[Mithfânion]

In contrast to the other thread that drifted from its original query, what did you think were truly chilling villains? Are they so rare?

I thought Sauron was pretty evil but not chilling. He was too much of a background characters for that. Some of the Nazgul were chilling, as was the Balrog, but none of them were truly "badass".

I'm not necessarily thinking of villains that were powerful, although any input there would be appreciated as well. Perhaps there are characters that really gave you the creeps and/or had some truly nefarious intentions.

I haven't really read much of Donaldson but I thought that Lord Foul might be a candidate...?

[Shadowen]

Penthero Iss from JV Jones A Cavern of Black Ice was pretty chilling, imo. The descriptions of the torture he inflicted on his unfortunate prisoner were awful.

[Qin]

Chilling? Evil? I know just the person: Ronald McDonald. That man scares the crap out of me. Big red hair, big red shoes, a ghost white face, and a proprensity to devour mass quantities of burgers. *Shiver*

[Zsinj16]

Well, I thought the Dark Lord Sauron in the LOTR Saga was pretty creepy, along with the Witch King and the Nazgul. I also thought Pryrates from the MS&T Trilogy was pretty bone-chilling myself, what with all the sadistic torture he inflicted upon others and his eerie, arcane black magic. I also thought the Storm King and the Norn Queen (I can't remember her name) were pretty frightening also, in fact they were more frightening than Pryrates! And that's one of the main reasons I liked the MS&T Trilogy, because it was so dark and gothic! LOTR was dark and gothic as well, but not to the extent that the MS&T Trilogy was, IMHO.
Another villain I found rather chilling was Lord Verminaard from Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight. But I can't exactly put my finger on what seemed so creepy about him!

[Warewolf]

The only one I can think of off the top of my head right now is Lord Soth from Dragonlance. He used be a Knight of the Rose (I think), but then he betrayed his ideas and was killed. Now he's a ghost who fights on the side of darkness and, since he's already dead, can't be killed. Creepy as all heck! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[saintjon]

The Malevoy from the Shadow War trilogy were pretty creepy. Calesta from the Coldfire Trilogy, just based upon his illusion power and the fact that human sadism makes him stronger!!! Which would make him pretty damn strong IMO. Anne from Crown of Stars.
If you want the chilling Tolkien villain, skip the lackeys and go straight to the god! They don't get much meaner or dastardly than Morgoth.

[Mithfânion]

Liked Morgoth's speech to Hurin. That was truly vile.

Speaking of Sauron, I thought he was scarier in the snippets we see of him in the Silmarillion. A conniving bastard. Especially as Annatar, Lord of Gifts.

[This message has been edited by Mithfânion (edited January 31, 2002).]

[Penumbra]

How about the clown and his multicolored balloons in the Stephen King novel, the title of which escapes me at the moment. That was a chilling character for me.

[Mithfânion]

What, "It?"

Is there a clown in The Stand?

[This message has been edited by Mithfânion (edited January 31, 2002).]

[kray3]

The clown is in "It"

nope, no clowns in "The Stand"