History Monster / LiteratureHToQ

** ''Deathwing Over Veynaa'': [[EvilAlbino Quern]] was a [[PsychicPowers psychic]] Deathwing agent, and one of their [[EvilGenius top scientists]] to boot. Infiltrating a revolution in the Veynaa system, Quern turned a peaceful movement into a violent one, and, deploying the same [[WeaponsOfMassDestruction radiation weapon]] used on Moros, killed two hundred Veynaan colonists to make political points for a cause [[StrawHypocrite he did not believe in]]. Confronted by Keill, Quern revealed he was the inventor of the weapon, and the only Deathwing member who knew how to use it, before trying to fire it into Veynaa's atmosphere while Keill watched. Little more than a brooding ego, Quern was prepared to murder millions to prove his own brilliance.

* ''Literature/TheLastLightOfTheSun'': [[TortureTechnician Ivarr Ragnarson]] is the grandson of the great Erling raider Sigur Volganson and the last of his line. Deformed in [[EvilAlbino body]] and [[AxCrazy mind]], Ivarr is a {{sadist}}ic psychopath whose dearest goal in life is to find a way to [[CruelAndUnusualDeath blood-eagle]]--cracking open the ribs and extracting the lungs--a victim while keeping them alive the entire time. During a raid on Brynn ap Hwyll's farmhouse, Ivarr allows his brother and his henchmen to die fighting, then while hiding tries to kill Brynn. During his escape he shoots one of his own men with a poisoned arrow, and takes the time to blood-eagle two peasants. He later hires an army of mercenaries, tells them that there is plunder to be had in Anglcyn lands, and essentially sacrifices sixty of them so that he can steer the survivors towards Brynn's house again and finish what he started. Escaping, Ivarr captures another peasant boy and slices off his nose and ears before torturing him to death. Making his way back to his ships, Ivarr is slain by the surviving mercenaries as he plots to assassinate their leader and another member of the crew.

* ''Literature/TheMonk'': Ambrosio, the eponymous character, is an epitome of a SinisterMinister character type and the story is about him falling from grace after being tempted to sin. The first scene showing him preaching to the audience hints at his prideful nature. After breaking his vow of chastity Ambrosio jumps to committing kidnapping, BlackMagic, rape, murder and incest before selling his own soul to Satan, the only supernatural element left unambiguous in the whole story.

* CompleteMonster:

* ''Literature/NightHuntress'':
** ''Halfway to the Grave'': The HumanTrafficking network is a vast conspiracy, run by a ruthless vampire gangster, and backed by the Governor of Ohio.
*** [[ManOfWealthAndTaste Hennessey]] is a Master Vampire who functions as the ringleader of the human trafficking network. Adopting a [[FauxAffablyEvil veneer of geniality]], Hennessey captures women, including drug dealers, drug addicts, vagrants, and prostitutes, forcing them into a life of vicious [[SexSlave forced prostitution]] and [[HumanResources hemophagia]]. Upon discovering the identity of Catherine "Cat" Crawfield as his attempted murderer, Hennessey kills the former's grandparents and [[IHaveYourWife captures her mother]] in order to lure her into a trap alongside his nemesis, Crispin "Bones" Russell III. When Cat and Bones confront him, Hennessey mocks the latter for his constant pursuit over the course of many years.
*** [[CorruptPolitician Governor Ethan Oliver]] is the benefactor of the human trafficking network, and a sleazy, corrupt, and [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitious]] figure who [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hides under a good reputation]]. Originally frequenting Hennessey's brothels in order to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape women]], Oliver eventually begins colluding with Hennessey, destroying any documents relating to missing women captured by Hennessey's organization, having Hennessey [[DisposableVagrant traffic the destitute and disenfranchised]] in order to further his political career. Upon being confronted by Catherine "Cat" Crawfield, Oliver holds her at gunpoint, and boasts about his intentions to become the President of the United States, as well as to continue the process he started.

** ''Devil to Pay'': [[ManipulativeBastard Xaphan]] is a primordial being who makes a habit of possessing people and driving them to violence. Having [[DemonicPossession taken possession]] of Blake Turner after his previous host ran in front of a car, Xaphan regularly [[ForcedIntoEvil forces Blake to commit acts of murder]], occasionally having the incidents recorded in order to taunt Blake. When the vampire Elise, along with Cat and Bones, are in the midst of bringing Blake to Mencheres, their sire, to see if they can save him, Xaphan taunts Cat [[VoiceChangeling using the voices of her deceased grandparents]]. In his first encounter with Mencheres, Xaphan refuses to leave Blake's body, preferring to inflict whatever suffering he can before the latter expires. Upon realizing that he is trapped in Blake's body, Xaphan tries to [[DealWithTheDevil force Elise to negotiate with him]], threatening to kill the vampires in addition to Blake if they trap him in the Bonneville Salt Flats as intended. After the vampires expunge Xaphan from Blake's body via hypothermia, Xaphan attacks them and demands that Blake be revived so he can repossess the latter, only to be neutralized by Mencheres.

