Line #51 LightIsNotGood/Literature


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9	* Very much present in the ''Literature/AlexVerus'' series. The "Light Council" aren't necessarily bad guys, but there's a reason Alex doesn't trust them. The author even lampshades the trope in one of the world-building articles [[http://benedictjacka.co.uk/2012/02/10/encyclopaedia-arcana-5-light-mages/ here]]
10	* Princess the Destroyer from ''Literature/TheBadUnicornTrilogy'' is this in ''spades'', [[spoiler:until her HeelFaceTurn]].
11	* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Lessis works a [[BlackMagic Padmasan spell]] that uses [[BloodMagic sacrificing a rat]] and the residue of a [[EldritchABomination Thingweight]] to create a huge flash of light which blinds the Baguti nomads helping Thrembode take Besita to the Blunt Doom. She is one of the good guys however, using it against evil and only in desperation, so it's a bit {{zigzagged}}.
12	* Glael the Guardian of Light in ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheEmergedWorld'' appears as lightbeams and is quite childish and dangerous (resorts to DemonicPossession) but is just because it's [[TheWoobie extremely lonely]].
13	* The Radiant Church rules [[TheEmpire the Holy Union]] in ''Literature/CoilingDragon'', so it might be expected to be one of the good guys. However, most people don't know that [[spoiler:they maintain their power, in part, by abducted strong-bodied people and destroying their souls so that [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels can take them over]].]]
14	* In the first book of the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'', [[spoiler:Senzei]] is tricked into consuming the Fire (water laced with solar fae) by a demon [[spoiler:masquerading as Ciani]] who tells him that it will turn him into an adept. It doesn't end well for him at all.
15	-->"Daylight can't hurt you" she had said, but [[spoiler:Senzei]] realized it could, in enough quantities. It could dehydrate, burn, inspire killing cancers...
16	* Because of the 19th century belief that BeautyEqualsGoodness, other writers also used the angelic-villain idea such as Benedetto/Andrea of ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' (and especially his evil version in ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'') as well as Montparnasse, one of Thenardier's QuirkyMinibossSquad in ''Literature/LesMiserables''.
17	* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Tamlin is from one of the most beautiful courts that represents spring and light - but he himself is willing to stoop to extremely low levels to maintain his possession of Feyre.
18	* Believe it or not, the Franchise/CthulhuMythos invoked this trope occasionally. One of Yog-Sothoth's avatars is '''Aforgomon''', a being worshipped as the god of time who only manifests himself [[OhCrap to those who anger him]], accompanied by blinding light. Among [[HumanoidAbomination Nyarlathotep's]] forms there is the '''White Man''', an angelic looking blond man with white robes, and the '''Black Pharaoh''', who despite the name dresses himself in brightly coloured clothes.
19	** The titular abomination in ''Literature/TheKingInYellow'' is often depicted as an angel with yellow robes.
20	* In ''Literature/DarkHeart'', Kyrian's magic powers are light-based, and he mostly uses them to hurl huge, glowing fireballs that burn people to ashes. He's also bloodthirsty, sadistic and utterly consumed by his desire for revenge.
21	* A borderline case that nonetheless is a good illustration: A recurring theme in Susan Cooper's ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'' series is that, although the Light is Good, in the sense that everything it does is to protect humankind, it's not ''nice''. This comes up most explicitly in ''Literature/TheGreyKing'', in a conversation between Will Stanton (a representative of the Light) and John Rowlands (an ordinary human): "At the center of the Light there is a cold white flame, just as at the center of the Dark there is a black pit bottomless as the universe."
22	** That conversation also causes Will Stanton to suspect that the Light is what originally caused him to become so severely ill he was sent to Wales to recuperate... making him conveniently available to do the Light's work.
23	** One of the powerful lords of the Dark is the Black Rider. In the final book, we meet his partner, The White Rider: robbed in white and riding a white horse. Will muses this may represent the evil in beings totally "blinded by their shining ideas".
24	* ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'':
25	** Gorl the Gem guardian of the first book ''The Forest of Silence'' is a Jalis knight in opulent golden armour, but in spite of this heroic appearance he’s a wretched man (now just AnimatedArmor) who killed his own brothers so he could have the Lillies of Life for himself. Worth noting he’s an exception among the Jalis tribe, who despite [[BloodKnight their lust for combat]], are firmly on the side against evil.
26	** Thaegan the VainSorceress antagonist of the second book the Lake of Tears is a beautiful and alluring HotWitch whose skin shines like glass and appears in a flash of light. {{Glamour}} appears to be responsible for a lot this though as Thaegan’s reveal form is a deformed hag.
27	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' does this a fair bit when describing the philosophical beliefs of the Dwarfs. As a subterranean race, light and darkness have very different connotations for them, so that "becoming enlightened" is not a good thing.
