[[quoteright:304:[[ASongOfIceAndFire http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Melisandreresized.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:304:Congratulations, you're now contemplating [[strike:breasts]] switching to the Dark Side.]]
-> ''Evil redheads make boy bands say "Ewwww!"''
--> -- ''The Crimson Chin doll, {{The Fairly Oddparents}}''

We all know that HeroesWantRedheads. By contrast, there are also EvilRedheads. These are characters who are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. (Not to imply that [[FoeYay heroes]] [[DatingCatwoman can't want]] [[EvilIsSexy evil redheads.]])

This trope is OlderThanTheyThink - [[FieryRedhead red hair]] was supposedly a mark of a witch, and favored by Satan himself. In the Balkans, people unfortunate enough to be born with red hair were said to be doomed to rise as vampires when they died, if they weren't vampires already.

Bullies in school media often have red hair because of the [[FieryRedhead temperamental redhead stereotype]]. Note the dovetailing with the ViolentGlaswegian, though that seldom overlaps. Contrast RedheadedHero and RedheadedStepchild.

May be used to visually [[{{Foil}} demonstrate the difference]] between this character and the [[HairOfGold blond]] or dark-haired hero.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* While not so much evil as "egotistical", flame-haired Maaya Nanako of ''{{Umisho}}'' claims to be leading male Kaname's UnluckyChildhoodFriend. His memories of her are not at all pleasant.
* In ''DeathNote'', Light's hair would turn stylistically blood red when he was at his most sinister.
* Jessie, the self-appointed leader of the Team Rocket's TerribleTrio in the ''{{Pokemon}}'' anime.
** Also Silver, TheRival in the ''Gold/Silver/Crystal'' game versions, and Maxie, the leader of Team Magma in ''Ruby/Emerald''. In "Sapphire", he's good.
** Subverted to some extent by Silver's manga counterpart who is a redhaired Anti-hero.
* Asuka Langley Soryuu of ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is more of a [[{{Tsundere}} bitchy redhead]], but enough of a bitch (though she does have some ''[[FreudianExcuse good]]'' reasons for her bitchiness) to get damn close to this mark.
* Nao Yuuki of ''{{Mai-HiME}}'', being an IneffectualLoner and DarkMagicalGirl, also counts, though she's more "amoral" than outright evil.
** In the third volume of the [[Manga/{{Mai-HiME}} manga}]], Nao actually assists the other [=HiMEs=] by luring Nagi into a trap after their escape from a cavern deep underneath Fuuka. Of course, she says [[IWasJustPassingThrough she's not doing it for]] ''[[IWasJustPassingThrough them]]''.
* In ''MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'', the first shown member of every QuirkyMinibossSquad is a redhead (Izuuru, Sheshe, Fuku). Also twisted with Sara, whose natural colour was bright orange, but, as a villain, has jet black hair.
** Aside from Fuku (who never attacks directly the Mermaid Princesses, anyway), the first real member of Michel's Winged Ones who shows up is [[VillainousCrossdresser La]][[KissOfTheVampire dy]] [[EvilIsSexy Ba]][[LesbianVampire t]], who also has burgundy red hair.
* ''{{Sailor Moon}}'' pulls this one on multiple occasions.
** The first season's BigBad, Queen Beryl.
** The second season's first member of the QuirkyMinibossSquad, Rubeus.
** Kaolinite, Eudial, Mimete *and* Cyprine, all from the Witches 5, in the third season.
** [=VesVes=] the Tamer in the fourth season. At least she has the excuse that the QuirkyMinibossSquad to which she belongs is themed after the colours of the senshi. Strangely, though, the exception is [=CereCere=] the [[MasterOfIllusion Illusionist]], who is given pink instead of orange.