** [[WickedStepmother Agrona Quinn]] leads the Reapers of Chaos in their slew of {{human sacrifice}}s to revive Loki and bring about [[HellOnEarth his age of chaos]]. In her quest, Agrona secretly ordered the family of Logan Quinn and the Spartan leader murdered, and called for the assassination of Gwen's mother. When Loki is freed, Agrona seeks to help him kill hundreds at the Academy to let him take over Logan's body and has Gwen [[FrameUp framed]] as Loki's champion in an attempt to discredit and have her executed. Using poison, Agrona tries to kill several students, as well as Gwen's mentor, Nikademes, allowing Agrona access to a mystical artifact to revive Loki. Agrona eventually threatens and kidnaps Gwen's elderly grandmother in order to gain a way to revive her master and eventually helps Loki lay a murderous siege to the academy by leading his forces.

** ''Literature/WithoutRemorse'' is a revenge fantasy about drug dealers, set during the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar. The protagonist, an ex Navy SEAL named John Kelly, runs afoul of a drug ring run by a man named Henry Tucker. Tucker smuggles high-grade heroin into the Baltimore area inside the bodies of American soldiers killed in Vietnam. He distributes the drugs via a stable of prostitutes that he controls using drugs, rape, and torture. When one of his girls escapes and befriends Kelly, he has her kidnapped, then rapes her, tortures her, and mutilates her corpse, forcing the other girls to watch, before dumping it in a public fountain. As Kelly tracks him down while murdering his people, he grows increasingly desperate, going so far as to kill his own associates out of paranoia, then attempts to kill his remaining girls when they prove to be a security risk. In the end, he is shot down like a dog without pity, and the police admit that Kelly did something that they themselves might have done were they not bound by the law.

** Former [[CourtMage Court Wizard]] [[EvilSorcerer Meeks]], [[CainAndAbel half-brother of Questor Thews]], is responsible, directly or indirectly, for every terrible thing that has happened in Landover since the death of the old king. Having persuaded [[InadequateInheritor Prince Michel Ard Rhi]] to abandon the throne, Meeks auctioned off the crown to the highest bidder, disposing of those who backed out and tried to reclaim their money, while Landover, bereft of [[FisherKing the kingship]] disintegrated into anarchy, the country falling apart and the magic that sustained the land dying. When [[TheHero Ben Holiday]] managed to get the kingdom back in working order, Meeks returned to Landover, with the intent of deposing Ben, undoing the repairs that had been made, and reclaiming his [[TomeOfEldritchLore books of magic]]--books whose power depended on the continued enslavement of the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild souls of the unicorns]] trapped within. Willing to consort with demons, slaughter innocent nymphs, and otherwise do everything in his power to ruin Landover, Meeks violated his oaths to the crown and country in every way possible.
** Ben Holiday has had many bitter enemies, but none so vicious or persistent as the [[WickedWitch witch]] [[ArchEnemy Nightshade]]. Part human, part fairy, and all vindictive bitch, Nightshade marked her first appearance by damning Ben's friends to {{Hell}} in ''Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold'', an experience which nearly killed them all. She made two more attempts on his life in ''The Black Unicorn'' and ''Wizard At Large'', and after an enchantment forced her to care about him in Tangle Box, responded by trying to murder his wife and kidnap his newborn daughter. It's in ''Witches' Brew'', however, where Nightshade truly comes into her own. She tries to kill Questor Thews, Abernathy, and the Gnome, Poggwydd, and succeeds in kidnapping Ben's daughter Mistaya. Convincing Mistaya that they are friends, she forces the girl to create a series of monsters which she looses on Ben, intending that he should either be killed, or driven mad by his constant transformations into ThePaladin. When this plan too fails, Nightshade gives Mistaya a poisoned brooch and sends her to hug her father, intending that Ben should die at his daughter's hands. Concerned only with [[ItsAllAboutMe her own pride]], Nightshade was willing to cross any line if it meant making Ben suffer.

