History Characters / PianoLessonsCanBeMurder

-> '''Portrayed By:''' Géza Kovács ([[Series/{{Goosebumps}} TV]])

[[spoiler:The main villain of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder''.]] An inventor and robotics expert obsessed with creating beautiful music. [[spoiler: He secretly operates a music school via posing as the janitor, to find people with beautiful hands which he then chops off for the sake of converting them into machines because he can't create hands from scratch]].

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: His fate at the end of "Piano Lessons can be Murder" is spending eternity perfecting the piano in the basement of the music school]].
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: One of the most ''depraved'' villains in the entire franchise, and his final fate is implied to be equally horrible]].
* BigBad: [[spoiler: Of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder'']].
* BrilliantButLazy: [[spoiler:He's tried creating robotic hands from scratch but he kept failing, so he decided the easier thing to do would be to kill people, steal their hands, and then install wiring inside them so they can play music. In the TV show, it seems as a child he took piano lessons but was too lazy to actually practice. His teacher mentions he was a very clever child, but also very lazy]].
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: [[spoiler: In the TV show, his former teacher is punishing him by making him practice the piano for eternity]].
* CutLexLuthorACheck: For how talented he is with machines, [[spoiler:Toggle would rather keep to himself and use his genius to reanimate robotic hands than anything really beneficial. Then again this just shows what a petty, selfish human being he is; he could just as easily do good work for people, but chooses ''not to'' because he only cares about his own gratification]].
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: Dragged to his death by the hands of the students he harvested and enslaved. School reunions can be a pain, eh, Toggle?]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler: At first it seems Dr. Shreek is a madman with an unhealthy obsession regarding music and hands, but then it turns out he was a robot the whole time... and ''Toggle'' is the aforementioned madman with the unhealthy obsession]].
* EvilOldFolks: [[spoiler: At least in the TV series. He gives off some rather pedophilic vibes in the book, which are ''not'' toned down for the live-action adaptation]].
* EvilTeacher: [[spoiler: His "greatest creation", Dr. Shreek]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Constantly acts cheery and pleasant, which makes him all the more terrifying]].
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[spoiler: The Tv episode reveals Toggle's murders were borne from his insecurity over his own Piano skills. The ghost of his teacher lets him know that was no excuse for his own laziness and punishes him]].
* HelpingHands: [[spoiler: Creates these out of the bodies of his victims. They ''do'' end up being helpful, but certainly not in the way he wanted]].
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: [[spoiler: It ''really'' says something that in a series full of ghosts, aliens, and other bizarre monstrosities, this man, an average human engineer, manages to stand out as one of its most murderously heinous villains]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: [[spoiler:Quite possibly. He seems to have this image of himself as a "brilliant robotician", but when the ghost of his teacher chides him for being a lazy student, Toggle breaks down crying and petulantly whines that he did his best. It's subtly implied that he killed all those people not just for their hands, but because he was ''jealous'' of their musical gifts and wanted to show up his teacher]].
* ManChild: [[spoiler: Once the ghost of his old piano teacher puts him in his place, he's a huge baby]].
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: He created Dr. Shreek and made him the figurehead for the music school so he could stay behind the scenes and continue killing people]].
* ObliviouslyEvil: [[spoiler: He sees nothing wrong with his vile deeds, so much so that he thinks Jerry should be ''volunteering'' for his experiment. This doesn't really make him that pitiful or tragic, and only emphasizes how callously apathetic he is to the lives of his victims]].
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler: In the book, the ghosts of his victims reclaim their hands, then carry him away to an unknown fate.]]
* NonActionBigBad: [[spoiler: He has fantastic technological skill, but as the ghosts of his victims prove, he's no fighter]].
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler: Uses all the hands he steals to form the ultimate piano concerto]].
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: In the TV version, when the ghost woman finally confronts him over the evil he's done, Toggle begins whining like a little boy, saying "I tried my best! I practiced every day! But it was never good enough for you! 'Faster, Andrew! Again, Andrew!'"]]
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: [[spoiler: Dr. Shreek, again, and several other "instructors" Jerry sees around the school. Not human enough, apparently, and that's where the students come in...]]
* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler: Implied in the TV show, where it appears the ghost who has been following Jerry was Toggle's old music teacher ''and'' may have been his mother. She also appears to be his first victim]].
* SelfServingMemory: [[spoiler: In the TV episode, when the ghost of his teacher mentions the above BrilliantButLazy part, Andrew argues that he practiced ''every day'', but it was just never enough for her]].
* SerialKiller: [[spoiler: Has a very big body count by the time Jerry becomes a student at the school. Just look at the number of hands he's stolen in the TV episode as further proof of this]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Dr. Shreek claims he's a world famous robotician. [[spoiler: Given that Toggle actually admits he ''programmed'' him to say that, and we never hear anyone else mention this about him, it speaks volumes just how deep in his delusions he is]].
* TheSociopath: [[spoiler: He's perpetually friendly and nonchalant even when it's clear how twisted he is, uses his talents for insanely petty and self-serving reasons, and apparently sees nothing wrong with murdering as many innocents as possible to achieve his goals]].
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: [[spoiler: Eccentricities and inventions aside, he's a regular, kindly fellow, which makes it all the more ironic when his atrocities are revealed]].
* VillainsWantMercy: [[spoiler: In the book, when the ghosts of his angry victims show up to take revenge, Toggle pathetically wails and begs for mercy, something he no doubt heard many times from ''them''. Obviously, he gets none]].
* WalkingSpoiler: In fact, EVERY trope listed under this character folder about him has spoiler markings, and in vast amounts!
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: He's implied to have already killed several and planned to do the same to Jerry]].