** And Akane Karasuma aka Sailor Lead Crow in the fifth. Also a DarkSkinnedRedhead.
***Her boss has gold hair . . . which fades into blood red.
* Ali Al-Saachez, Nena Trinity (though she's more ''[[{{Yangire}} batshit insane]]'' than anything else) and Patrick Corlasawar (though Patrick is more of an IneffectualSympatheticVillain than truly evil) from ''{{Gundam 00}}''.
* Sir Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten, from ''CodeGeass''. [[BloodKnight Enough]] [[AxCrazy said.]]
* Vita and Nove of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', who are shown to be vicious, aggressive foes [[spoiler: before their HeelFaceTurn, then they become vicious, aggressive allies]].
** These two aren't really evil, you know. Nove is more of a PerpetualFrowner while Vita is just [[{{Tsundere}} really heavy on the Tsun side of the scale]].
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', there are five red-headed villains to date, Gaara (before his HeelFaceTurn), Jiroubo, Tayuya, Sasori and Pain ([[spoiler:which includes both Yahiko, who was a good guy when he was alive [orange] and Nagato, the actual controller [blood red]]).
** Though she's not quite evil, [[DarkChick Karin]] could qualify as well.
* Movie villain Bojack from ''{{Dragonball Z}}''. His hair actually gets redder when he transforms.
* ''{{Baccano}}'''s Claire Stanfield straddles the line between this and RedHeadedHero as a red-headed AxCrazy HeroicSociopath in a BlackAndGreyMorality universe. It doesn't help that he's a complete WildCard.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Dark Phoenix from ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'', in both the comic and [[TheMovie the movie]].
** Not to mention her clone, Madelyne Pryor, who became the Goblyn Queen.
** Of course, Dark Phoenix is simply redhead Jean Grey (a founding example of HeroesWantRedheads) on [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity too much power]] or [[TouchedByVorlons a confused godlike being]], depending on the story/{{retcon}}/[[CanonDisContinuity ret-retcon]]. The way she's thought of more for that one arc than for her ''decades'' of being a hero before and after it is [[NeverLiveItDown a trope of its own.]] Maddie didn't start out evil, either.
** Also in ''X-Men'', Cain Marko aka Juggernaut is a redhead, though it's rarely explicitly shown thanks to his signature helmet of [[LuckilyMyPowersWillProtectMe psi blockage.]]
** Then there's Belasco, the red-haired, devil-horned sorcerer who stole Illyana Rasputin's childhood.
** Notable aversion: Thomas is the evil member of the Cassidy family. Sean and Theresa are redhaired and heroic, while Black Tom has black hair.
* Pamela Isley alias Poison Ivy, of ''{{Batman}}'' fame.
** Also, Hush, one of Bruce's childhood friends, introduced rather recently (and has taken TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou route as of ''Detective Comics'' #846).
* In the '90s, [[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Lex Luthor]] died and was replaced by his young-adult evil clone from Australia, who had shoulder-length red hair and a red beard.
** And who contained the original Luthor's brain. Naturally, the pre-clone Luthor had red hair before he went bald.
* Lightning Lord, older brother of the Ranzz siblings of ''[[TheLegionOfSuperHeroes Legion]]'' fame... although his more iconic look is from after his hair has turned [[WhiteHairedPrettyBoy white]].
* Carnage's alter ego Cletus Kasady has red hair.
* [[{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] isn't technically evil ([[AntiHero Antiheroic]] [[HeroicSociopath Sociopath]]), but he does have red hair and he does act like a stone-cold bastard most of the time.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Buddy aka Syndrome, the main villain of {{The Incredibles}}, had bright red hair that was styled in a flame-esque way.
** Brad Bird, who directed TheIncredibles, seems fond of this trope. Kent Mansley (the paranoid government agent in ''TheIronGiant'', which was also directed by Brad Bird) also has red hair and blue eyes, just like Syndrome.
* Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace from ''AugustRush'', played by RobinWilliams with [[DyeingForYourArt a lot of hair dye]].
* SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in ''{{Thunderball}}'' -- so evil she's even immune to JamesBond's legendary [[HeelFaceTurn bedroom charms!]]
* Malachai, the blood-thirsty teen from {{Children of the Corn}}.
* Magenta from TheRockyHorrorPictureShow certainly applies.
* Poison Ivy from Batman and Robin.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Pictured above: Melisandre of ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' is an absolutely bone-chilling KnightTemplar priestess and EvilChancellor, whose hair, raiment and [[RedEyesTakeWarning eyes]] are all vivid shades of red in accordance with her dedication to the holy fire.
* Jack from ''LordOfTheFlies''.
* AnneRice's ''Vampire Chronicles'' have many red-haired vampires. Most notably, Maharet and her scary-as-hell sister Mekare - though the yandere-like Armand arguably fits the bill too.
* In the ''{{Illuminatus}}''! trilogy, Satan prefers redheads and they explore this trope in depth.
** Well, it's a reference to old folk-beliefs. It works because the Black Mass participants believe it should. In an inversion, one of the participants is a protagonist who is taking his first steps in his path away from social conventions towards illumination. He and the redhead get some good sex out of the deal, and get to meet [[spoiler:Malaclypse the Elder disguised as]] Satan disguised as Billy Graham.
* Both used and averted in ''TalkingToDragons'', Book 4 of the EnchantedForestChronicles. [[FirstGirlWins The first girl the protagonist meets]] (and [[HeroesWantRedheads his eventual love interest]]) is a redheaded fire-witch who's rude and temperamental, but basically good. Later they meet another redheaded fire-witch (fire-witches in general are prone to red hair), who likes turning people into statues and uses [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] to power her spells.
* {{Lampshaded}} in the short story "Nobody Here But-" by [[IsaacAsimov Isaac Asimov]] where the protagonist suspects his girlfriend is bitchy just because she has to live up to her red hair.
* Celia Madden of ''The Damnation of Theron Ware''. (Though perhaps "evil" might be a bit strong, as "bitchy" serves just as well. But it still counts.)
* The ghost of Peter Quint from the Victorian novel ''The Turn of the Screw'', who the main character thinks has come back from the dead to try and corrupt the small boy she's been charged with watching over. Of course, the ghost [[spoiler:may just be in her head]]. Apparently at the time the novel was written, it was quite common for red-haired characters to be portrayed in this villainous way.
* Lumiya from the ''StarWars ExpandedUniverse'' -- formerly known as [[HeroesWantRedheads Shira Brie]], as well as Admiral Natasi Daala. Also, judging by the images of his clones, plus some earlier life picture, Emperor Palpatine himself was one. Mara Jade counts, at least until she gets married to Luke Skywalker.
* SO averted in ''HarryPotter''. JKRowling [[AuthorAppeal must like redheads]].
** Congrats, it's WordOfGod'd!
* Brand from ''The BookOfAmber'', who wanted to destroy the universe and remake it in his own image. And his redheaded siblings Bleys and Fiona are also fairly morally dubious.
* In ''Day of the Triffids'' the protagonist is fired upon without provocation by a nameless gang leader with red hair. He later shows up in an armoured vehicle as 'Torrence', representing a despotic feudal 'government' trying to extend its influence over Britain.
* In the Andrew Vachss novel ''Strega'' unlicensed private eye Burke does a job for the title character, the crazy flame-haired relative of a Mafia boss, who wields a mysterious power over men. [[spoiler:It later turns out the Mafia boss molested her as a little girl; when Strega told her father she was beaten for telling 'lies', teaching her an early lesson in the use of power that she later puts to use.]]
*The [[{{Satan}} Lone Power]], from the YoungWizards series, often appears as a young man with red(ish) hair.
