History TheDreaded / Literature

** After the events of ''Discworld/Thud'' Vimes now has this status with even the most fundamentalist Dwarfs [[spoiler: by virtue of having not only survived but beaten [[EldritchAbomination The Summoning Dark]] out of his body.]] Just showing the scar it left on his wrist is enough to make even the most hardened Dwarf cry in terror and beg for mercy.

* ''TheDresdenFiles''
** Harry himself: It's gotten to the point where nasties rarely come to Chicago unless he's a specific part of their plans, since they know it's a bit of a death sentence, and[[spoiler: the other Wardens are scared to attack him when they outnumber him six to one and have three members of the Senior Council with them (all three whom, Harry notes, can tie him in knots singlehandedly), and he can barely stand.]] At one point in Changes, [[spoiler:when he encounters a Red Court vampire (who happens to be one of their oldest, deadliest, and most capable assassins), it panics and runs away screaming.]]

* ''ASongOfIceAndFire''.

** The Dementors who are one of the most foul creatures in the world, where ever they go the atmosphere goes cold, and the sky darkens. They thrive by draining all the happy memories of an individual, and worse can suck out their soul. They are so frighting that Harry is more afraid of them than Voldemort.

** Lord Walder Frey of the Twins is this in one very specific area. [[HateSink Everybody hates]] [[{{Troll}} his guts.]] But, nobody enjoys trying to bargain with him because he takes ObstructiveBureaucrat to close to DealWithTheDevil levels. Practically anybody having to sign an agreement with him comes away with a distinct need to wash, as well as an urge to count their remaining silverware and a wish to leave themselves time to wonder when, exactly, the payment demand will hit and what form it's going to take. Without exception. [[BadassBureaucrat It'd be awesome]] to watch him go. If he wasn't so... [[SmugSnake him]].

*** The end of the book sees a trio of 'mortals' (normal people) who were given unreal amounts of magic and are all but unstoppable. Having spent the whole book beating on Skulduggery one of them taunts him by kicking him to the ground and taking the suitcase which contains [[spoiler: Lord Vile's Armor, which contains all of the parts of Skulduggery that ARE Lord Vile]] and says that he might give "whatever is in the case" to Skulduggery if he asks nicely. Except the [[spoiler: armor starts leaking out of the case as it's made from shadows. And it opens the case itself. And falls onto Skulduggery, who transforms into Lord Vile]] Who starts single handedly whaling them so hard that they nearly die repeatedly and become genuinely afraid. They might have survived if they'd ran instead of trying to kill Valkyrie [[spoiler: which turns her into Darquesse and the fight isn't fair anymore, to the point that not even being able to heal everything upto and including decapitation can save them]]

** [[FromNobodyToNightmare Ramsay Bolton]], however, is quickly rising in the [[CompleteMonster Known Monster]] ranks and is gaining a reputation. Word about what he gets up to is increasingly spreading (aided by [[spoiler: his outright abuse of his wife "Arya Stark" right in front of people who care]]. He's generally [[StupidEvil happy about this]]. Dad... not so much. See above for why.

Hephaestus even admits that in the old days, Typhon caused the gods to run in terror.

** Ferro, leader of the Disciples of Strength, is this to the group, who (especially Elin) are terrified of running into him. Which stands to reason, as he's the leader of a group already notorious for their viciousness and lack of empathy. As it turns out, Ferro turns these traits UpToEleven.

** Later in ''The Last Olympian'', the giant Typhon is released and it takes almost all the gods to just slow him down. Hephaestus even admits that in the old days, Typhon caused the gods to run in terror.

** Ramsay Bolton, however, is quickly rising in the Known Monster ranks. Word about what he gets up to is spreading. He's happy about this. Dad... not so much.

** Lord Walder Frey of the Twins is this in one very specific area. [[HateSink Everybody hates his guts.]] But, nobody enjoys trying to bargain with him because he takes ObstructiveBureaucrat to close to DealWithTheDevil levels. Practically anybody having to sign an agreement with him comes away with a distinct need to wash, as well as an urge to count their remaining silverware and a wish to leave themselves time to wonder when, exactly, the payment demand will hit and what form it's going to take. Without exception. [[BadassBureaucrat It'd be awesome]] to watch him go. If he wasn't so... [[SmugSnake him]].