28	** The fundamentalist dwarfs have reduced the tenants of their culture into simply sitting in the mines and pretending that light of the surface does not exist. Others, like Grag Bashfulsson, consider darkness a state of mind, not a lifetime spent sitting in a cave. He and those like him are still 'endarkened', which to dwarfs is the same as 'enlightened' to humans.
29	** In ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' Lady Lilith A.K.A.[[spoiler:Lilly Weatherwax]] is every inch the good fairy god mother, save for the moral compass.
30	** In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'', after Tiffany Aching dealt with the crush the Wintersmith had on her that threatened to turn at least the continent dark and cold forever by properly releasing the summer, she is shown what the opposite would have been -- the deep, deep desert, so bright and hot that nothing can survive.
31	** Also, [[TheFairFolk elves]], largely thanks to their {{Glamour}}. One of the names used to refer to them is "The Shining Ones".
32	* Although not strictly a villain, the Seventh Doctor in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' was a lot more of an AntiHero than he had been previously in the series, being a ruthlessly manipulative {{Chessmaster}} fond of using his OmniscientMoralityLicense to justify committing all sorts of morally sketchy acts. To juxtapose against this, the writers changed his costume from the shabby clothing he'd worn on TV to a smart cream / off-white suit.
33	* The [[spoiler:false]] Lightbringer in the Reign of Istar ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' trilogy. Though he started out the ultimate good, and grew to be consumed by a bright light aura, he [[spoiler:quickly turned on the followers of the Neutral Gods after he'd removed the followers of the Dark Gods from his kingdom (or continent)]]. After they were out of the picture, he [[spoiler:soon turned on the followers of the Gods of Light that were not devout followers of his specific god]].
34	** Dragonlance in general develops a really weird version of this towards the end, where it's revealed that the ''Good'' isn't Good. Neutral is implied to be the ultimate Good while Good and Evil are equally evil. Somehow. It resulted in a minor case of BrokenBase.
35	* The White Court vampires in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. No, they won't drink your blood. They just want all of your [[EmotionEater emotions]], will and life force, but by then you won't care.
36	** Also, the Wizards White Council is theoretically a force for good, but being riddled with political backstabbing, dealmaking and abiding rigidly by it's traditions means that it falls somewhere between TrueNeutral and LawfulNeutral. At best.
37	** The Summer fae also have elements of this. Yes, they're TheFairFolk, but they're somewhat benevolent and generally on the side of life. [[spoiler: Except Aurora, the former Summer Lady, was so pissed off at the state of suffering engendered by Summer and Winter that she wanted to bring about the end of the world so it would all stop, and Titania, the Summer Queen, keeps finding ways to fuck with Harry for killing her, even though he ''saved the world'' in the process.]]
38	*** That and while the Winter Court represents the bad things of darkness, freezing cold, and death, the Summer Court represents equally bad things like scorching heat, infestations/plagues from too many harmful living things, and unending, uncontrolled life (like, you know, cancer).
39	** The Archangel Uriel ("Light of God"), while presented as a good guy, is distinctly [[GoodIsNotNice not a nice guy]]. In fact, he is more accurately described as heaven's "spook": the assassin of Heaven who took the first born of Egypt, among other shady aspects of the business of safeguarding humanity and free will.
40	*** Played for all it's worth in Ghost Story. When [[TheNicknamer Harry]] [[spoiler: calls Uriel "Uri", the the Archangel nearly annihilates him. "Uri" or in english "my light" can mean something ''very'' different than "Uriel" ''The Lord'' is my light.]] Still scared out of his [[spoiler: spirit]] mind, Harry decides to call him "Mr. Sunshine". Uriel bemusedly accepts it.
41	*** Harry also realizes during that conversation that Uriel [[PersonOfMassDestruction could probably annihilate]] [[ApocalypseHow everything with a thought.]] When Harry jokes that there must be rules preventing Uriel from giving Harry a straight answer, Uriel assures him that there are several, and that they're [[ForYourOwnGood for the good]] of [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles foolish wizards]] and other sundry.
42	*** It goes without saying that you don't become the spymaster of the Archangels, in a universe where knowledge and power are at times one-and-the-same, by [[RunningGag collecting bottlecaps]].
43	* ''Literature/DrGretaHelsing'': The BigBad of ''Strange Practice'' is a malevolent entity that manifests through the glow of a mercury-arc light; its new cultists are ordered to stare into the light until it burns out and [[GlowingEyesOfDoom replaces]] their eyes. The entity itself is [[spoiler:a rogue, degenerate fragment of the Light of Creation]] that's become obsessed with purity and has its followers assassinate those it deems impure.
44	* In the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' mythology, a woman in mourning wears yellow. Because the desert is death during the day, or something.
45	* Katherine Neville's ''Literature/TheEight'', a historical fantasy novel about alchemy, espionage and chess, has the "good guys" representing the black pieces on the chess board, and the evil guys representing the white pieces.
46	* In ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'':
47	** Zhao Gongming and his three Xiao Sisters are reknowed Immortals who can use Fabao (magic items) that cast brilliant light when in use, but are very deadly and they nearly wipe out all the Twelve Immortals of Kunlun when they clash.