* PsychoMisandrist Adept Red of the ''ApprenticeAdept'' series
* Victoria from ''{{Twilight}}''
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''The KidsInTheHall'', one sketch was the red-haired "It's A Fact" girl. She appeared in only one sketch besides her "It's a fact!" series. It was in the end credits of an episode where the Queen, portrayed by Scott Thompson, tried to make her jump into Lake Ontario by telling her that there was candy at the bottom, based on her belief that red-haired girls were witches.
* Semi-averted in ''WaterlooRoad''. The show's only redhead, Danielle, hangs around with Aleesha, who is pretty evil (sabotaging ''Park Side Story'', tricking Karla into the whole petition thing). However, Danielle, to her credit, has balked at many of Aleesha's more evil schemes and actively refuses to take part in them.
* In ''{{Firefly}}'', we have Saffron. Or Yolanda. or Bridget. No one's sure what her real name is, except she has red hair.
** The same actress now plays Joan Holloway on ''MadMen'', who isn't ''evil'' as such, just... not very nice.
* Seska, the manipulative Cardassian spy from ''StarTrekVoyager''.
* Kimberly Mancini and Sydney Andrews from ''MelrosePlace''. Also Violet from ''MelrosePlace'' 2009.
* Peggy from {{Married with Children}} - according to Al, at least.
* ''GarthMarenghisDarkplace'' has the hero battling evil Scotsmen, with his own hair turned red after a killer bagpipe attack. Fortunately his personality is not affected (probably because he's already a bigoted JerkAss).
* Averted in ''{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}'' when Redhead Willow goes evil her hair becomes black.
* Spellbinder Ashka from, well, ''{{Spellbinder}}'' was a readhead and also a powerhungry, cunning, vicious bitch.
* Both film adaptations of ''Dune'' have this going on: David Lynch's has a strawberry-blond Feyd-Rautha (played by an enthusiastic Sting in brass underpants); the miniseries features Ian McNiece as a Baron Harkonnen rocking the henna look.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

* [[TheBible Judas Iscariot]] is often depicted as a redhead - most recently in the {{manga}} ''Messiah''. There's no real reason that he would have been in real life.
** Actually, while there's no evidence in the text for it, he could well have been; after Europe, the next-highest frequency of red hair occurs in the Levant: modern Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
** In fact, most of the more villainous characters described in the Bible are believed to have red hair.
*** Really? Which ones? Cain, Ahab, Jezebel, Pilate?
**** Don't know about the others, but Cain is depicted as having sort of orange-ish hair in ''TheSandman''. (Abel's hair is black.)
*****During the middle ages, when most people were illiterate, the church used stained glass as, basically, picture books to illustrate Bible stories. In them, they used certain traits to identify different characters, because you can't get great detail in the stained glass and from a distance. Baddies were red hair to represent the fires of hell. So, Cain and Judas were always red-haired. Also, Eve frequently was shown with red hair...but only AFTER The Fall.
**** According to the other wiki, Mary Magdalene is commonly depicted as having red hair (apparently due to the common confusion between her and an unnamed prostitute who appears in the next story). Not evil, but famous as a redeemed sinner.
****David was sometimes said to have red hair. In one legend, the prophet Samuel was reluctant to crown him king, because red hair was often associated with the idea of spilling blood (probably the source for some of the other redheads mentioned here). God's response was that David ''would'' spill a lot of blood, but he would do it in the service of good against Israel's enemies.
** Averted -- actually, inverted -- in Robert Graves' ''King Jesus,'' where Jesus has red hair, this being one of the eight "signs of royalty."
** To quote ImSorryIHaventAClue, "Judas is carrot".
* The [[OlderThanDirt ancient]] Egyptian pantheon had the god Set, best remembered for hacking his brother into bits and scattering the pieces about the world and doing other nefarious things. He was depicted as being a redhead.
** And then there was the [[FoeYay attempted schtupping of Horus]]...sheesh.
* Loki, the god of mischief in NorseMythology, in contrast to the much more masculine RedHeadedHero Thor.
