PBS’ The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores America’s 100 best-loved novels. Some of the episodes explore specific trends. One of which is that “Americans can’t seem to get enough of novels with notorious villains and monsters. Why are we drawn to these stories about evil-doers? What do they reveal about our own dark impulses?”

Just think of the villains in these novels: Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment, The Godfather, Stephen King’s The Stand, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Harry Potter.

Various literary critics made the following comments on why they’re drawn to evil characters:

-“Evil is interesting. Evil is exciting. Our heart rate increases. Blood flow changes.”

-“There are villains in literature because there are villains in life. They allow us to see a little bit of what it might be like go beyond the edges of accepted society.”

-“The monster is very human. You can almost sympathize with the monster.”

-“We identify with the villain. You can understand a little bit about what has made them and what has shaped them. Their monstrosity doesn’t seem foreign.”

PBS, “The Great American Read: Villains and Monsters” (10-2-18)