48	** Tongtian Jiaozhu is the patriarch of the Jie Taoism, reside in a wonderful divine palace not unlike those of Yuanshi Tianzun and Taishang Laojun and possess many holy instruments. Yet, because he's the less enlightened of the trio, he's fast to fall to wrath and become an antagonist and ClimaxBoss who blocks twice the way of the heroes with deadly formations meant to destroy the Chan Taoists.
49	** Kong Xuan is a [[AlmightyJanitor seemingly normal commander]] who's actually the human form of Buddha's guardian peacock: he's costantly clouded in shiny mist, five colored beams of light emerge from his back (sometimes represented as peacock-like tail feathers) and he can use said beams to istantly capture anything they touch. He's extremely prideful and not even a magic demon-revealing mirror can show his true form, only a fuzzy cloud of colors.
50	** Zigzagged with the Goddess Nu Wa: while she did sent the Thousand-years Old Nine Tailed Fox Spirit and her lackeys to seduce King Zhou and turn him into a cruel tyrant who makes the people suffer, her orders were to just distract King Zhou from government to make him incompetent and disliked, so that his people would gladly accept the ruler of the next dynasty, King Wu. After all the gratuitous cruelty and depravity, Daji loses Nu Wa's favor and is re-captured by the goddess when she tries to escape.
51	* Crenshinibon, The Crystal Shard from the [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt Do'Urden]]-centric ''Literature/ForgottenRealms'' stories, is a [[ArtifactOfDoom psychotically evil artifact]] with the power to do almost anything -- as long as it bathes in the light of the sun every once in a while. The liches made the thing work on those principles because they liked the irony. Then, just to prove its own badass credentials, Crenshinibon ''[[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters ate them]]''.
52	* The aesopian fable of ''The Frogs And The Sun'' is generally considered a cautionary tale against tyranny. The frogs beg the gods to not let the Sun marry or else another Sun will appear and kill them by drying away their marshlands. One version even has [[Myth/GreekMythology Helios]] ask the gods for counsel in marriage and they waste no time telling him to not even think about it.
53	* In ''Literature/TheGoblinEmperor'', elves have white hair and white skin, and their emperor wears white clothes in public... and they are just as bad as humans in similar cultures. The recently deceased emperor was something of a jerk, and grey-skinned half-goblin Maia, the heir to the throne, is a much nicer person. Some of the nastiest people in the novel are full-blooded, pale elves.
54	* ''Literature/GoodOmens'', by Creator/TerryPratchett and Creator/NeilGaiman, plays with this theme. Aziraphale and Crowley often squabble over who does what, heavily implying that good and evil are all perspective. The forces of light are also destructive and more than happy to bring about the Apocalypse, especially the Metatron.
55	** Another example would be Pollution, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (having taken over from Pestilence), who is described as being pale and white-haired.
56	* Something of a point is made of this in Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy''. The tree-dwelling Kindar are ruled by a priestly class who are the only ones allowed to wear pure white clothing. The priests -- and the reason for their existence -- are what's killing off the psychic powers and the three principles the culture needs to survive. In the third book, they all get kicked out of their palaces, but a few hang onto their principles and their white outfits until both are filthy, tattered rags.
57	* The Forces of the Light from ''Literature/{{Grunts}}!'' are perfectly willing to kill female and young members of the Dark races for no apparent reason other than that that is what Light warriors do and are monumental [[JerkAss jerks]] about it. Then again, seeing as the dark races tend to ''kill and eat'' members of Light and Dark races for no reason...
58	* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Dolores Umbridge. Besides her obsession with SickeninglySweet imagery, she, unlike the main villains, can summon a Patronus like the protagonists. Even better, she can do so while wearing an evil SoulJar on her neck that everyone else ''can't''. In other words, an animal-shaped avatar of light powered by her utter sadism. Yeah.
59	* This is one of a number of twists in Creator/RichardBrautigan's novel ''The Hawkline Monster''. The monster, created by Prof. Hawkline from his vat of Chemicals, is actually a tiny speck of light. The light is cruel, vindictive and plays evil pranks -- and it's followed by a little shadow made of love and joy, which wants to bring pleasure and good times to the Hawkline sisters.
60	* In ''The Heart of the World'' series, the predominant color of the Darwinist [[ReligionOfEvil religion of Mann]] is white.
61	* The ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' trilogy:
62	** [[GodIsEvil God, angels, the Catholic church and the kingdom of Heaven as a whole are evil]]. Indeed, this is the reason why the (real-life) Catholic Church hates the books and why they picketed the ''Golden Compass'' movie. Given that the author flat-out admitted that he wanted "Narnia for atheists" and that he has nothing but distaste for religion, it's not hard to see why.
63	** [[FemmeFatale Mrs Coulter]], who is a beautiful, charismatic person and yet probably the most fucked up villain to ever show in the series. The movie made her a blonde, only to stress this trope. Also, her monkey daemon is golden in colour.
