History AxCrazy / Literature

* Visser Three, the BigBad of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. Even in an alien empire where killing your subordinates seems to be routine, he's TheCaligula. At one point [[BiggerBad Visser One]] remarks that he's executed subordinates 'by the poolful', which means that his body counts runs in the high thousands. ''At least''.

** Carrie herself when she finally goes over the edge and starts killing people after one cruel prank too many. There's a ''reason'' that one should BewareTheNiceOnes, dammit!

* Rodya Raskolnikov from ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'', like Annie Wilkes, is ax crazy at least once. Although that was because he flipped out in the middle of a murder he'd already premeditated.

* [[CreepyChild Patrick Hockstetter]] and [[JerkJock Henry Bowers]] from the Creator/StephenKing novel ''Literature/{{IT}}''. Played sickeningly straight with Claude Heroux.

* ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' -- If Edward Hyde isn't Ax Crazy I don't know who is. He does pretty horrible things throughout the book, but the most gruesome of his deeds is the murder of one of the leaders of parliament. He has completely no reason for it, no provocation, and bashing in the face of old gentleman isn't really anything that sane men would do. As described in the book:

* Sallie Declan, the VillainProtagonist of A. N. Wilson's ''A Jealous Ghost,'' has longstanding...issues. While babysitting a six-year-old boy, she [[spoiler: loses her temper and hits him on the side of the head, hard, sending him smashing into a faucet.]] Later on, in college, she [[spoiler: loses her temper again and nails a fellow student with an iron.]] And, making the third time the charm, when Sallie is [[spoiler: dismissed from her job as a nanny]], she [[spoiler: murders a young girl by smashing her skull in and slashing her face to bits.]]

** [[TheCaligula Mad King Aerys Targaryen]] was famous for having his people horribly maimed and/or killed, especially by fire, with little to no provocation. He was also [[{{Understatement}} a bit of a sore loser]]:
-->"The traitors want my city ... [[TakingYouWithMe but I’ll give them naught but ashes]]. [[OmnicidalManiac Let Robert be king over charred bones and cooked meat.]]"

* ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'': Taur Urgas, King of Cthol Murgos. Whoo boy. This is a man who beats his wives, {{Bad Boss}}es his underlings, tortures his enemies slowly, encourages his children to murder one another in order to become his heir, froths at the mouth in battle, chews the furniture during fits of madness, and dies screaming for his opponent to "[[BloodKnight come back and fight]]!"

** Played straight, subverted, averted, and everything in between in ''Literature/{{Galilee}}''. Altough the Barbarossa get the most of it, the Gearys being more of the drunk-with-power type.

* Terra from Patricia [=McKillip=]'s ''Fool's Run'' killed [[OneManArmy over a THOUSAND people]] with a laser rifle in a single rampage....though she's surprisingly calm whenever encountered later.

* William Hamleigh from ''ThePillarsOfTheEarth'' has elements of this.

* [[spoiler: Gaithim in ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'', [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity as a side effect of becoming a hoshek]].]]

** Gregor Clegane, who, when he was a teenager, burned off half the face of his kid brother for playing with one of Gregor's discarded toys, is implied to have murdered his father, younger sister, wives and multiple servants, and who spent the majority of the War of Five Kings leading a band of {{Sociopathic Soldier}}s in raping, burning and murdering all across the Riverlands. You know you're insane when even [[BloodKnight The Hound]] is scared of you.

** [[PosthumousCharacter Mad King Aerys Targaryen]] was famous for having his people horribly maimed and/or killed, especially by fire, with little to no provocation. He was also [[{{Understatement}} a bit of a sore loser]]:

* In ''Literature/SavageDivinity'' a whole chunk of the worlds population falls under this with the defiled. The specters that make the defiled this way and the Demons that defiled eventually become are even worse.

* Richard Lopez of ''ShipBreaker'', a drug-addicted nut who tries to kill his own son.

* Luca Brasi in ''TheGodfather.'' Just ask Al Capone.