** [[{{Sadist}} Thomas Crowley]] was a vampire and a [[MadDoctor doctor]] who accompanied the English colonists to Roanoke. Crowley would poison several colonists before draining them dry over a series of days. When discovered as a vampire, Crowley butchered every man, woman and child in Roanoke save young Henry Sturges, whom he turned into a vampire [[ForTheEvulz out of whimsy]] and a little girl named Virginia who Crowley planned to raise and take as a lover when she was of age. Surviving until the 1800s, Crowley continues killing victims at random, before becoming UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper and massacring innocent women, publicly leaving them out for Henry as a "challenge".

* ''Literature/InDeath'':
** Richard Troy, father of the heroine Eve, stands out as depraved even in the massive sea of murderers and psychotics. A depraved pedophile, Troy [[ParentalIncest began to rape Eve]] when she was a child. This permanently traumatized her and prevented her from forming relationships until well into adulthood. Not content with this, Troy planned to make her into a prostitute he could sell to other child molesters.
** Patrick Roarke, father of Eve's beloved Roarke, manipulated the naive Siobhan Brody to father a child and then murdered her when she realized his true nature and tried to flee with their son. Patrick later [[WouldHurtAChild beat that child]], Roarke Jr, half to death [[ForTheEvulz for fun]]. He also betrays a squad of cops on his trail to a group of criminals, resulting in their slaughter.

* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'': [[TheDreaded Agatha Trunchbull]] is the [[DeanBitterman headmistress]] of Crunchem Hall Primary School who rules the school with an iron fist. Shying away from illegal caning, the Trunchbull opts for more torturous methods easily dismissed by parents as wild stories. A ChildHater extraordinaire, the Trunchbull subjects the children to near-fatal punishments, her favorite being "the Chokey"--a refurnished cupboard laced with broken glass and nails. Out of greed, the Trunchbull possibly murdered her brother-in-law for the inheritance, and [[EvilAunt violently abused her niece]], Jennifer Honey, breaking her arm in a spur of rage. Unrepentant, the Trunchbull threatens to break Miss Honey's arm again when she stands up to her. A psychotic disciplinarian who prides herself with never having a childhood, the Trunchbull set the standard for {{sadist teacher}}s everywhere.

** ''Discount Armageddon'': "[[PsychoSupporter Evil Santa]]" is an unnamed {{cult}} leader in worship of the last male dragon which lives under UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. Believing that he will be rewarded with riches and power should he worship said dragon, "Evil Santa" kidnaps dozens of single Cryptid woman and has them ritualistically murdered through VirginSacrifice. To create his minions to help with this, "Evil Santa" uses the mutative qualities of dragon blood to [[TransformationHorror transform]] several hapless tourists into the mindless lizard-like "Servitors", a process which thoroughly breaks their minds. Kidnapping heroine Verity Price and her friends, "Evil Santa" intends to sacrifice them as well to gain the glory and riches he desires.

* ''Literature/ModernFaerieTales'': [[MadArtist Mabry(n)]], from ''Valiant'', a spy of the [[TheFairFolk Night Fae Court]], uses her position to [[FrameUp frame loyal members of her own court]] and watch them be executed [[ForTheEvulz to amuse herself]], then uses her magical harp to replay monologues of their deaths to enjoy time and again. While sent to spy on the Bright Fae Court, Mabry tricks Ravus into killing his friend after the latter catches on to her status as a spy, leading to Ravus's banishment from the Bright Fae Court along with Mabry. Gaining a petty obsession with getting back at Ravus for the banishment despite being the one who actually caused it, she kills dozens of innocent faeries with poison and frames Ravus for it. Mabry then critically wounds him. Plotting to aid in starting a civil war, when Mabry is confronted by [[TheHeroine Valerie Russell]], she boasts of planning to kill her best friend and using his bones to craft a new accursed harp.

* ''Irene'', by Pierre Lemaitre [[note]][[CompletelyDifferentTitle originally titled]] ''Travail Soigné'' (''Neat Work'') in French[[/note]]: The "Novelist" ([[spoiler:Philippe Buisson de Chevesne]]) [[ThemeSerialKiller copies murders from various crime novels]] such as ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'' and ''Literature/TheBlackDahlia''. The aftermath of these long and drawn out murders, which also include a rape or two, are graphically described. There are six victims, all female, plus at least two or three people killed as collateral damage, before the killer attempts his masterpiece: using his [[spoiler:own novel]], he kidnaps Irene, the 8-months-pregnant wife of Parisian detective Commandant Camille Verhoeven, who has to rush to save her. [[spoiler:Sadly, by the time he gets there, Irene has been killed and the newborn has been [[TraumaticCSection ripped out in an impromptu C-section and has been crucified]].]] In the end, the killer writes to Camille that, in his words, all he wanted was [[FameThroughInfamy fame for a new novel he's writing.