* Rumour has it that red hair was considered a positive factor in selection to become a druid - this may account for the malign reputation of red-headedness amongst those cultures that were hostile to Celts. (And probably, among the Christian missionaries too.)
* At least one painting of [[ClassicalMythology Pandora]], the first-woman whose curiosity brought diseases into the world, gives her fiery red hair and a scary look on her face.
** A few pre-Raphaelites depicted Salomé as a ginger, too.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theater ]]

* The original SweeneyTodd was a redhead in the book. Modern depictions tend to run more toward [[LooksLikeCesare Looking Like Cesare]], though.
** Many depictions of {{Yandere}} StepfordSmiler Mrs. Lovett have her as a redhead.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Ganondorf from ''TheLegendOfZelda'' series.
**All the Gerudo, actually, but they're thieves whereas Ganondorf is out-and-out evil.
* [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne]] in ''PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Trials and Tribulations''.
* Tactical {{RPGs}} like ''FireEmblem'' portray the enemy units as having red armor and hair.
* Bowser from ''SuperMarioBros''. Despite being a turtle he still has some hair.
* Erol in [[JakAndDaxter Jak II]] [[spoiler: and Jak 3]] although most of the time his hair is hidden by his helmet.
* Tiamat from [[http://www.indiegames.com/blog/articles/index.php?c=rp&y=2007&gid=4 Last Scenario]] (although she [[spoiler:was a good person before an [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity ancient power took over her mind]]]]
* Walter Bernhard from ''{{Castlevania}} Lament of Innocence''. And damn, does he ever have fun with the 'evil' part.
** Subverted in ''Portrait of Ruin'': Stella and Loretta are redheaded twins (though occasionally coloured with violet hair), but they're just BrainwashedAndCrazy.
** Partially subverted in ''Curse of Darkness''; Isaac is completely nutters but [[spoiler:it's heavily implied that half the time, Dracula is driving or at the very least co-piloting him. Isaac's a willing 'passenger', but still...]]
* Another subversion: Axel Almer of ''SuperRobotWars''. He's a honest EvilRedHeads in ''Advance'', as well as the GBA version of OG2. However, in the subsequent remakes, he's more or less a NobleDemon, not outright evil... then he pulls a HeelFaceTurn, making him a RedHeadedHero (as does his hero self in ''Advance'')
*The ''KingdomHearts'' series has one who shares the same name with the abovementioned one.
** Frankly, he skirts the AntiVillain line more than anything else.
** His predecessor Reno certainly counted in the original [[FinalFantasyVII FF7]]. Guy was a ''bastard'' to fight if you were underlevelled on that bloody pillar.
* [[spoiler: Lara's evil doppelganger]] in [[TombRaider Tomb Raider: Underworld]].
* Late in ''TalesofSymphonia'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Zelos Wilder was a spy all along.]] However, just prior the boss fight, [[spoiler:he defects back to the heroes' side.]] If you choose to talk to Kratos in an event prior to this revelation, though, [[spoiler:you kill Zelos instead, and Kratos takes his place.]]
* Kerrigan from Starcraft had red hair, but it changed colour when she turned evil. Forshadowing?
* Neither is entirely ''evil'' per se, but [[spoiler:Vermilion Akiha and Kohaku]] are both red haired {{yandere}} psychopath characters in {{Tsukihime}}, and both have rather unsavory goals. [[spoiler:Akiha is 'evil' here precisely ''because'' her hair is red, even. Kohaku is essentially the poster girl for {{stepford smiler}}, {{break the cutie}}, {{emotionless girl}} and {{woobie destroyer of worlds}}.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* PsychoForHire Valentino from the ''{{Marilith}}'' webcomic. To her defense, she was made a psycho killer in a gulag.
* Lysinda and Oasis from ''SluggyFreelance''. Particularly emphasized with Lysinda, who sports red hair even when the rest of the strip is in black and white.