64	** The tualapi, which are white birds that cause destruction on the mulefa's world.
65	* In ''Hive Monkey'', the Gestalt all wear white. They are a HiveMind cult who believe in TheEvilsOfFreeWill and the BigBad of the book.
66	* In ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'', one of the books actually has the line "Remember, darkness doesn't always equal evil just as light doesn't always equal good." And later in the book ''Burned'', there are two bulls, so the white one is evil and the black one is good, [[spoiler:meaning it's bad when Stevie Rae accidentally summons the white bull thinking it's the good one]].
67	* King Galbatorix from ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'' wields a pure white sword which he retrieved from the corpse of Vrael. Eragon observes that even the darkest black could not convey the same sense of evil that the white blade could, and that white is the real color of death.
68	* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Janus'' duology, the heroes are members of a nocturnal, forest-dwelling people (''moonlight'' is okay), and their enemy rules the daylight and the sun-scorched desert.
69	* Creator/JaneAusten was a big fan of introducing characters (particularly RomanticFalseLead male suitors) who seem light and idealistic on the surface but are actually a BitchInSheepsClothing or in some cases EvilAllAlong. All in contrast to [[DarkIsNotEvil darker, harsher or less desirable]] love interests who turned out to have HiddenDepths and a HiddenHeartOfGold. Notably Wickham in ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' and Willoughby in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' are on the surface dashing and alluring studs that the heroines like and trust immediately for their warm countenance; yet both gentlemen turned out to be asshole money grubbing cads. In juxtaposition to their respective rivals Darcy and Colonel Brandon who are Byronically moody yet are genuinely compassionate and loving at heart.
70	* In ''Literature/TheJeremiahSchool'', a figure known as Morgenstern appears within a bright light, taunting the main character Peter Stone with a coming reunion before he turns into a seven-headed dragon from the Literature/BookOfRevelation.
71	* ''Literature/TheKeptManOfThePrincessKnight'': The [[GodOfLight Sun God]] Ariostol is [[WarGod "a god of battle and a god of trials"]] whose cult is a PathOfInspiration that seeks to conquer, destroy, and then remake the world. He cursed every member of Matthew's former adventuring party as one of his "trials", costing each of them the trait they most cared about: Matthew can only use his former SuperStrength in direct sunlight, and master craftsman Dez similarly lost his manual dexterity.
72	* Raphael de Mereliot of ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'' is a beautiful blond WhiteMage with HealingHands...who's a power-hungry demon summoner and eventually [[spoiler: a mad, bloodthirsty EvilOverlord who controls an army of carnivorous ants]].
73	* Lucifer in the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' series, when he departs from Nicolae Carpathia to take on his pure form. [[LaResistance The Other Light faction]] also see God in the same...uh, light as the Christians see Lucifer because of His [[DeathsHourglass 100 years of age life limit]] for unbelievers, hence the name of their group.
74	* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'': Jacen Solo, the most [[TheScrappy self-righteous and annoyingly philosophical]] of the Solo kids becoming the next Sith Lord. His reasons for doing so are [[DarkIsNotEvil completely unselfish]]. [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget At first.]]
75	* In Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'': The White Witch. To a lesser extent, the Lady of the Green Kirtle also qualifies, sharing Jadis' beauty, [[spoiler:when not [[ScaledUp disguised as a snake]] at least]]. It's an Unusual case that comes paired with LightIsGood. [[CrystalDragonJesus Aslan]] is always associated with light, but his lands are fertile and gentle whereas Jadis' and the Lady's are sterile and poisonous.
76	** In ''Literature/TheSpaceTrilogy'', Ransom gets himself worked up thinking about this trope: If you meet the forces of Evil, you can hope for rescue, but... if you're in danger from the forces of Good (even unintentionally, such as being too close to their power), what could rescue you from ''that''? Both sides have beings that usually appear as patches of hard-to-see light patterns in the air....
77	* See how many of the titles of Creator/ArthurMachen's novels have titles with a white or luminous thing in them (such as ''Literature/TheWhitePeople''), then read how that thing causes the protagonist's spiral into madness or extremely painful death.
78	* Anastasia from ''Literature/TheMagisterium'' always dresses in white and lives in a white room with white furniture and decorations in the Magisterium. She also [[spoiler: lied about her identity and allied herself with the villains, Constantine Madden and Master Joseph]]
79	* In the ''Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard'', Magnus and his friends visit Alfheim, the world of elves. The sun is shining brightly there, but as Magnus notes, it seems to highlight every imperfection. And the elf world is revealed to be extremely toxic and judgemental behind the opulence and brightness of their world.
