History TheSociopath / Literature

* In ''Literature/InCryptid'', the [[BewareTheMindReader Johrlac]], also known as "[[BackstoryInvader cuckoos]]" are an entire ''[[SpeciesOfHats species]]'' of sociopaths, described as such in-universe. It may be due to their BlueAndOrangeMorality, but it's implied that even by the standards of their homeworld they're horrible, and the reason their ancestors were exiled from that dimension is that they were criminals. There are a grand total of two adult [[TokenHeroicOrc non-sociopathic Johrlac]] on Earth,[[note]]Johrlac children usually aren't aware they're anything other than human until their powers activate at puberty and the mental shock makes them murder their [[MuggleFosterParents human parents]]. The worst they ever do is convince people that they're their own children and need to be protected.[[/note]] one of which was raised by the other. In ''Imaginary Numbers'' we meet one who [[spoiler:[[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes has a sister he cares about]] and makes a HeelFaceTurn to protect her]], but the jury's still out on whether he's sociopathic or not.

* ''Literature/{{Julian}}'s'' brother Gallus can mark every square on the checklist. [[TheCaligula He gets far worse when he becomes Caesar.]]

* The young adult series ''Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures'' has BKR, a villain who thrives on inflicting cruelty (the worst crime in existence by galactic standards), to the point that he's willing to [[spoiler: use a literal time-bomb to ''destroy time'', simply because everyone else [[AndIMustScream would be frozen alongside him for eternity]]]].

* In ''{{Literature/Rebecca}}'', [[spoiler: the titular character, the deceased woman the narrator has been constantly comparing herself to after taking her place in her estate, is revealed to have been a cruel manipulator who cared for no one, building up her house and reputation while tormenting her husband and cheating on him and threatening him with an heir from that relationship. He kills her and sinks her body on a boat, but this revelation brings a great relief to the narrator, who now knows she was never being negatively compared to Rebecca by her husband.]]

** [[TheDreaded Y'golonac]], created by Creator/RamseyCampbell for his short story ''Cold Print'', is the God of Depravity and Perversion who seeks those who read forbidden literature in the hopes that they would read a chapter of ''The Revelations of Gla'aki'' that bares his name, and release him so he could freely rape and kill all in his path.

*** In ''Literature/ThatHideousStrength'', Major Hardcastle, head of the Institute's SecretPolice, is a sadist, with a pathological need for stimulation (which she admits, saying it helps her willingly do her job), and in fact on the very evening [[[spoiler:Merlin sabotages the Institute]], was looking forward to running another torture session.

** * Henry Bowers in ''Literature/{{IT}}'' by Stephen King is a prime example of a sociopath, as he matures from a schoolyard bully to a murderer. Had he not been institutionalized, he likely would have ended up eventually going on a shooting spree.

** [[AmoralAttorney Chris Cleek]] kidnaps the titular cannibalistic feral woman and makes her his sex toy under the guise of "civilizing her." He also raped his own daughter frequently and when her teacher inquires him about her pregnancy, he feeds her to his dogs and cannibalistic, eyeless daughter that he kept locked away. He is a raving HeManWomanHater who saw all women as being there to service men and gut punches his wife when she was criticizing him. While he seems to have some care for his son, it is apparent that he condones his actions on the grounds of him being a male.

* Henry Bowers in ''Literature/{{IT}}'' by Stephen King is a prime example of a sociopath, as he matures from a schoolyard bully to a murderer. Had he not been institutionalized, he likely would have ended up eventually going on a shooting spree.
** In the same book, Patrick Hockstetter is explicitly described as a sociopath, with no grasp of the fact that others are, in fact, real, and at five years old killed his baby brother for disrupting household routine. [[spoiler:IT even has trouble finding a humanoid form that Patrick will comprehend and become frightened of, briefly turning into a writhing, amorphous blob.]]

* Steerpike from ''{{Literature/Gormenghast}}'' is played completely straight with absolutely no effort to humanise him. Peake manages to write the character so well that he becomes strongly likeable to the reader even though they can hear his inner monologue and no exactly how monstrous he is. His crimes include [[spoiler: very effectively faking emotion to flatter his way up through society, burning down a library to emotionally ripple the duke (said burning also inadvertently kills an old man and he barely seems to notice, only pausing to steal the man's skull in case it might come in useful), rewrite the ancient law of the castle to benefit himself (which in universe is a lot more serious business than it sounds) and conspiring to kill the new duke (a child), burning and drowning his teacher to death, leaving his two co-conspirators to starve to death trapped in a single room and finally making the duke's sister fall in love with him purely for the power such a union would give him. He manages to do all this whole only arousing mild suspicion from other people in the castle because he's simply that good at it. When he eventually is outed as a monster he retreats into the depths of the castle and a giant manhunt is commenced to find him. He proceeds to kill any guards who find him alone and proves to be an incredibly dangerous force based purely on his willingness to kill others]].

* Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's ''Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado'' has Montresor. It takes a special kind of screwed-up to kill someone who seems to consider you a friend over an insult. (It's worth noting that we don't even find out what said insult was.) And it wasn't an impulsive, spur-of-the-moment thing done in a burst of rage, either — this is something that took a lot of preparation and planning, meaning Montresor thought this over for a good long time, and still went through with it. The killing itself is a truly horrific way to die, and anything but quick and painless. And he does this all with only a hint of remorse.
* Alex from ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' (both the book and the movie). Although considering the CrapsackWorld he lived in, the general deconstruction of human morality, and Alex's own status as an UnreliableNarrator, it is debatable exactly where he falls on the in-universe scale of ChaoticEvil.

** [[SatanicArchetype Nyarlathotep]] is the mind and soul of the Outer Gods who, unlike his eldritch brethren, is fully aware of mankind and takes sheer joy out of tormenting them. He uses propaganda and manipulation to trick people into worshiping his many avatars; drives people to madness and destroys civilizations out of fun. His ultimate goal is to release the gods and wipe out mankind, but he staves it off to further indulge in his need for stimulation. In his debut, he drives the inhabitants out of a city when the narrator heckled his performance thus also displaying a grandiose sense of self-importance.
** [[TheDreaded Y'golonac]], created by Creator/RamseyCampbell for his short story ''Cold Print'', is the God of Depravity and Perversion who seeks those who read forbidden literature in the hopes that they would read a chapter of ''The Revelations of Gla'aki''that bares his name, and release him so he could freely rape and kill all in his path.

** Lord Voldemort is a textbook sociopath. In his younger days before he became ObviouslyEvil, he was a canny manipulator brimming with superficial charm. He [[EvilCannotComprehendGood does not understand love]], viewing other people - including his own followers - as merely tools to serve his ends. Also, the "persistent killing" part fits him pretty well. The book does posit a reason for his sociopathy, though. His mother seduced a Muggle with a love potion, and it was a completely loveless union. Riddle Sr. did not ''truly'' love Merope back, displaying affection only under the influence of the potion. This absence of love in Voldemort's conception was the reason for his complete inability to love. Dumbledore also believes that had his mother not lost the will to live and died in childbirth, but instead raised Voldemort and loved him, his sociopathic tendencies might have been avoided or at least curbed to an extent.
** Dolores Umbridge enforces the law as she understands it, takes any opportunity to dominate those under her station or rid herself of perceived opposition, lacks any sense of morality (especially towards people with non-human bloodlines like Hagrid or Remus Lupin, and in the final book even Muggleborn witches and wizards), uses likeminded people for her own ends, and sees everyone as expendable in service towards her goals.
** Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr aren't far behind Voldemort. Both are unrepentant serial killers and torture tacticians, fanatical racists, mentally unhinged, both having murdered family members of their own (Bella killed her cousin Sirius, while Barty killed his father Barty Crouch Sr) utterly devoted to Voldemort who they seem to revere as a deity and may be their only true "attachment." Case in point, Bellatrix is married but does ''EVERYTHING'' she does for Voldemort, whom she is said to "love." Barty on the other hand, is not stated to have loved either of his parents, completely disregards the fact that his mother sacrificed herself to get him out of prison and immediately sought to rejoin Voldemort. Upon re-entering the services of Voldemort, he begins torturing, manipulating and killing again. It can even be construed that his tears during his trial were a farce in an attempt to manipulate his dad to not throw him in jail.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Jonathan Teatime in ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}''. According to the book, he "sees things differently from other people, in that he sees other people as things." [[spoiler:He even spent a significant amount of his time theorizing how to kill the various holiday entities of the Disc, like the Hogfather, the Soul Cake Duck, and DEATH himself]].

** Averted with Prince Hans in this TieInNovel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', an adaptation that fleshes out his backstory and gives a strong reason why he becomes a miserable person in the first place. While he does show aspects of sociopaths such as superficial charm, LackOfEmpathy, and is confirmed to be one in the movie by the creators, this PerspectiveFlip makes him a more three-dimensional TragicVillain character. This is mainly through a strong FreudianExcuse and having people that he genuinely cares for, his brother [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Lars]] and [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas their mother]], on top of the self-loathing and InferioritySuperiorityComplex that he's been harboring for years. It's implied his decision to act like one are him mirroring his family's abrasiveness [[WellDoneSonGuy in order to earn their respect]].
** Played straight with [[spoiler:Hans' father, the King of the Southern Isles.]] He cares nothing for neither his family (including his wife and 13 sons) nor his subjects, as he's a petty tyrant who uses DisproportionateRetribution against anyone who refuses to pay taxes or insults him. He also sees his family as disposable tools he can abuse on a whim, using emotional manipulation to warp his sons into his sycophants and deliberately picking favorites amongst them.

-->'''[[MeaningfulName Attila]]''': You stupid girl, what can I say? You should have kept out of my way?

->'''[[MeaningfulName Attila]]''': You stupid girl, what can I say? You should have kept out of my way?

** Subverted in book 13 when we find out [[spoiler:he loved Kit Snicket]] and [[spoiler:he saves her life even as he himself is dying.]] Also, he has a FreudianExcuse - [[spoiler:it's implied that the Baudelaire parents killed his parents with poison darts.]]

