attention with his imposing presence. Every time he appeared on screen, we braced ourselves for another heartbreaking death of a character we loved so dear. His methods were cold and cruel, resorting to the likes of hanging, wrist-cutting, and even jamming a pencil into someone's jugular. The worst part of it all is the supreme sense of joy he seemed to take in killing each target. The sick sense of satisfaction was always painted across his face, as if he was purposefully wanting the audience to suffer in the same way that Psychoville's central players did whenever they ran afoul of him. Number 9. Mayor Richard Wilkins III in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Appearing in the third, and undoubtedly best, season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mayor Wilkins III remains the show's most lovable big bad, even up against strong competition from the likes of The First and sassy Hell Goddess Glorificus. Where previous big bads had always been of the toothy, garlic-hating variety, Wilkins was an entirely new type of threat for the Slayer, one that couldn't be so easily felled with a bit of sharpened wood. An immortal being who'd stood as Sunnydale's mayor for well over a century, going so far as to pose as his own son and grandson to avoid suspicion, he'd been secretly pulling the strings on the town's demonic activity for quite some time before making his presence known to Buffy and her friends. Despite his nefarious nature, he still had a heart underneath it all, taking wayward slayer Faith under his wing and acting as the father she never had. It was a rare, touching display for such a villainous character. His eventual ascension from immortal human to giant snake demon is one of the show's most iconic set pieces, and helped elevate Buffy well above many other genre shows on TV at the time. 8. Eugene Victor Toomes in The X-Files The first two episodes of The X-Files' debut season were the standard alien fare that the show would become famous for. Combining strong character development and intriguing conspiracy plot, things got off to a gripping and cohesive start. Imagine the surprise, however, when Episode 3 rolled around and viewers met Eugene Victor Toomes. Taking pride and place as the show's very first Monster of the Week, Toomes is a biological mutant who's capable of stretching and squeezing himself into tight areas like air vents and cat flaps. He would then use this ability to gain access to locked rooms and murder whoever was inside, harvesting their livers for sustenance in a slew of ritualistic killings. Once he'd consumed enough viscera, he'd construct a nest from rags, newspaper and stomach bile for himself to hibernate in for 30 years before enacting another set of murders. The introduction of tombs marked a significant change in tone and forever established the X-Files as one of the spookiest series to ever grace television. The shift from government conspiracy drama to outright horror assured viewers that The X-Files was a wildly unpredictable show that intended to scare them senseless at any given time. 7. The Trinity Killer in Dexter Secret serial killer Dexter Morgan had run afoul of some horrific individuals across his eight-season run, but Arthur Mitchell, aka The Trinity Killer, is undoubtedly the best and most unnerving of them all. Representing a point in time when the show was at its creative peak, Trinity has gone down in infamy as one of television's greatest villains. What makes him so amazing is the way in which he's the perfect opposite to Dexter. He is a man who has simultaneously balanced leading a normal life whilst giving himself over to his twisted desires in a way that does not compromise his humanity. Or at least, we thought so. We all wanted Dexter to ultimately achieve the same level of normalcy and perhaps stop killing in the process, and we genuinely believe that in some twisted way, Trinity could have helped him. Although, as we soon learned, Trinity was a much greater monster than we'd ever assumed, resulting in one of Dexter's most shocking scenes. John Lithgow's performance here is enough to make your blood run cold, exploding between moments of calculated calm and untapped depravity in a performance that will go down in the history books. Number six, Eddie Painter in Channel Zero. Channel Zero's first season immediately pulled viewers in with its thick atmosphere, unsettling premise, and collection of outrageously creepy monsters. The absolute worst of which is this toothy abomination. Appearing at the tail end of the series' debut episode, Eddie Painter, aka the Tooth Child, turned what was already a slow-burning creepfest into a full-blown nightmare. Viewers were immediately hooked, needing to know what exactly this creature was and how it came to be. He may have only appeared sporadically throughout the series, but each appearance felt like a special moment. His unique and incredibly disturbing appearance is only made more powerful when his origins are revealed. Within the mass of teeth lives the soul of Eddie Painter, a boy who, after years of bullying, developed supernatural abilities. After being tragically murdered by his brother, Eddie's soul lived on. Using his powers, Eddie was able to influence residents of his hometown, town, even going so far as to have one of them build the disgusting enamel body as a vessel for his soul. Subsequent seasons of the show improved on the formula in new and inventive ways, but Eddie Painter remains its most endearingly scary and sympathetic monster. 