27 Psychopaths, From Crazy to Craziest
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What sets a true psychopath apart from a regular bad guy? Complete lack of empathy, callous self-interest and (for the really horrible ones) constantly wanting to kill people.
This list ranges from Game of Thrones to Grand Theft Auto, so let's establish some criteria: Lack of murdering and occasional killing put you at the bottom of the list, while rampages push you toward the top; methodical killers rank lower than impulsive ones, because they have a target and are, therefore, more predictable; and overall creepiness adds bonus points.
Can anybody truly name a psychopath without meeting one? Nope. But we can sure do our best armchair diagnosis. And no matter where these bad guys rank, one thing's for sure: You don’t want to meet any of them in a dark alley.
Image via Warner Brothers
27. Dexter Morgan, Dexter
This forensic analyst channels his murderous tendencies toward getting rid of other killers. Dexter is totally a psychopath, but he’s also an effective vigilante, which almost makes him a good guy.
Image via Showtime Networks
26. Louis Bloom, Nightcrawler
"Lou" will threaten, lie and sacrifice lives to get the best and bloodiest crime-scene footage. Bloom never kills anyone with his own two hands, but the prospect of him expanding his cut-throat business at the end of the movie is a chilling prospect.
Image via Sierra / Affinity
25. Alice Morgan, Luther
Alice murders her parents just to see if she can get away with it. She’s also willing to terrorize anyone to get what she wants. Why isn't she higher on this list? Alice has a soft spot for detective Luther, so she occasionally directs her energy toward keeping him safe.
Image via BBC
24. Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons
Whenever Bob shows up, you can bet that this evil genius has his mind set on killing Bart or Krusty the Clown. Bob is definitely a homicidal maniac, but his day job is working as Krusty’s sidekick ... so, at least his targets are safe while the cameras are rolling.
Image via 20th Century Fox
23. Amy Dunne, Gone Girl
By the end of the movie, Amazing Amy impresses us more with her scheming and murdering than her golden girl status. She’s terrifying, to be sure, but Amy can, when she wants, keep the crazy under wraps and pass for normal.
Image via 20th Century Fox
22. Giuseppe Rosetti, Boardwalk Empire
Don’t insult this villain, because he just might kill you. Rosetti not only uses violence to get what he wants, but also terrifies victims just for fun. He does, however, have a soft spot for his family: He won’t stop his wife and mother-in-law from teasing him. So, that makes him a solid No. 22 on the list.
Image via HBO
21. Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood
From sending away his deaf son to beating his groveling rival to death, Daniel Plainview is a pretty despicable guy. At least his hatred for humanity keeps him holed up in his mansion, endangering only those who get in his way.
Image via Paramount Vantage
20. Jason Dean, Heathers
He may be more charming than Daniel Plainview, but this high-school bad boy takes things way too far: He tricks Veronica into committing three murders and tries to blow up his high school. J.D. is a psychopath, but he makes a good point about the dangers of conformity.
Image via New World Pictures
19. Catherine Tramell, Basic Instinct
After killing her lover with an ice pick, this novelist beguiles the detective tasked with putting her away. Tramell loves to kill — and write about it later. Her only (barely) redeeming factor: She has enough self-control not to go on any rampages at those fancy clubs she likes.
Image via TriStar Pictures
18. Mr. Blonde, Reservoir Dogs
In the movie's most famous scene, Mr. Blonde dances around before cutting off a policeman’s ear. Mr. Blonde’s psychopathic tendencies make him the worst of the Reservoir Dogs thugs. But he’s not the most consistently horrible bad guy on this list, so we're putting him at No. 18.
Image via Miramax
17. Negan, The Walking Dead
Zombie apocalypses have a way of bringing out the worst in people, but Negan seems like he’s always been brutal. With a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, Negan rules over a faction of survivors, and enjoys nothing more than punishing them when they disobey him.
Image via AMC
16. Kevin Khatchadourian, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Kevin has never been right, and no one knows it better than his mother (who definitely contributed to his psychological issues). As Kevin grows up, his crimes go from petty to vicious, culminating in the massacre of his classmates with a bow and arrow.
Image via Code Red
15. Dr. Oliver Thredson, American Horror Story
Between therapy session with his patients, Dr. Oliver Thredson, or “Bloody Face,” wears a mask made of his victims’ skin. Though Thredson was abandoned as a baby — and his search for women who “feel” like his mother motivates his crimes — it’s hard to have any pity for this bad guy.