** Lord Walder Frey of the Twins is this in one very specific area. [[HateSink Everybody hates his guts.]] But, nobody enjoys trying to bargain with him because he takes ObstructiveBureaucrat to levels of DealWithTheDevil. Practically anybody having to sign an agreement with him comes away with a distinct need to wash, as well as an urge to count their remaining silverware and leave themselves time to wonder when the knife is going to hit. Without exception. [[BadassBureaucrat It'd be awesome]]. If he wasn't so... [[SmugSnake him]].

** Lord Walder Frey of the Twins is this in one very specific way. [[HateSink Everybody hates his guts.]] But, nobody enjoys trying to bargain with him because he takes ObstructiveBureaucrat to levels of DealWithTheDevil. Practically anybody having to sign an agreement with him comes away with a distinct need to wash, as well as an urge to count their remaining silverware and leave time to wonder when the knife is going to hit. Without exception. It'd be awesome. If he wasn't so... [[SmugSnake him]].

* ''Literature/KingkillerChronicles''

* ''Literature/{{Kingkiller Chronicles}}'

* Subverted and invoked about Venandakatra the Vile in BelisariusSeries. The book points out that if people were really scared of him(rather then his mooks) they would call him "the terrible" or "the cruel". Instead they call him the Vile.

* Kronos is treated this way in the PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians series. Most of the gods fear his return and even the mention of his name is enough to cause an area to get colder.
** Later in The Last Olympian, the giant Typhon is released and it takes almost all the gods to just slow him down. Hephaestus even admits that in the old days, Typhon caused the gods to run in terror.

** Tywin Lannister. His {{Death Glare}}s are legendary and make warriors quiver, his ruthlessness led him to annihilate ''entire'' Noble Houses that defied him and leave their castles empty, wrecked, haunted ruins. He frequenrly has his own TheVillainSucksSong played when his enemies are around to make sure the message gets through. The sight of him nearly smiling sends a terrible chill down the spine of one of his sons. Summed up in the following line from ''A Storm of Swords'':

* Wesley from AndrewVachss's Burke books. Although in the books proper [[PosthumousCharacter he's already dead by his own hand]], back in the day he was apparently the perfect killer, never seen coming and never pinned down for any of his kills. Partly because would-be rats feared that they would be next.

** Opposing Harry, several recurring villains get this treatment, most notably [[DemonicPossession Nicodemus]], [[TheFairFolk Queen Mab]], [[PhysicalGod the Red King]] and [[EldritchAbomination skinwalkers as a race]] (though mercifully, only one of those last has put in an actual appearace). [[BlackCloak Cowl]], who may or may not be the series BigBad, isn't a widely known figure, but among those who ''do'' know him he's feared as well. WordOfGod says that Nicodemus is absolutely terrified of Harry after their last confrontation. For those that haven't read the series, this is because Harry ''nearly strangled him to death with the item that makes Nicodemus immortal.''

** Harry himself: It's gotten to the point where nasties rarely come to Chicago unless he's a specific part of their plans, since they know it's a bit of a death sentence, and[[spoiler: the other Wardens are scared to attack him when they outnumber him twenty to one and he can barely stand.]] At one point in Changes, [[spoiler:when he encounters a Red Court vampire (who happens to be one of their oldest, deadliest, and most capable assassins), it panics and runs away screaming.]]

* ''HarryPotter''.
** Lord Voldemort, "He Who Must Not Be Named." A huge part of his power is that the Wizarding World is so ludicrously afraid of him, which makes them screw up many times. It's present throughout the story, but becomes more obvious after book 4, and is taken UpToEleven in the last book. He exploits this trope in the seventh book by jinxing his name; his followers will instantly travel to and attack anyone who speaks his name. Since only the people who don't fear him actually use his name, it's an excellent way to hunt down his most important enemies.