Whose the most horrible character in any book you've read?

Frederick Clegg in The Collector by John Fowles. He made me feel physically sick! Great book though.

I cannot believe there has only been one vote (oblique, via Wide Sargasso Sea) for the vilest man in all the breadth of English literature, John Rochester. And he's supposed to be a romantic hero? Holy feck.

I suppose I will get flamed by Rochester lovers now.

Heathcliff. There was nothing even vaguely romantic about him, cruel vile man.

Iago. A manipulative envious horrible little narcissist. He freaked me out and I absolutely recoiled from him and his cruelty, completely oblivious to the fact that my family revolves around it and with 30 years to go before I became aware of the phenomenon!!

I am not too sure why people nominate Kevin's mother? Franklin is the idiot and how sad that she loved him despite his obliviousness ('Oh, my love'. I would have been going at that stage, 'you stupid dead shit, why didn't you listen to me?'). Kevin's mother's humanity and her connection with Kevin I thought came through when he looked at her with his horror of staying with stupid Dad. He looked at her because he knew she knew him - and Dad didn't.

Humbert Humbert in Lolita

Jophrey Baratheon (cough Lannister cough) from the "A Song Of Ice And Fire" series by GRR Martin.

the aunt in Jane Eyre, I second that.

Gilbert Osmond , Portrait of a Lady.

Count Dracula is pretty bad.

Count Fosco in the Woman in White is pretty nasty.

Agree about Mrs Danvers,Gilbert Osmond in Portrait of a Lady makes my skin crawl

Mrs Danvers from Rebecca was horrid, but I gues it would not have been much of a story without her.

Herjazz, totally agree with the Partrick Bateman one - American Psycho goes down in history as the only book I've ever thrown away after reading - gross and the memory of it makes me feel sick!

Two Tad Williams characters: Pryrates from Memory, Sorrow & Thorn; The Remover of Inconvenient Obstacles from War of the Flowers. Pryrates is pure terrifying evil but RIO edges it in the revolting stakes with his belief that what he thinks are noble motives justify his actions.

And another vote for Dolores Umbridge.

Another vote for the revolting Heathcliff.

Maxim de Winter - eeeewwwwww horrible patronising murdering prissy misogynist git, what a waste of space. I'd rather like to lock him up with Miss Hilly actually.

Great Granny Webster from the novel of the same name - what a love to hate her joyless old bat.

Grandcourt from Daniel Deronda.

Mr (can't remember his name if it was ever revealed) Murdstone, Jane Murdstone and Uriah Heep.

Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile was an awful character but he got his comeuppance in the end!

Miss Minchin in A Little Princess - soooo mean. Also in Mansfield Park the horrible relative Mrs. Norris - her spite is exquisite

What about the horrid upper caste bastard in A Fine Balance? Can't remember his name, starts with a T. Ruins one mans life - twice, I was really hoping he would get his comeuppance eventually.

A fabulous book.

Angel Clare - is he winning yet?
Uriah bloody Heep

Rachid in 1000 Splendid Suns

I can think of tonnes of irritating characters but not so many really nasty ones.

There is an awful one in Less than Zero...really disturbing nasty piece of work. Can't remember his name though.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Martin Vanger yet (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

William Hamleigh in PoTE is really unplesasant but too one dimensional to be really nasty.

And what about Angus Farrell in Denise Mina's Garnethill trilogy...?

I second Cathy from East of Eden.

The Snowman in Jo Nesbo's book is a creep.

Can't stand the narrator in Poppy Shakespeare.

Ooh mrs what's- her- name from the his dark materials trilogy, lyra's mother. Evil evil woman.

Agree with heathcliff too, what a git!

I personally have always hated Holden caulfield whenever I've read that book. Don't think he's evil or anything just a pretentious little sod.

Heathcliff

Dolores Umbridge - making kids write lines in their own blood is just gross, and the kittens! Ughh

Nils Bjurman - just a disusting waste of human skin

Angel Clare

The Aunt in Jane Eyre

Collins and Lockheart are hilarious - they aren't nasty, just ridiculous!!

My first thought was also Heathcliff. And then Mrs Danvers.

On reading the thread title, my first thought was Angel Clare, glad he's got lots of votes. Totally agree with Miss Hilly, glad too that she got to eat sh*t. What was the name of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts? Gilderoy Lockheart (thanks, DS1!) He was even worse than Dolores Umbrage IMO, at least she didn't pretend to be anything other than odious.

Can I mention a character in a short story?

Mr Durant by Dorothy Parker. What a nasty piece of work he was.