80	* In Creator/StevenErikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', the Tiste Liosan are the Children of Light, have light-themed powers and worship a deity known as Father Light. Despite that, they are isolationist, bigoted [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]], to the point where nobody [[CantArgueWithElves takes them seriously]] -- and especially their [[SingleIssueWonk fixation]] on being the arbiters of justice. For a long time in the series, the only Tiste Liosan to make an appearance are [[GoldfishPoopGang a group of four knights]] [[PlayedForComedy too self-absorbed to be of any consequence]], but BewareTheSillyOnes. Like their cousins, [[DarkIsNotEvil the Children of Darkness]], they used to have a WarriorPrince to lead them, but even he pulled a ScrewThisImOuttaHere
81	* The Angels who appear in the ''Literature/MerkabahRider'' stories make it clear they exist to punish humanity.
82	* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheMist'', the most religious character is also an insane murderer.
83	** The villain in ''Literature/{{It}}'', who has [[spoiler:her]] dead lights.
84	* Discussed by Ishmael in ''Literature/MobyDick'', in relation to the creepiness of albinism in spite of the good symbolism of white. Moby Dick itself is an albino whale, which Ishmael considers to be part of what makes it so primally terrifying.
85	* Valentine Morgenstern from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' is white-blond, handsome, talented...and very evil.
86	* In ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', the BigBad turns out to be [[spoiler: soft-spoken, kind and caring angel Islington. Well, not that kind and caring, actually. They don't kick you out of Heaven for nothing.]]
87	* In Diana Henstell's "New Morning Dragon", when the Devil comes to New Morning, he dresses in dazzling white.
88	* While the forces of Light are more often the heroes than the villains in ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'' and its sequels, their UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans mindset occasionally makes them as bad or worse than the selfish, but not necessarily sadistic, forces of Darkness. For example, both [[WeDidntStartTheFuhrer Nazi Germany]] and UsefulNotes/TheSovietUnion were the results of failed Light-side social engineering, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais Gilles De Rais]] (the world's first known SerialKiller) is stated to have been a Light Other.
89	* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': "The place where there is no darkness" is not a place you ever want to end up. ''Ever.''
90	* Many (though not all) Free Magic creatures (which are the equivalent to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s or demons, depending on type and magnitude) in the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' books are extremely hostile to life as we know it, and are often white in color and/or surrounded by a kind of fierce white light (Mogget's unbound form being a prime example). The ''other'' main type of antagonistic beings, the [[TheUndead Dead]], are generally presented as creatures of smoke and shadow, so DarkIsEvil is in effect as well.
91	* The name "Lucifer" literally means "light-bearer" in Latin and in ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', it turns out Lucifer was the brightest angel before his fall. When waging War in Heaven, Satan rides in a chariot as bright as the sun adorned with cherubs and gold, showing that the Devil [[AGodAmI worships himself in the place of God]].
92	* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'':
93	** Hyperion is the titan of light, but he is evil through and through.
94	** We have another, mortal example in Luke. At the height of his cocky, assured evil, he wears a lot of pale, clean clothes like tailored pants and white button-downs, in contrast to his down-to-earth style pre-betrayal. Tellingly, when Percy has a dream-vision of him communicating with Kronos, he's dressed in a pure-white toga and bathed in light. There's also the fact that the name "Luke" can be translated to mean "light".
95	* The Angel of Music from ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' is initially believed by Christine to be a voice sent from heaven by her late father to make her talent soar. Christine, encouraged by her stepmother isn’t given any cause to cause to doubt the angelic presence and even accepts it playing enchanting music playing at father’s grave. It’s a horrible shock and disappointment for Christine when it turns out the Angel of Music isn’t an actual angel but rather a PsychoticManchild StalkerWithACrush who lives underneath the Opera house and is the titular Phantom. In fact Erik, the said Phantom, actually uses light a fair amount in the book to beckon Christine and accompanies it with music. Even Raoul couldn’t help but be hypnotised himself by Erik’s falsely divine machinations and admits upon witnessing Christine get taken away he understands why Christine would get so taken in by the beauty of the song… despite the ill intent behind it.
96	* Dorian Gray of ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'' is blond and angelic looking in very sharp contrast to his actions. Problematically, a number of [[CoversAlwaysLie book covers]] as well as the derided ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' film present him as TallDarkAndSnarky. Gray actually starts out as a very angelic and pure person, only to be slowly corrupted as the book goes on. And while he does remain blond and angelic, his painting makes it pretty clear that his ''inside'' looks quite different. [[spoiler:When he stabs the painting at the end, his body does change to look as horrible as his personality and actions have been.]]
97	* Evangeline Walton's ''Prince of Annwn'' (a very loose adaptation of Welsh legend) features as its primary antagonist Havgan, a god of light and beauty -- but also sterility and disease. He is heavily implied to be an {{Expy}} of real-world Babylonian mythology's Nergal, who had a similar portfolio; his heroic opponent, by contrast, works for Arawn, Lord of the Dead and poster boy for DarkIsNotEvil.
98	* In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' by Creator/RaymondEFeist, the Valheru Ashen-Shugar dressed in golden armour with a white tabard and rode a golden dragon. And while he may have had some faint feeling of responsibility for the land and the people enslaved under his rule, he was still [[AbusivePrecursors Valheru]] all the way.