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: It's implied Toggle uses this mechanical madman to kill his young victims for him to avoid getting his hands dirty]].

The main villain of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder''. An inventor and robotics expert obsessed with creating beautiful music. [[spoiler: He secretly operates a music school via posing as the janitor, to find people with beautiful hands which he then chops off for the sake of converting them into machines because he can't create hands from scratch]].

* BrilliantButLazy: He's tried [[spoiler: creating robotic hands from scratch but he kept failing, so he decided the easier thing to do would be to kill people, steal their hands, and then install wiring inside them so they can play music. In the TV show, it seems as a child he took piano lessons but was too lazy to actually practice. His teacher mentions he was a very clever child, but also very lazy]].

* CutLexLuthorACheck: For how talented he is with machines, Toggle would rather keep to himself and use his genius to reanimate robotic hands than anything really beneficial. [[spoiler: Then again this just shows what a petty, selfish human being he is; he could just as easily do good work for people, but chooses ''not to'' because he only cares about his own gratification]].

* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Quite possibly. He seems to have this image of himself as a "brilliant robotician", but when the ghost of his teacher chides him for being a lazy student, Toggle breaks down crying and petulantly whines that he did his best. [[spoiler: It's subtly implied that he killed all those people not just for their hands, but because he was ''jealous'' of their musical gifts and wanted to show up his teacher]].

* WalkingSpoiler: In fact, EVERY other trope listed under this character folder about him has spoiler markings, and in vast amounts!

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[spoiler: The Tv episode reveals Toggle's murders were borne from his insecurity at his own Piano skills. The ghost of his teacher lets him know that was no excuse for his own laziness and punishes him]].

-> '''Portrayed by:''' Aron Tager

* BeardOfEvil: A creepy robotic SerialKiller with a Santa like beard.
* TheDragon: He serves as Toggle's loyal muscle and efficient weapon for both luring and killing any poor soul who attends the school.
* TheHeavy: Until Toggle is revealed as the true mastermind, Shreek is the most prominent antagonist, as he's directly running the school and an implicit serial murderer.
* RedHerring: He's already quite odd from the get-go, and while he's definitely behind the disappearances, he's ''not'' the true villain of the book.
* RoboticPsychopath: Dr. Shreek is deliberately designed as an android SerialKiller to provide his creator with new test subjects.
* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: He seems to fall into type 3, as while he's fully subservient to Toggle, he's also autonomous enough to pose as a human being on his own.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Toggle shuts him down before he can kill Jerry, but it's unknown what happened to him after his master's death or if he was eventually discovered along with Toggle's lab.
* WouldHurtAChild: It's implied Toggle uses this mechanical madman to kill his young victims for him to avoid getting his hands dirty.

* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: He seems to fall into type 3, as while he's fully subservient to Toggle, he's also autonomous enough to pose as a human being on his own.

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: He's implied to have already killed several and planned to do the same to Jerry]].

* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: In the TV version, when the ghost woman finally confronts him over the evil he's done, Toggle begins whining like a little boy, saying "I tried my best!"]]

The main villain of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder''. An inventor and robotics expert obsessed with creating beautiful music. He secretly operates a music school via posing as the janitor, to find people with beautiful hands which he then chops off for the sake of converting them into machines because he can't create hands from scratch.

