History Characters / HannibalLecterLiterature

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Molson was a homophobic sociopath with mob connections, while Mason was a child molester.

* HateSink: A serial child molester who used his family's wealth and connections to avoid going to prison. Additionally, he befriended UsefulNotes/IdiAmin and participated in several executions, one of which involved crucifying a migrant worker. Not to mention that he [[KickTheDog unethically "experiments" on a pair of dogs]] that he abducted from the animal shelter where he was forced to perform community service in lieu of prison time, nearly starving the poor creatures to death by giving them nothing but water to live on. He arguably holds the title for the most repulsive character in the series.

* AssholeVictim: A pedophile and child molester who Hannibal disfigured and crippled. Margot kills him at the end of the novel by stuffing his pet moray eel down his throat. No one will shed tears for him.

* HateSink: A serial child molester who used his family's wealth and connections to avoid going to prison. He arguably holds the title for the most repulsive character in the series.

* TragicMonster: A victim of abuse and bullying as a child. Throughout the book, and in particular during his relationship with Reba, there are brief moments where we see the kind of man he might have been...until the Dragon takes over.

%%* ManipulativeBastard

%%* AFatherToHisMen

* BigFancyHouse: Since the 1930s, when they moved to Baltimore from Chicago to be closer to Washington D.C., they have resided in a manor known as Muskrat Farm.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections-ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: They are very wealthy and have big political connections dating back to the American Civil War. In Mason's childhood, Molson's contributions to his boarding school allowed his frequent absences to be excused. When Mason was arrested for child molestation, the Vergers connections allowed him to avoid prison time and instead be sentenced to community service and court-mandated therapy. Among the political connections Molson left to Mason upon his passing were a congressman and a member of the House Judiciary Oversight Committee who, according to Jack Crawford, "couldn't make ends meet without him." This even goes back to long before Mason was born as during the Spanish-American War, dangerous packing-plant conditions lead several Verger employees getting rendered into lard which was then canned and sold, with the Vergers avoiding consequences by giving money to politicians.

* BigFancyHouse: Since the 1930s, when they moved to Baltimore from Chicago, they have resided in a manor known as Muskrat Farm.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections-ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: They are very wealthy and have big political connections dating back to the American Civil War. In Mason's childhood, Molson's contributions to his boarding school allowed his frequent absences to be excused. When Mason was arrested for child molestation, the Vergers connections allowed him to avoid prison time and instead be sentenced to community service and court-mandated therapy. Among the political connections Molson left to Mason upon his passing were a congressman and a member of the House Judiciary Oversight Committee who, according to Jack Crawford, "couldn't make ends meet without him."

* HateSink: A serial child molester who used his family's wealth and connections to avoid going to prison. He arguably holds the title for the most repulsive character in the series.

* WouldHurtAChild: Molested campers at a Christian summer camp his father founded.

* HateSink: A serial child molester who used his family's wealth and connections to avoid going to prison.

A wealthy and influential Baltimore family, originally from Chicago, whose meatpacking company dates back to the American Civil War.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections-ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: They are very wealthy and have big political connections dating back to the American Civil War. In Mason's childhood, Molson's contributions to his boarding school allowed his frequent absences to be excused. When Mason was arrested for child molestation, the Vergers connections allowed him to avoid prison time and instead be sentenced to community service and court-mandated therapy. Among the political connections Molson left to Mason upon his passing were a congressman and a member of the House Judiciary Oversight Committee who, according to Jack Crawford, "couldn't make ends meet without him."

A wealthy and influential Baltimore family, originally from Chicago, whose meatpacking company dates back to at least the American Civil War.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections-ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: His family is very wealthy and has big political connections dating back to the American Civil War. This enabled him to avoid a prison sentence for child molestation and instead merely get community service and court-mandated therapy. Among the political connections his father Molson left him when he died were a congressman and a member of the House Judiciary Oversight Committee who, according to Jack Crawford, "couldn't make ends meet without him."

* GoodParents: To Mason at least, not so much to Margot.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: The novel describes him as having a strong resemblance to Mason pre-disfigurement.

* TheGhost: Never appears in person, having already died when ''Hannibal'' kicks off.

* IHaveNoSon: A daughter variant, disowned Margot for being a lesbian, going so far as to cut her out of his will and leave the entire Verger fortune to Mason.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Molson was a sociopath with mob connections, while Mason was a child molester.

[[folder:Others]]

The billionaire head of the "Verger meatpacking dynasty," whose company dates back to at least the American Civil War. A child molester who used his connections to avoid prison, he was a court-assigned patient of Lecter's who was disfigured and crippled by him during a therapy session for his pedophilia.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of a serial killer's surviving victim, who would typically be portrayed as a sympathetic character. Mason is arguably much more of a monster than the man who disfigured and crippled him.
* EvilerThanThou: Arguably much more of a monster than Hannibal Lecter.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections-ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: His family is very wealthy and has big political connections dating back to the American Civil War. This enabled him to avoid a prison sentence for child molestation and instead get merely community service and court-mandated therapy. Among the political connections his father Molson left him when he died were a congressman and a member of the House Judiciary Oversight Committee who, according to Jack Crawford, "couldn't make ends meet without him."

* FamilyThemeNaming: He and his children all have names starting with the letter 'M.'