99	* In Patricia Duffy Novak's short story ''Literature/{{Robes}}'', the land over which [[spoiler:[[PureIsNotGood white mage!Kaitlyn]]]] presides is decidedly ''sunny''...but it's also a [[EvilIsDeathlyCold cold]] and [[EvilIsSterile desolate wasteland where no plants grow or wildlife live]]. [[spoiler:The vision [[FutureMeScaresMe scares the real Kaitlyn]] right out of [[ScrewDestiny studying white magic as she'd originally intended]].]]
100	* Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/{{Roverandom}}'' has The Great White Dragon, although admittedly he's not as impressive a villain as Tolkien's [[Literature/TolkiensLegendarium famous dark lords]].
101	* ''Literature/SagaOfRecluce'' pits [[OrderVersusChaos "black" Order against "white" Chaos]], with the first few books coming down firmly on the side of "black" Order.
102	* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'', [[EvilOverlord Dayless the Conqueror]] is a master sunforger, devoutly follows the Lightseeking religion, wields a sunblade with a golden hilt stylized to resemble a flaring sun, founded the Dawn Empire, fought against and helped stop TheNightThatNeverEnds in his youth, and is the archenemy of [[CastingAShadow the Shade]]. Even so, his enemies gave him the name "[[NonIndicativeName Dayless]]" due to the setting's intense adherence to LightIsGood and DarkIsEvil.
103	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
104	** R'hllor is the Lord of Light and a god of fire, who supposedly stands in contrast and eternal conflict with the Great Other, the icy and evil god of darkness. However, judging from the actions of his clergy, such as Melisandre, the religion comes across as far from pure and good. Melisandre in particular uses blood magic and human sacrifice to perform miracles, and is an altogether ruthless KnightTemplar. When called to task, however, she does give persuasive justifications for her actions, which she sincerely believes will save lives. The fact that R'hllor's apparent enemies are ObviouslyEvil also helps justify her cause, but it might be a question of EvilVersusEvil. The darkness and cold versus fire and light conflict, as well as the name of the series, call up Robert Frost's poem "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_and_Ice_(poem) Fire and Ice]]," in which both extremes are equally destructive.
105	** Said enemies of R'hllor, The Others also known as White Walkers are explicitly described as angelically beautiful and elegantly fae in TheFairFolk fashion and even produce their own light. They’re also the greatest threat in the story as they apparently despise everything with warm blood in their veins and the characters who have come across them likening them to demons. Although it can argued that The Others are really no more evil than climate change or a natural disaster like a hurricane (Martin even agreeing with the climate change allusion) but then again The Others’s [[EvilLaugh evil laughter]] as they kill people implies a great deal of malevolence.
106	** The fair haired and often achingly beautiful Targaryens and Lanniesters despite looking like archetypal HighFantasy good guy often play this straight (there’s plenty genuinely LightIsGood members of their respective dynasties but they are far from a majority). Many Targaryens king, queens and a few princes were in spite their outward radiance really monstrously cruel despots though in the cases Aegon IV and Aerys II age and bad health aided in making them as hideous on the outside as they were on the inside. The Lanniesters for their part have always been sly and shrewd but it’s only after near eradication of the Targaryens (whom they have always envied) that members of their house play this completely straight with Tywin, Cersei and Joffrey being sadistic scumbags with enough cruel ambition and pettiness to cover all seven kingdoms. Jamie, who was introduced as this, takes quite awhile to transform himself into a genuinely decent human being and even that required heavy BreakTheHaughty to accomplish.
107	** The Kingsguard are supposed to be paragons of chivalry. They wear pure white cloaks and shields to show that they have renounced all familial ties, but the additional connotations of purity and goodness are obvious. Unfortunately, they are tasked with serving the king unquestionably, which sometimes makes them brutal enforcers of a mad despot.
108	** After Cersei grants Qyburn a lordship, he starts wearing an outfit that's a combination of a maester's garb and a Kingsguard outfit (so monastic robes but in elegant white and gold). Qyburn is a depraved MadDoctor and TortureTechnician that is Mengele in medieval clothing.
109	* Unlike canon ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Literature/StarWarsVisionsRonin'' takes a more balanced perspective on the force, inspired by Taoism (which inspired the force to begin with). The white flare of the force is associated with the sun and light, but also aggression, and the Sith Kouru actually preffers it to the black current.
110	* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Odium, the [[GodOfEvil Cosmic Principle of Hatred]], is symbolized by white and gold.
111	* In Albert Camus' noir novel ''Literature/TheStranger'', strong sunlight generally accompanies unpleasant moments in the narrator's life. The day of his mother's funeral and his murder of the Arab [[spoiler:that eventually sees him sentenced to death]] both take place on bright, brutally hot days.
112	* Lord Rahl, the villain in the first ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' novel is a VillainWithGoodPublicity who dresses in white robes, talks a lot about peace and harmony, and generally does a pretty good job at convincing everyone that he's a MessianicArchetype. The impression is somewhat ruined by the fact that Lord Rahl's first name is "Darken"...