* AndIMustScream: His fate at the end of "Piano Lessons can be Murder" is spending eternity perfecting the piano in the basement of the music school.
* AssholeVictim: One of the most ''depraved'' villains in the entire franchise, and his final fate is implied to be equally horrible.
* BigBad: Of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder''.
* BrilliantButLazy: He's tried creating robotic hands from scratch but he kept failing, so he decided the easier thing to do would be to kill people, steal their hands, and then install wiring inside them so they can play music. In the TV show, it seems as a child he took piano lessons but was too lazy to actually practice. His teacher mentions he was a very clever child, but also very lazy.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In the TV show, his former teacher is punishing him by making him practice the piano for eternity.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: For how talented he is with machines, Toggle would rather keep to himself and use his genius to reanimate robotic hands than anything really beneficial. Then again this just shows what a petty, selfish human being he is; he could just as easily do good work for people, but chooses ''not to'' because he only cares about his own gratification.
* TheDogBitesBack: Dragged to his death by the hands of the students he harvested and enslaved. School reunions can be a pain, eh, Toggle?
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: At first it seems Dr. Shreek is a madman with an unhealthy obsession regarding music and hands, but then it turns out he was a robot the whole time... and ''Toggle'' is the aforementioned madman with the unhealthy obsession.
* EvilOldFolks: At least in the TV series. He gives off some rather pedophilic vibes in the book, which are ''not'' toned down for the live-action adaptation.
* EvilTeacher: His "greatest creation", Dr. Shreek.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Constantly acts cheery and pleasant, which makes him all the more terrifying.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: The Tv episode reveals Toggle's murders were borne from his insecurity at his own Piano skills. The ghost of his teacher lets him know that was no excuse for his own laziness and punishes him.
* HelpingHands: Creates these out of the bodies of his victims. They ''do'' end up being helpful, but certainly not in the way he wanted.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: It ''really'' says something that in a series full of ghosts, aliens, and other bizarre monstrosities, this man, an average human engineer, manages to stand out as one of its most murderously heinous villains.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Quite possibly. He seems to have this image of himself as a "brilliant robotician", but when the ghost of his teacher chides him for being a lazy student, Toggle breaks down crying and petulantly whines that he did his best. It's subtly implied that he killed all those people not just for their hands, but because he was ''jealous'' of their musical gifts and wanted to show up his teacher.
* ManChild: Once the ghost of his old piano teacher puts him in his place, he's a huge baby.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He created Dr. Shreek and made him the figurehead for the music school so he could stay behind the scenes and continue killing people.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He sees nothing wrong with his vile deeds, so much so that he thinks Jerry should be ''volunteering'' for his experiment. This doesn't really make him that pitiful or tragic, and only emphasizes how callously apathetic he is to the lives of his victims.
* NeverFoundTheBody: In the book, the ghosts of his victims reclaim their hands, then carry him away to an unknown fate.
* NonActionBigBad: He has fantastic technological skill, but as the ghosts of his victims prove, he's no fighter.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Uses all the hands he steals to form the ultimate piano concerto.
* PsychopathicManchild: In the TV version, when the ghost woman finally confronts him over the evil he's done, Toggle begins whining like a little boy, saying "I tried my best!"
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Dr. Shreek, again, and several other "instructors" Jerry sees around the school. Not human enough, apparently, and that's where the students come in...
* SelfMadeOrphan: Implied in the TV show, where it appears the ghost who has been following Jerry was Toggle's old music teacher ''and'' may have been his mother. She also appears to be his first victim.
* SelfServingMemory: In the TV episode, when the ghost of his teacher mentions the above BrilliantButLazy part, Andrew argues that he practiced ''every day'', but it was just never enough for her.
* SerialKiller: Has a very big body count by the time Jerry becomes a student at the school. Just look at the number of hands he's stolen in the TV episode as further proof of this.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Dr. Shreek claims he's a world famous robotician. Given that Toggle actually admits he ''programmed'' him to say that, and we never hear anyone else mention this about him, it speaks volumes just how deep in his delusions he is.
* TheSociopath: He's perpetually friendly and nonchalant even when it's clear how twisted he is, uses his talents for insanely petty and self-serving reasons, and apparently sees nothing wrong with murdering as many innocents as possible to achieve his goals.
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Eccentricities and inventions aside, he's a regular, kindly fellow, which makes it all the more ironic when his atrocities are revealed.
* VillainsWantMercy: In the book, when the ghosts of his angry victims show up to take revenge, Toggle pathetically wails and begs for mercy, something he no doubt heard many times from ''them''. Obviously, he gets none.
* WouldHurtAChild: He's implied to have already killed several and planned to do the same to Jerry.

* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler: In addition to his ability to play the piano well, he also has a knack of pitching a ball well, which is why he decides to join baseball after his adventure involing pianos and ghosts. Naturally, hes very good at it, with many of his teammates complimenting him for his perfect hands]].

* KnightOfCerebus: He's a serial killer with one of the highest body counts in the entire series. [[SarcasmMode Kid friendly scares, amirite?]]

!! Andrew Toggle

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toggle_7.png]]

-> '''Portrayed By:''' Géza Kovács ([[Series/{{Goosebumps}} TV]])
--> ''"I love beautiful music, Jerry. And music sounds so much better, so much more perfect, when human mistakes don't get in the way."''

The main villain of ''Piano Lessons Can Be Murder''. An inventor and robotics expert obsessed with creating beautiful music. He secretly operates a music school via posing as the janitor, to find people with beautiful hands which he then chops off for the sake of converting them into machines because he can't create hands from scratch.