[[folder:Others]]

!!Dr. Frederick Chilton

* ArchEnemy: Subverted. Chilton smugly tells Clarice that Lecter considers him one. The truth is Lecter regards Chilton as little more than a nuisance.
* AssholeVictim: Considering that his behavior not only obstructed the Buffalo Bill investigation but put Clarice and Catherine in danger, the idea of Lecter exacting vengeance upon Chilton is both scary and gratifying.
* BullyingADragon: Towards a SerialKiller, no less. He's smart enough to put Lecter in restraints first, but it's still monumentally dumb considering how much of an EvilGenius he knows Lecter is.
* BusCrash: [[spoiler: Strongly implied. Chilton disappears while on a trip to Jamaica in-between ''Silence'' and ''Hannibal''. It's implied Lecter killed him, but it's also not explicitly confirmed.]]
* BrainyBrunette: Subverted. While he loves to put on a show of this, his fumbling incompetence is dangerous. Lecter makes a SophisticatedAsHell joke about his hair color and intelligence, obliquely calling him a shithead.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: ''Hannibal'' reveals he had a fiancee who desperately misses him.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Crawford reflects on Chilton's 'Monster Ego' being a factor in getting Lecter transferred to Tennessee where he eventually escapes.
* {{Jerkass}}: Makes a sleazy pass at Clarice? Check. Frequently taunts the EvilGenius? Check. Illicitly records Clarice's conversations with Lecter, leaks the FBI's deal with Lecter, then hogs the spotlight as the plan's brainchild? Check. Puts both Clarice and Catherine Martin at the mercy of Buffalo Bill in the process? Check. Becomes the only character in the story that we ''want'' Hannibal to kill horribly? ''Checkola''.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Lecter arrives in Tennessee he forces the guards to go through all the painstaking security procedures before entering Lecter's cell. Pembry and Boyle then ignore those procedures when Chilton leaves and use less secure handcuffs instead of full body restraints.
* LackOfEmpathy: Perfectly willing to risk lives if it makes him feel important.
%%* ManipulativeBastard
* MDEnvy: Not actually a doctor.
* NeverMyFault: Is [[spoiler:Hannibal's escape]] Chilton's fault for moving him to a less secure facility solely to steal the credit for stopping Buffalo Bill? His first move is to insist Clarice passed Lecter something.
%%* OnlyInItForTheMoney
%%* SmallNameBigEgo
%%* SmugSnake
%%* SmugSmiler
* {{Slimeball}}: Basks in the notoriety that being Hannibal's "keeper" gets him, using it to try to impress Starling and others.
* ThresholdGuardian: For Clarice. His smug attitude and come-ons are mixed with genuine warnings about Lecter's true nature, foreshadowing how Clarice has to deal with politics, misogyny, and disturbing violence in her chosen career.
* TooDumbToLive: Constantly bullying and taunting Lecter. Sure, he was locked up, but did Chilton really believe he wouldn't seize his first opportunity?
* TookALevelInJerkass: In ‘’Literature/RedDragon’’, Chilton’s role is little more than just “head of the asylum” and is generally cooperative when called upon. In this novel, and the film, he is a sexist, incompetent, narcissistic sadist who hits on Clarice and then becomes dismissive of her when she does not respond, taunts Lector mercilessly, and dramatically screws up a federal investigation by secretly taping a conversation between Starling and Lecter, revealing the truth of Starling’s “deal” from the senator, and causing Lecter to decide to deliberately provide false information when he had been on the verge of telling Starling just what she needed to know, thus putting Catherine Martin’s chances of survival from slim to none.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Chilton's ultimate fate after vanishing in Jamaica in-between ''Silence'' and ''Hannibal''. It's left up to the reader to decide if Lecter got his revenge off-screen, or if something else happened to Chilton.]]

!!Barney Matthews

* AlmightyJanitor: Barney is a self-educated LPN with a checkered criminal record who worked a series of lowly manual-labor jobs before becoming an orderly at the mental hospital. He is also the only staff member at the hospital who truly understands how to deal with Lecter. Lecter recognizes this, and the two have a mutually respectful relationship.
* HyperAwareness: Lecter notes that his improvised key was made from a pen and heavy duty paperclip that he acquired on Barney's days off. It's acknowledged that if Barney had been supervising when Lecter was taken abroad, there's no way he would've escaped.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Margot Verger and he are minor examples, with Margot getting away with killing her brother Mason in the book and Barney knowing about it and gets away with helping bury that knowledge, though since Mason Verger is an AssholeVictim par excellence, it's hard to hate them for this.]]
* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Has feelings towards Margot that he tries to act upon in ''Hannibal'', but he accepts it when she rejects him.
%%* MauveShirt
%%* MoralityPet: For Lecter.
%%* NiceGuy
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The final scene of the book version of ''Hannibal'' sees Barney visiting Buenos Aires and seeing Hannibal and [[spoiler:Clarice]] at the opera. He immediately fears for his life and flees.

* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: A vile child rapist who requires a ventilator to breathe, is completely bedridden, and because one of his eyeballs is lidless, he requires a special device to keep it moist.

* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: Requires a ventilator to breathe, is completely bedridden, and because one of his eyeballs is lidless, he requires a special device to keep it moist.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Of ''Hannibal''. He's the reason why Mason turned out the way he is.

* GreaterScopeVillain: He's the reason why Mason turned out the way he is.
* IHaveNoSon: A daughter variant, disowned Margot for being a lesbian, going so far as to cut her out of his will and leave the entire Verger fortune to Mason.

* AdaptedOut: Does not appear in the first half of the TV series ''Hannibal'', which adapts the third novel with which it shares its title.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of a serial killer's surviving victim, who typically be portrayed as a sympathetic character. Mason is arguably much more of a monster than the man who disfigured and crippled him.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of a serial killer's surviving victim. Mason is arguably much more of a monster than the man who disfigured and crippled him.

* Non-Action Big Bad: Not by choice, since he can't move.