Image via FX Network
14. Joffrey Baratheon, Game of Thrones
This sadistic king sports a temper, a complete lack of empathy and a taste for beheadings. Though his mom, Cersei, might be more dangerous, Joffrey kills people even when it jeopardizes his family’s hold on King’s Landing.
Image via HBO
13. Norman Bates, Psycho
“We all go a little mad sometimes,” according to Norman Bates, but how many people go as crazy as he does? He cuts up innocent people while (spoiler!) dressed as his dead mom. At least Norman doesn’t like to wander beyond the motel grounds … or we’d all be dead.
Image via Paramount Pictures
12. Anton Chigurh, No Country For Old Men
This cold-hearted hitman kills and destroys anything between him and $2 million in drug money. He’s merciless, but he also has a mission, making him a scary, but not completely out-of-control, bad guy. No. 12 seems like a logical spot for him. (That haircut, though ...)
Image via Miramax
11. Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange
This night owl prowls the streets of dystopian London, raping and torturing without a second thought. His total lack of empathy makes him a psychopath, but it’s his sickening devotion to chaos that ranks him higher than the more methodical killers on this list.
Image via Warner Brothers
10. Jigsaw, Saw
You’d rather not play a game with this psycho. Jigsaw believes that those who do not value life should suffer until they do … and he means really suffer. Though there is a logic, however twisted, to what Jigsaw does, his sense of fun is so sick that he’s in the top half of this list.
Image via Lions Gate Films
9. Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs
Ice-cold, perceptive and witty, Hannibal Lecter will entrance you with his words, and eat your liver for dinner (with a glass of Chianti, of course). Though he tears through people’s faces, at least this cannibal has some sense of decorum.
Image via Orion Pictures
8. Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry Potter
Lord Voldemort may be the reigning bad guy in the Harry Potter franchise, but he’s certainly not the craziest. Bellatrix Lestrange, his erratic and bloodthirsty follower, will do anything for the cause … especially if it involves killing people (and tormenting their families with the details later).
Image via Warner Brothers
7. Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
Wealthy and handsome, Patrick Bateman is perfect … except for his penchant for murdering innocent people. Aside from his willingness to chop anyone up with an axe, the most terrifying thing about Bateman is the mirror he holds up to a society that accepts him.
Image via Lions Gate Films
6. Trevor Philips, Grand Theft Auto
Trevor Philips, based on real-life British criminal Charles Bronson, is one of the worst villains in video game history. He’s a remorseless killer prone to violence at any moment, but at least he knows it: Unlike other characters in Grand Theft Auto, he owns up to his evil nature.
Image via Take-Two Interactive
5. Errol Childress, True Detective
This show is super eerie show, but it’s Errol Childress’ maze that will haunt your nightmares. This murderer and kidnapper is seriously mentally ill, which sets him apart from lower-ranking names on this list. As if that wasn’t enough, his crimes involve some spooky rituals in the middle of the bayou.
Image via HBO
4. The Joker, Suicide Squad
The ringleader of the Suicide Squad, the Joker is hell-bent on disrupting the peace on a global scale. He’s also a compulsive liar — one of the tell-tale signs of being a psychopath — so there’s no telling where he’s from … or who he’ll kill next.
Image via Warner Brothers
3. Ramsay Bolton, Game of Thrones
This series offers some pretty insane characters, but Ramsay Bolton is by far the most bloodthirsty. It’s hard to watch him torture and rape his way through the North of Westeros. Luckily, a victim of Bolton’s gets the better of him in the end.
Image via HBO
2. Kefka Palazzo, Final Fantasy VI
Though he’s considered one of the greatest video-game villains of all time, this court jester is far from funny: He’s manic, manipulative and obsessed with the Apocalypse. Palazzo is similar to the Joker, but after he transforms into a god in the game, he becomes even harder to empathize with.
Image via Square
1. Damien, The Omen
Damien is the worst guy on our list because things all go wrong around him … deadly wrong. As Damien’s adoptive parents grow more and more suspicious, they reach a terrifying conclusion: their little boy is the Antichrist. And you just don’t get more psychopathic than that.
Image via Twentieth Century Fox