113	** The sisters of the light, while well-intentioned, are often seen as a hindrance throughout the first half of the series, especially when [[spoiler: many of them are captured and enslaved by the BigBad and used for evil]].
114	* The Futilist cult from ''Literature/TheTenetsOfFutilism.'' They dress in white and idealize honest living, but are ''not'' the book's good guys.
115	* The gods of Order in Louise Cooper's ''Time Master Trilogy'' are hardcore KnightTemplar fundamentalists with an insane lust for power and worship. Tarod and the gods of Chaos range from slightly ChaoticEvil tricksters to fairly ChaoticGood, going through almost every shade of ChaoticNeutral, but they're always portrayed in a much more positive light than the always psychotic gold-and-white-clad gods of Order.
116	* ''Literature/TolkiensLegendarium'':
117	** Saruman the White in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Although it's implied that when he was still actually 'The White', he wasn't evil yet (though starting to lean in that direction). When he takes the actual step to become evil (while maintaining that he's doing it 'for the greater good'), he breaks the White and becomes Saruman of Many Colours. Even ''that'' continues the symbolism, echoing the way white light splits into a rainbow when shone through a prism.
118	** Sauron in his guise as Annatar in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. Not to mention Sauron was once one of the Maiar, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent literal angels]], before Melkor took him under his wing and Sauron became the DragonAscendant.
119	** Tolkien was well aware of that darkness and light can be used as metaphors of evil and good, but also the reverse, more rarely. For examples, there are moments when Frodo and Sam find themselves thankful for the omnipresent cloud and shadow of Mordor, since it helps to hide them from the Eye of Sauron and lesser evils. Minas Morgul radiates a sick, corrupted light that is so terrifying and maddening that simple familiar shadow and darkness become a welcome source of shelter and protection when they hide you from it. In that case, darkness was good and light evil.
120	** Sauron's gaze is depicted, both in the books and movies, as a beam of red light that shines wherever he's looking.
121	** In some accounts of the '' Silmarillion'', Melkor originally manifested himself physically as a brilliant, beautiful light. Tolkien himself was well aware that 'Lucifer' means 'light bringer' or 'light bearer'.
122	** Smaug the BigBad dragon from ''Literature/TheHobbit'' has the epithet of “Smaug the Golden” and unlike other monsters is described as bright and golden with descriptors such as “magnificent” and “dazzling” being thrown about by both the narrator and Bilbo. Still it’s never in doubt he’s a wicked worm who slaughtered the innocent people of Dale, gobbled up maidens and stole the Dwarves’ treasure to use as his bed. The appendices make it clear dragons are MadeOfEvil having been created by Melkor.
123	** In the context of the legendarium, the Sun is not good for the elves, who see it as symbolic of the triumph of men over them (it is outright stated that the Sun symbolises the waning of the elves, and Galadriel implies in ''The Lord of the Rings'' that they see the dawn in the same way mankind sees the dusk - as symbolic of the end). The elves first woke up when only stars existed to light up the sky in Middle-earth, and out of the two trees that the Valar built in Arda, they loved Telperion (where the Moon came from) more than Laurelin (where the Sun came from).
124	** Certain elves themselves play this straight particularly in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', despite their reputation as the fairest and most benevolent light-filled children of Valar. While ironically many Dwarves and Men are DarkIsNotEvil in comparison. Most notably there’s Fëanor, who is made out to be the most beautiful and greatest elf of Noldor who created Silmarils, yet his actions in the story i.e trying to kill his brother, abandoning his wife, defying the Valar, creeping on his niece Galadriel, betraying his own troops and committing genocide on the Teleri elves — at best paints him as a sociopathic AntiHero and at worst the LesserOfTwoEvils VillainProtagonist seeking revenge on Morgoth. Other examples include: [[Literature/BerenAndLuthien Celegorm and Curufin]][[labelnote:]]Ruthlessly hunted Beren and Lúthien with Celegorm being so lustful of Lúthien that he intended to rape her[[/labelnote]], Eöl[[labelnote:]]Essentially forced himself upon Aredhel using magic to lure her and forbade her from leaving him and tried to slay their own son and accidentally killed Aredhel in the attempt.[[/labelnote]] and [[Literature/TheFallOfGondolin Maeglin]][[labelnote:*]]Lusted after Princess Idril and betrayed Gondolin to Morgoth as to have her for himself[[/labelnote]]. There’s also Thranduil aka Elvenking from ''Literature/TheHobbit'', though far less bad than the previously mentioned is still darker of heart despite his radiance and similar to Fëanor has a great amount of greed and racism. The film version has Thranduil play this straighter with him being reminiscent of Sephiroth with only his protective love for his people redeeming him.
