History PsychopathicManchild / Literature

* The (presumed) BigBad of ''Literature/TheMeq'' is the Fleur-Du-Mal, who, like the rest of the eponymous race of immortals, is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, but he's also a PsychoForHire with a bone to pick with the rest of his race. He likes to cut throats, kidnap little girls and turn them into prostitutes, dabble in the occult, manipulate normal people, or Giza as they're called, with his appearance as a 12-year-old boy, and sadistically torment his own kind. Yeah, he's a JerkAss.
** Soon, Ray's sister, Zuriaa [[spoiler:was dangerously unstable and became Fleur-de-mal's [[StopCopyingMe twin]].]] What a plot twist.
* [[TheJuggernaut Ronald Niedermann]] from the ''Literature/MillenniumSeries''. [[TheBrute Freakishly strong]], [[NighInvulnerability near-invincible]] due to [[FeelNoPain congenital analgesia]], and extremely intelligent, he is also [[WellDoneSonGuy irrationally devoted to his unloving father]], has probably never physically achieved puberty, and is plagued by bizarre and terrifying {{hallucinations}} -- knowledge of which (or not) can [[ChekhovsGun come in fairly handy]].
* ''Literature/MirrorMirror'': The Borgia siblings are both C and E. Though they're less AxeCrazy than [[MoralMyopia unable to understand basic concepts like "breaking promises, ordering assassinations and sleeping with family are bad, bad things".]]
* Another Pratchett example: First Mate Cox in ''Literature/{{Nation}}'' is at one point given a description suggesting this, when his gleeful expression at shooting down a parrot was compared to a little boy proud of wetting himself. On the other hand, at ''no'' other point is he shown as anything but fully, rationally aware of what he is.

* Maeglin in Creator/JRRTolkien 's ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''.
** Fëanor and his seven sons, but especially the three C-brothers, Curufin, Celegorm and Caranthir.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Given [[Characters/StarWars Palpatine's]] views in ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'', it's strongly implied that Palpatine grew up to become a high-functioning version of a Psychopathic Manchild.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Keifer Porter. Emotionally abused all his [[ExoticExtendedMarriage wives]], cruelly tortured and raped one of the younger ones, and used his BrainlessBeauty to not be punished for it by the elder sisters. Everyone agrees that he was simple-minded, and childish, though not without some cunning. [[spoiler: Turns out there was someone more intelligent than him behind his poisoning his father-in-law.]]

* From ''Literature/HarryPotter:'' [[SadistTeacher Dolores Umbridge]] shows varying shades of this in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]''. Bellatrix Lestrange and arguably [[BigBad Voldemort himself]] seem to have had some trouble growing up as well.

** ''Literature/{{It}}'': [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp Henry Bowers]] is this in spades, constantly fixating on how the Losers Club repeatedly humiliated him and beat him when they were kids and even, with Pennywise's help, trying to ''murder'' them as adults. To be fair, Henry was [[TheSociopath never entirely stable]] to begin with, and by the time the adult portion of the novel begins, has been locked up in an insane asylum since he was 12.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Accelerator, the [[WorldsStrongestMan world's strongest esper]], is initially introduced as a terrifying figure who [[ExpendableClone tortures cloned soldiers to death in an attempt to increase his powers]]. It turns out that he's an emotionally stunted {{Tykebomb}} who doesn't know how to resolve problems [[TheDreaded except through fear]], and thinks that gaining absolute power will allow him to live a normal life because everyone will be too scared to manipulate him. The sadistic way he kills the clones is actually driven by ''guilt'' -- he suspected that they were [[ClonesArePeopleToo more human than the people running the experiment claimed]], and wanted one of them to beg for mercy so that he could use that as an excuse to stop killing them. Accelerator later has a FreakOut when he learns that the designers of the programme actually ''intended'' him to get it shut down,[[note]]The whole thing was actually a smokescreen for creating a powerful HiveMind of cloned psychics and spreading them across the world[[/note]] but [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone his weird logic resulted in it running much longer than intended]].

* In one of the creepiest moments in the Creator/AgathaChristie canon, when the murderer in "Three Blind Mice" finally reveals themselves to their intended last victim, their voice suddenly devolves to that of a child.
-->"I said that I'd kill you all when I grew up and I meant it! I've thought of it ever since! I'm grown up now; grownups can do what they like!"

* The Queen of Hearts, from ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', is a Psychopathic Womanchild -- though she presumably rules over Wonderland, she's essentially an overgrown spoiled brat who, upon being crossed or annoyed by someone, starts screaming her famous "Off with his/her/their head(s)!" The narrator points out that this is quite literally the Queen's only way of dealing with any problem, regardless of its size. Many adaptations of the book, including [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland Disney's animated version]], keep this characterization, making the Queen of Hearts into a temper-tantrum prone villain who switches from sweetness to screaming without any warning.

** Cersei Lannister covers her inner woman-child with a huge layer of TheVamp (and all the [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitchiness]] that requires), in addition with twisted aspects of MamaBear in adulthood. But, her primary motivation for much of what she does is what it's been since she was very young... a humongous tantrum that [[HeirClubForMen she can't get the cool toys like the boys do]] (or, more specifically, like Jaime does). And, Daddy won't look at me like he does him! (So, I'll be better than Daddy!) It's not very pleasant when it combines with a streak vicious enough to advocate torture, murder and, occasionally, outright acting like her brother's (and cousin's) LadyMacbeth when she isn't being her children's MyBelovedSmother, so any sympathy you might have for her points about the inherant unfairness in the StayInTheKitchen attitude of most of Westeros gallops out the window thanks to her general toxicity.