5. Pipes in Ghostwatch Groundbreaking for its time, the highly controversial and wonderfully cheesy Ghostwatch is amongst the finest pieces of programming that the BBC has ever created. Made back in 1992 for Halloween, Ghostwatch is an early example of the found-footage genre, but on a massive scale. Presented as a live broadcast in which a group of well-known, at least for the time, TV personalities investigate a house that's home to a malevolent poltergeist known only as Pipes. Things start off slow, but before long Pipes makes himself known and a whole host of hauntings and possessions ensue that begin to show the extent and cruelty of the spirit's malicious intentions. The real genius of Pipes is that he's constantly hidden in plain sight, be it reflected in windows, stood against the curtains, or hiding amongst studio equipment. His appearances are often punctuated by the sounds of rattling water pipes or the screaming of cats, which only serves to make him that much creepier. It may seem old hat now, but Ghostwatch is essential Halloween viewing that still maintains an icy atmosphere due to its uniquely creepy antagonist. 4. Dr. Oliver Thredson in American Horror Story Asylum On the surface, Oliver Threadson was the only sane person in Briarcliff Manor, a court-appointed psychiatrist who objected to the many cruel and barbaric treatments that Sister Jude and Dr Arden would inflict upon their patients. His strong sense of morality and support for his patients won over fans who saw him for the good person he was trying to be. That made the sting all that much worse when, five episodes in, it was revealed that Oliver was in fact Bloodyface, a serial killer with a love of brutal torture, dismemberment, and shocking sexual violence. The sudden change in Zachary Quinto's performance was genuinely chilling, and the reveal itself is one of American Horror Story's best-constructed scenes to date. With our questionable protagonist Lana escaping Briarcliff with Threadson's help, once safely inside the confines of his home, Lana begins to notice the strange objects, like skin-coloured lampshades and a candy dish that looked an awful lot like a human skull. Fans of the show can immediately recall the sinking feeling we all got when we too noticed the morbid artefacts, and from there all bets were off. In that one moment, American Horror Story Asylum went from great to breathtaking. 3. Pennywise in Stephen King's It Love it or hate it, there's no denying that the early 90s adaptation of Stephen King's epic tome is anything less than iconic. Sure, it's incredibly dated and very rough around the edges, but there's a reason why it still resonates so strongly with audiences the world over, and that is down to Tim Curry's frankly astounding performance as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Long before Bill Skarsgård had his time to shine as the pale-faced child killer, a completely unrecognizable Tim Curry defined for many what a sinister supernatural clown should be. Everything from the enormous red hair, traditional clown attire, and razor-sharp teeth helped elevate the performance to legendary heights then the Eyes of Many has never been topped. The reputation of the miniseries has waned in recent years, particularly when compared to Andy Muschietti's more faithful take on the novel, but Curry's interpretation of Pennywise is still a marvel to watch and more than makes up for all the hokey effects, poor acting, and strange pacing littered throughout. 2. Killer Bob in Twin Peaks Arguably the most purely terrifying entry on this list, the bone-chilling Killer Bob has been haunting viewers' dreams for quite some time. An interdimensional entity supposedly created by the evil that men do, Killer Bob is an insidious spirit that terrorises the residents of the strange little town of Twin Peaks. He feeds on the pain, sorrow and misery of his victims so he can later feast upon them. Originating from the Black Lodge, an alternate realm comprised of pure evil and darkness, Bob finds his way out and begins to possess the residents of the town, spreading fear and bringing unspeakable harm to anyone he can. Taking great delight and pleasure in activities such as rape and murder, Bob is one of the most perverse and downright vile characters to ever appear on television. His inclusion in the series was a happy accident, with crew hand Frank Silver accidentally being caught on camera during a scene, and writer-director David Lynch deciding to keep it in and expand on it from there. What would have been an otherwise strange and surreal soap opera was transformed into a slice of pure televisual terror that has long since stuck with anyone who's watched it. 1. Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal The personification of evil itself, Hannibal Lecter stands as the finest horror villain to ever grace the small screen. Played to absolute perfection by Mads Mikkelsen, Lecter is simultaneously charming and dangerous in equal measure. an unrivalled master of manipulation and psychological warfare who can run circles around everyone he meets. Backing up his penchant for devious mind games with a knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and a tendency to overpower his victims with brute force, Hannibal is, in many ways, the perfect killer. Those who dare to stand in his way are never left without an array of physical or mental scars. That's if they're lucky enough to survive in the first place. Fans were glued to their screens each week as they mused upon what Hannibal's next move would be and who would perish by his hands. This was made all the more powerful by the show's delicious use of dramatic irony. We all knew that Hannibal was orchestrating all the events, but those around him remained clueless, completely drawn into his web of mind games. We all wanted to see him undone, but secretly we all knew that no matter what happened, Hannibal was always going to win in the end.