* [[OrderOfTheStick Belkar Bitterleaf]] generally looks bald in most panels, but look at the close-ups or his feet: He's a stubbly ChaoticEvil redhead.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In ''{{Survival of the Fittest}}'', Melina Frost of V3.
* ''BrokenSaints'' - [[spoiler: Lear Dunham. His son Gabriel also has a reddish tint to his hair, at least in some lights.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Vicky, the babysitter from hell from ''TheFairlyOddparents''.
* ''SouthPark'' did an entire episode, "Ginger Kids", where Cartman was convinced that "gingers" (pale, freckled, red-headed kids) were monstrous, Children of the Corn-like abominations. In what would have been a surprising example of HypocriticalHumor were we speaking of anyone other than Eric Cartman, after his friends tried teaching him a lesson by making him up to look like a "ginger" while he slept, Cartman soon decided that "his people" were the master race. And since this is Cartman we're talking about, he was attempting genocide before the end of the episode.
** Unfortunately, this set-up is not quite but almost TruthInTelevision, as some places in the UK have [[RedHeadedStepChild very heavy prejudice against ginger hair]], almost to the point of racism. Hate crimes, up to and including sexual abuse and stabbing, have been exercised against red-headed victims for "being ginger."
*** Which is quite ironic, as the British Isles have some of the highest populations of redheads in the world. Then again, the, ah, "gingerists" are just jealous idiots. Also, such tensions between groups tend to occur where there is a mix. It should be stressed that, as above, it is 'not quite but almost'. The supposed prejudice against gingers does linger on, but very rarely beyond childhood teasing (and even then in the same way others are teased for being tall, short, fat, or whatever), and is grossly exaggerated in media and on this very wiki.
*** Oh, they're just mad the [[HeroesWantRedheads heroes don't want them]].
* Jack Spicer from ''XiaolinShowdown'', Hotstreak from StaticShock, and Montana Max from ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', all voiced by redhead Danny Cooksey, who also played red-headed antagonistic jerk Budnick on ''SaluteYourShorts''. Perhaps Danny Cooksey himself is evil, too. Nobody knows.
** If he is, he's bound to be harmless. He also lends his voice to the heroic-but-cowardly Dave from Dave the Barbarian (who, notably, is not redheaded-but his more aggressive sisters ''are''). This overlaps with Jack's notable cowardliness, so we've little to worry about from Mr. Cooksey if he's a villainous type.
*** Don't forget the first appearance of [[TeenTitans Control Freak]].
* And back to ''XiaolinShowdown'', Wuya's true form has red hair.
* The Wicked Witch in ''{{Cyberchase}}'' has ''bright flaming red'' hair. In fact, it could be considered ''orange.''
* Princess Morbucks from ''ThePowerpuffGirls'', who is probably the best example of ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney.
**Don't forget Blossom's two [[EvilCounterpart Evil Counterparts]] Brick of the Rowdyruff Boys and Berserk of the Powerpunk Girls(who is a comic-only character)
* Subverted in the sequel and the prequel of disney's {{Cinderella}}: [[spoiler: Anastasia]], who was a RichBitch in the original movie, is now less evil and more like a [[WellDoneSonGuy Well Done Daughter Girl]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

*Ashnod the Uncaring, from MagicTheGathering.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Semi-example: Niccolo Paganini took a lot of flak for his luxuriant red hair. This, combined with his psychotic violin-playing technique, inspired many people to believe that he had sold his soul to the Devil, long before Tommy or Robert Johnson even contemplated it.
* Ex Roman consul and dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Whether he was truly evil or not, though, it's still subject to much debate among historians.
** Red hair was not uncommon among the Romans. Julius Caesar was also a redhead if Suetonius and Tacitus are to be believed, although by the time he was assassinated he didn't have much hair left. Nero and Caligula, who are often considered the BigBad emperors of the post-Augustan age, were blue-eyed blonds.
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