* ''Film/{{Dread}}'' -- [[spoiler:Steve]] becomes ax crazy at the end of Creator/CliveBarker's short story. After [[BreakTheCutie enduring psychological torture that causes his mind to snap]], he takes a fire axe from the homeless shelter where he was dropped off, tracks down [[spoiler:Quaid]], and proceeds to [[KarmicDeath slowly hack him to death]] [[BewareTheNiceOnes over the course of the night]].

* The BigBad of ''Literature/LoyalEnemies'' appears unsettlingly disturbed. She acts like sweet, lovestruck {{Cloud Cuckoo Lander}}, decides to murder dozens of mages for [[DisproportionateRetribution reasons that could be resolved by talking]], and her first act as the BigBad was to raise the dead and let them loose on a huge city.

* ''Literature/RevancheCycle'':
** Simon seems like a poised, cultured assassin at first, but as his HumiliationConga kicks in and he repeatedly fails to complete a contract, the cracks begin to show. By the middle of book two he's willing to [[spoiler:blow up over a hundred people, and possibly himself, just to kill a single target]].
** Mari's obsession with chivalry and knighthood is arguably the only thing that stops her from murdering anyone who looks at her sideways. When she's finally tormented to her breaking point, [[spoiler:Nessa literally presses an ax into her hands and goads her into a killing spree.]]
* ''Literature/NowhereIslandUniversity'' is a very dark story. As such, many characters, especially the ones from The Academy of Military Science and Shadowhaven, tend to be a little violent. However, there are some who deserve special mention.
** Salim, much as he tries to [[KnightTemplar justify it,]] seems to enjoy hurting people. Especially evident in [[https://nowhereislanduniversity.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/track-8-bring-your-friends/ Track 8.]]
** [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Two]] [[TheDreaded words:]] [[SoftSpokenSadist Ulfric]] [[GeniusBruiser Trollbjorn.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Harahpin}}'', Eyrco and Euron become this briefly when they first arrive on Untoria. If it wasn't for Euron's silver glow, Eyrco would have ripped out his throat.
* Some of the Careers in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Clove would've given Katniss a GlasgowSmile if Thresh hadn't stepped in. And Cato explodes so violently when Katniss takes out his supplies that he snaps a nearby boy's neck. Enobaria ripped someone else's throat out in her Games. ''With her teeth.'' Titus tried to eat the hearts of the contestants he killed.

* Jack Torrance from Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheShining'', especially the JackNicholson [[TheFilmOfTheBook version]], who uses an actual ax instead of a croquet mallet when he finally goes over the edge. "Heeeeeere's Johnny!"

* ''Literature/TheBonehunters'' gives us sapper Crump, who is a firm believer in [[MoreDakka more is more]] when it comes to explosives, as Y'Ghatan's [[spoiler: ex-city wall]] can attest. Unfortunately, the other Malazan soldiers rather adhere to the 'don't endanger your own troops unnecessarily' philosophy, wich means that Crump is not one of the popular guys.

* When Jack, the main character of ''TheChroniclesOfProfessorJackBaling'', gets his hands on a DisintegratorRay capable of converting tables [[spoiler:or people]] into a pile of dust, it doesn’t work out well.

* AxCrazy: NowhereIslandUniversity is a very dark story. As such, many characters, especially the ones from The Academy of Military Science and Shadowhaven, tend to be a little violent. However, there are some who deserve special mention.

* Every villain from ''Literature/AShadowGirlsSummerOfLoveAndMadness''.

** To give you a real insight into just how dangerously unhinged Annie is, there's this one scene where she takes a rat she trapped in her basement upstairs and puts it in front of Paul. She then begins to crush the poor creature to death with her bare hands, all the while discussing her extremely nihilistic view of the world, with humans being merely trapped rats with broken backs. Then she takes the rat's blood and licks it off her fingertips.

* Dwayne Hoover in Creator/KurtVonnegut's ''BreakfastOfChampions'' winds up going on an insane rampage, which the author/narrator attributes to the influence of "bad chemicals."
* Margaret White from ''{{Carrie}}'' could be diagnosed with at least six psychological disorders, and the religious craziness does '''not''' help.