How can I make a villain both sympathetic and terrifying?

The main antagonist in the first arc of my story is a sorcerer who made a deal with a devil, which requires him to suck the soul out of one or two dozen people and pretty much turn them into mindless ghouls. He took the deal because he was promised the ability to bring people back from the dead, which he wants to use to bring his daughter back.

When he choose a target, he takes time to personally know them, so he would feel more guilty. He believes that there's nothing that can justify taking people's lives and abhor such action but does it anyway because he was so consumed by despair after his daughter, whose birth killed his wife, died. He's also used to be a teacher at the MC's school and a very cool and caring one at that. When his subordinates almost kills the MC, he beats the living shit out of them, and when they did that the second time, he burns them to death.

What I'm worrying is that I'm making the Big Bad way too sympathetic and I want him to be very horrifying and effective as well. Any ideas?

Sounds like you're doing fine. A good enough Freudian Excuse sprinkled with Evilly Affable can make even a Complete Monster sympathetic. However, what you want to do is then have the villain be completely irredeemable (maybe they believe their actions are okay because they're nice sometimes) and make sure he does gymnastics over the Moral Event Horizon.

One of my sure-fire methods to make an audience hate a villain is to make them completely unable to trust him. For example, I have a bad guy who apparently has a smidgen of good in her that the heroes try to tug at and force a Heel–Face Turn. Turns out, though, that she intentionally makes people so, since it makes them that much more easy to control. Everybody wants to save the poor little misguided girl, and that's really all it takes for her to slit your throat and steal your soul. The way I plan it, it will completely kill any chance at redemption in the audiences' eyes, because you could never be sure when she was sincere and when she was just waiting . . .

edited 25th Jul '11 7:46:46 AM by KingZeal

This is an idea which can easily be summarised thus: A wounded predator is far more dangerous than one unharmed. Sympathy is not anathema to terror so much as it is its complement.

Well said.

Thank you.

That's certainly an interesting way to see it.

The problem is that I don't actively want to make the audiences hate him. Like I said, he KNOWS that what he's doing is irredeemable. When confronted by the MC first time, he even remarks that he's glad that there's someone, who aren't cops or such, who goes extra mile to stop someone like him. They confront several more times and although the Big Bad has more than enough power to kill him in one shot, he lets him go and encourages him to try again.

I have planned that in the last scene of the first arc, he dies and the death comes to get him, and he asks her (the Death in my verse has different appearance depending on people) "I'm going to hell, correct?" which she answers, Don't be so sure about that."

Seriously, I have a feeling that perhaps I created this character as a sympathy fodder, which is really bad, if you ask me.

edited 25th Jul '11 4:00:35 PM by dRoy

He sounds interesting, anyway. I would have to see the execution to comment in any more depth.

I like the sound of this dude. so I guess even though he's committed to his course of action, on some level, he wants someone to prove him wrong and stop him. Possibly both.

It's an interesting idea.

edited 25th Jul '11 9:23:03 PM by HandsomeRob

Sort of like Slipping from Dr.Horrible

Darn, another show that eludes me.

Frankly, he should be terrifying because of the sympathy the audience feels for him. He seems a man trapped in an intractable situation, and he's made his choice without getting over it.

A good way to keep him terrifying might be to show his grasp on reality slipping in the pursuit of his goal. For instance, you mentioned that he personally knows/befriends his ghouls before he steals their souls. Perhaps after a while, and lacking anyone else to confide in, he continues to believe in some way that the soul isn't really necessary for someone to be intelligent, sapient, empathetic, or responsive, so he begins to talk to them as they once were.

It isn't very human to want to feel guilty, so his method of trying to bear that guilt would warp his mind into thinking he's not doing wrong at all. The fact that he knows these people beforehand and is that desperate to violate his convictions like this could lead to some small insanity. To keep him terrifying, it'd help to remind the audience every so often that he was an ordinary, even upright person before this.

edited 25th Jul '11 9:29:13 PM by Zephid

Now THAT's just brilliant. Thanks! I can totally see him doing that. There's one time when he lectured the MC's class about importance of recognizing full consequence of one's actions. During one of his rituals, he recites that to himself again, remarking how much of a hypocrite he is.

One other quirks of him includes him sometimes unconsciously muttering the names of people he sacrificed. Oh, and remember that bit about his daughter? He always goes around showing picture of his daughter, gushing about how adorable she is, yes even after she's dead. I'm planning so that the audience find out that only after his reveal. Is there anyway to somehow make him showing off his daughter's picture really creepy?

edited 25th Jul '11 9:38:57 PM by dRoy

Have him show it off in a very genial manner all the time, and have him discuss her in the present tense whenever he brings her up. The reveal will make all of that suddenly kind of creepy because of how deluded he is about the whole thing. If you have it carry on even after he has been revealed, it will fit into the ongoing insanity that Zephid mentioned, and could provide a deeply unhinged feel to him.

Something like that work for ya?

edited 26th Jul '11 2:37:55 PM by Alfric

Go watch Kung Fu Panda and its sequel. It does what you are looking for quite well.

I watched the first one, but it wasn't. The sequel...I'm yet to check it out.

The sequel sort of plays Tai Lung's archetype.

In a way, Lord Shen is what Tai Lung is if he had obtained the Dragon Scroll. Also, Lord Shen is quite more brutal, as at least Tai Lung has a sense of honor and has that "worthy opponent" stuff going on. With that said, it's pretty sad if you look at Lord Shen as someone who actually longs for love despite hating those who didn't love him, or at least what he thought was unlove.

The way I did it, when I wanted an Anti-Villain / Villain Protagonist ( who later gets a Heel–Face Turn, with Redemption Equals Death, but whatever) was simply to give him an ideal which, on the surface, is respectable and even admirable. And then I had him adhere to that goal as he led armies into the field and literally curbstomped the shit out of the Hero Antagonist, who never stood a chance. One of the most dangerous things in the world is someone with a lofty moral or idea that they believe in completely... and who has the power to damn well make it real, regardless of the wishes of others. You seem to have some grasp of this, judging by your summary, so props to you.