125	** Even Galadriel, who in ''The Lord of the Rings'' appears to be nothing short of an angel of pure goodness, is a lot more complex when considering her entire character biography. When the Noldor elves returned to Middle-Earth to destroy Melkor and his forces, she did not make an oath of eternal vengance like her brothers and cousins, but came along because she wanted to get her own personal kingdom to rule. And after almost all the elf lords had been killed by the end of the war, she was one of the most powerful people left in Middle-Earth, and became even more so when she had one of the three elven rings made for her and probably the biggest [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] after Sauron. When she tells Frodo that the one Ring would corrupt her and turn her into an evil queen, she is not speaking hypothetically. She knows exactly what she really wants above everything else, and what she always had wanted.
126	---> "In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!" - Galadriel, in the films, while starting to glow brightly and terrifyingly from within.\
127	"“In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!” She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark" - Galadriel from the book.
128	* In ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', de Vrailly's "angel" -- who has the traditional angel look of white robe, white wings and blond hair, as well as a nimbus of light surrounding him - eventually turns out to be this world's equivalent of Satan.
129	* [[spoiler: [[BigBad The]] [[GodIsEvil White]] [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen]]]] in ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', who’s body and clothing are entirely white (except for the black eyes), and powers include the ability to shoot [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]]. [[spoiler:She's worshipped as a goddess all around the world. But she doesn't care about humans at all, except the main character Kyousuke, who really doesn't want her [[{{Yandere}} attentions]]. The White Queen manages to also be an example of DarkIsEvil, through her alter ego, the Black Maw]].
130	* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': The Good and Light side, after beating Evil/Darkness, has grown an oblivious, fanatical zealotry. Not only do Light wizards brainwash criminals now and thus rid them of their evil desires, entire evil (or just neutral, even misblamed) peoples or species have been wiped out. They don't realize their effort to eradicate all evil not only makes them like this, but also it's imbalancing things such that it will destroy the whole world if not halted.
131	* In ''Literature/VoidDomain'', rank and file of the local group of {{Church Militant}}s wear white habits. While they're generally seen as good guys, being hunters of undeath and necromancy, they tend to take their operations to extremes. It isn't unheard of for them to attack people on suspicion or start a battle while innocents are nearby.
132	* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}}'' novel ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', a city in [[{{Mordor}} the Eye of Terror]] contains "strange creatures of light".
133	* In Creator/DanAbnett's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/{{Eisenhorn}} novel ''Hereticus'', the Daemon Prince Cherubael appears in his natural form. Eisenhorn in fact lampshades it:
134	-->''I had always presumed white light to be pure and somehow chaste, to be noble and good. But this whiteness was unutterably evil, chilling, [[PureIsNotGood its purity an abomination.]]''
135	** In what would be a hilarious situation in another context, a preacher who had joined Eisenhorn at the time mistook this trope for LightIsGood, and approached Cherubael with a holy icon and singing praises, thinking it was a manifestation of the Emperor. He drove off Cherubael, and confused, the preacher chased after it. It would have been comedic if it had left off there, but it lasted until Cherubael could summon the power to turn on the preacher and melt the metal icon in his hands. This staved off death just long enough for Eisenhorn time to [[ShootTheDog sacrifice his acolyte]] to put Cherubael into a vessel in which it could be controlled.
136	* In Laurell K Hamilton's ''Literature/MerryGentry'' series, most humans automatically assume the "Light Court" of the Seelie is good and the "Dark Court" of the Unseelie is evil. In truth, things are '''much''' more complicated.
137	** In particular the King of the Seelie Court, Taranis, "Lord of Light and Illusion" [[spoiler: who is a batshit insane rapist willing to let his people die rather than give up power.]]
138	* The villain (well, he [[FaceHeelTurn starts out good and gets steadily more villainous]]) of Janny Wurts' ''Literature/WarsOfLightAndShadow'' is a handsome, blond, blue-eyed guy who wears white and gold and wields the elemental power of Light. He sets himself up as a deity and has the hero (who has black hair, green eyes and the elemental power of Shadow) hunted down as the embodiment of all evil.
139	* Sol from ''Literature/WarriorCats''. His name means Sun, but make no mistake, he was the BigBad for a while.
140	* In ''Waywalkers'' and ''Timekeepers'', the Light is the most powerful weapon in existence, and the only one able to defeat the BigBad Cronus. To use it, [[SatanIsGood the protagonist]] {{Satan}} has to tap into the fear of every human on earth, and may lose his own mind in the process.
141	* In Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the Children of the Light believe themselves to uphold the 'will of the Light' when, in fact, they generally do more harm than good. Particularly the [[KnightTemplar Questioners]].
142	** There's also one of the series main villains, [[WomanScorned Lanfear]], who always wears white and silver and surrounds herself with light, but is the second-most powerful of [[QuirkyMinibossSquad the Forsaken]] (only [[NietzscheWannabe Ishamael]] beats her) and generally one of the most infamously evil people in history. Ironically, her name means "[[DarkIsEvil Daughter of the Night]]", so she legitimately uses light and dark symbolism.
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Context LightIsNotGood / Literature