** Subverted in book 13 when we find out [[spoiler:he loved Kit Snicket]] and [[spoiler:he saves her life and is shocked that the Baudelaires would even think that he would hurt their parents.]] Also, he has a Freudian excuse - [[spoiler:it's implied that the Baudelaire parents killed his parents with poison darts.]]

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'': Disaffected yuppie Patrick Bateman is one of the most famous examples, and while exaggerated also one of the most realistic.

* In "Nightlily", one of the Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina, Feltipern Trevagg is a high functioning example. Lack of empathy? Seriously. Consummate manipulator? Check. Pathological need for stimulation? Is distracted from his Jedi hunt when he seduces a bimbo from a strange planet. Lack of reciprocity? It's all about him, very much. And grandiose sense of self-worth? Sees himself as a fantastic hunter. [[spoiler:What he doesn't realize is that sex among the H'nemthe culminates in the ritual sacrifice of the male by cannibalism of his vital organs.]]

** Literature/TheSpaceTrilogy:
*** In ''That Hideous Strength'', Major Hardcastle, head of the Institute's SecretPolice, is a sadist, with a pathological need for stimulation (which she admits, saying it helps her willingly do her job), and in fact on the very evening [[[spoiler:Merlin sabotages the Institute]], was looking forward to running another torture session.
*** Whichever devil possesses Weston's body in ''Perelandra''. Charming enough to nearly sway the Lady, and when not tempting it tries to drive Ransom insane with a verbal variant of the water torture or else tortures as many Venusian critters as it can get Weston's hands on. And when Ransom finally confronts it, it asks, "Do you know who I am?" Ransom's ShutUpHannibal reply:
--->"I know what you are. Which of them doesn't matter."

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Jonathan Teatime in ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}''. According to the book, he "sees things differently from other people, in that he sees other people as things." [[spoiler:He even spent a significant amount of his time theorizing how to kill the various holiday entities of the Disc, like the Hogfather, the Soul Cake Duck, and DEATH himself]].
** ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'': Lady Lillith has shades of this as well, what with being a high-caliber TautologicalTemplar. While not quite as AxCrazy as Teatime, she's likely done at least as much harm in the long run, most of it presumably more long-lasting. Never once does she stop to think if her idea of "good" has ''anything'' in common with other people's.

** Averted with Prince Hans in this TieInNovel to ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', an adaptation that fleshes out his backstory and gives a strong reason why he becomes a miserable person in the first place. While he does show aspects of sociopaths such as superficial charm, LackOfEmpathy, and is confirmed to be one in the movie by the creators, this PerspectiveFlip makes him a more three-dimensional TragicVillain character. This is mainly through a strong FreudianExcuse and having people that he genuinely cares for, his brother [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Lars]] and [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas their mother]], on top of the self-loathing and InferioritySuperiorityComplex that he's been harboring for years. It's implied his decision to act like one are him mirroring his family's abrasiveness [[WellDoneSonGuy in order to earn their respect]].

* [[EvilAlbino Ivar]] [[EvilCripple Ragnarson]] of ''Literature/TheLastLightOfTheSun''. He doesn't see people as people, murdered his sister for laughing at him, sheds no tears over his dead brother, has to keep reminding himself to speak to people as ''though'' they were equals, and loses his temper when irritated. At one point he murders a captured earl just to make sure the mercenaries he's hired won't think of just ransoming him and going home; Ivar has lots more ForTheEvulz murder and mayhem planned for them. He's the bad guy.

* ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'':
** While Prince Hans is confirmed to be a sociopath in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen}}'', this is averted in the tie-in novel. While the book largely follows the movie's plot (as Hans becomes a manipulative man bent on seeking Arendelle's throne via a faked romance plot), it expands on Hans's backstory, depicting him as a troubled young man who desperately [[WellDoneSonGuy seeks his neglectful father's approval]], but genuinely gets along with his mother and one of his 12 older brothers, despite showing aspects of sociopaths such as superficial charm, LackOfEmpathy, and whatnot. It's implied his decision to act like one are him mirroring his family's abrasiveness in order to earn their respect. He also expresses his disapproval of his father, who rules the Southern Isles as an iron-fisted tyrant.
** The king of the Southern Isles fits this trope better than his youngest son. He is shown as an abusive spouse and father who treats his family with complete apathy while deliberately picking favorites among his 13 sons, and letting them torment each other. He is also a greedy and brutal dictator who squeezes his subjects for more money and favors, but reacts with DisproportionateRetribution when they don't or when they criticize his rule.

** Played straight with [[spoiler:Hans' father, the King of the Southern Isles.]] He cares nothing for neither his family (including his wife and 13 sons) nor his subjects, as he's seen as a petty tyrant who uses DisproportionateRetribution against anyone who refuses to pay taxes or insults him. He also sees his family as disposable tools he can abuse on a whim, using emotional manipulation to warp his sons into his sycophants and deliberately picking favorites amongst them.