Welcome back to Top 10 Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Today’s topic easily puts us in the Halloween mood: top ten favorite/most compelling villains in books.

I don’t think I have ever done a topic like this one. And I found it harder than I expected to come up with villains. Some of my favorite characters are not as evil or obviously villainous for a list like this. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my favorite villains in books!

Voldemort from The Harry Potter Series // This one seems obvious to me. He is the quintessential villain–evil, power hungry, and willing to do anything to gain what he desires.

The White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia // She is especially compelling because of her history that we learn about in The Magician’s Nephew and her inability to understand Aslan’s deepest magic.

The Sphinx from The Fablehaven Series // Another great villain. The Sphinx is intriguing because he is not initially a villain–or at least he doesn’t seem like he is one.

Sauron from The Lord of the Rings // This one feels like the epitome of villains. He is pure evil and seeks to destroy all that is good. What a grand adventure this series takes us on to bring about his downfall.

Iago from Othello // This is my least favorite of Shakespeare’s tragedies. I think a lot of that is because of Iago’s intense and evil influence on Othello. He causes the downfall of the entire monarchy.

Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians // Okay, I haven’t yet read the book. But I know the Disney movie well (it was my sister’s favorite movie growing up. We watched it twice a day at least). Think about it–she wants to kill and skin PUPPIES for a spotted coat. What kind of crazy woman does that!?

Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda // She takes Miss Honey’s house and money, is a horrible principal (“the chokey”) and she hates children. She is a great villain.

The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz // Another classic villain. In the original books, she is pure evil–sending all sorts of creatures to kill Dorothy and her friends. Sidenote: I actually like the flying monkeys a lot more in the book than in the movie.

Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park // This guy is truly bad news. He tries to woo Fanny (who never really likes him) but ends up running off with her married cousin who he does not marry. He is a twisted man and one of Austen’s and romance’s great villains.

Captain Hook from Peter Pan // A classic children’s villain. In Hook’s defense, I think Peter is not as redeeming of a character as the Disney movie makes him appear.

Who are some of your favorite villains in literature?