Why We Love Villains: The Psychology Behind Our Fascination

The reasons why we love villains range from their complexity and touching backstories to their ability to reflect our own shadow selves. The tendency to find morally ambiguous or dark characters fascinating isn’t something to worry about; they often steal the spotlight from heroes due to their charisma, depth, and unpredictability.

In this article, we’ll explore why we love villains in greater detail and examine the psychology behind this common phenomenon.

The Psychology of Why We Love Villains: 6 Key Reasons Explained

The key reasons why we love villains are their complexity, rebelliousness, and moral ambiguity. We may also like these characters because they reflect our own flaws or hidden desires, have tragic backstories that elicit empathy, and often show greater or more interesting character development than heroes.

Let’s explore the main reasons why we relate to villains and find them fascinating in greater depth:

#1. Complexity

Villains are more emotionally deep and psychologically complex than heroes, which alone can make them more interesting.

While heroes typically embody clear ideals, villains are often more multifaceted. Cersei Lannister fromGame of Thrones, for example, loves her children dearly despite being selfish, jealous, and hungry for power. Such redeeming qualities make villains not only more fascinating but also more realistic; after all, they show the flawed and complicated nature of all human beings.

Since villains often possess contradictory traits, they are also more intriguing. They can be both cruel and vulnerable, confident and insecure, bold and fearful, and they often act unpredictably, creating suspense that drives the story forward and keeps audiences engaged.

#2. Ability to Reflect Our Shadow Self

One of the subconscious reasons why we love villains is that they offer a glimpse into our shadow selves, allowing us to explore our own hidden desires, deepest fears, inner conflicts, and negative emotions. In other words, they embody the parts of our personality that we tend to suppress or deny, be it due to shame, social conditioning, or else.

This is also what makes villains so relatable. Even if we repress some parts of ourselves, we can get a sense of emotional validation by seeing them unapologetically personified in these characters.

#3. Moral Ambiguity

Most villains aren’t immoral; more often than not, they are morally ambiguous characters, meaning their actions and decisions aren’t clearly right or wrong. Unlike heroes, who operate within a strict moral framework, these characters challenge our values and our instinct to categorize things as purely “good” or “bad,” which is a major reason why we love villains.

For instance, Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series is a classic example of a morally ambiguous character.

He’s generally depicted as cold, bitter, cruel, and vindictive, which makes him appear no different from a typical villain. However, as the story progresses, we learn that his actions are primarily driven by his love for Lily and his desire to protect Harry at all costs. His moral ambiguity perfectly illustrates the distinction between villains and antiheroes.

#4. Tragic & Touching Backstories

Most villains and antiheroes aren’t simply born evil or immoral; they usually have tragic, emotionally charged backstories that explain how they became the way they are. Even cold-blooded killers, such as Jigsaw (John Kramer) from Saw, who struggled with terminal illness and attempted suicide, often have deeply tragic origins.

Besides explaining the motivations behind their cruel actions, these backstories humanize villains, making them more compelling, relatable, and sympathetic. Even if their behavior is horrific, we can’t help but empathize with characters who’ve survived immense trauma, betrayal, loss, or injustice, which is precisely why we love villains.

#5. Power and Rebellion

Another reason for loving villains lies in their tendency to pursue power and defy rules that heroes wouldn’t even dare to question. These characters bend moral norms, reject societal expectations, and challenge authority, embodying freedom and audaciousness. Their rebellion and courage to go against the grain make them incredibly thrilling.

Unsurprisingly, American Psycho has developed a cult following for this exact reason. Even though the movie was made at the dawn of the millennium, Patrick Bateman’s violent rebellion against societal norms and complete disregard for laws continue to captivate audiences, as horrifying as his actions are.

#6. Strong Character Arcs

While most heroes are static, villains usually change over time, adding depth to their stories and characters. Although we gradually witness their transformation, we never truly know where they’re headed.

Some, like Emily Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), grow into better, more balanced versions of themselves. Others, such as Walter White (Breaking Bad), descend into complete moral degradation, becoming unrecognizable from their former selves. So, this is one of the key reasons why we love villains: because their unpredictable character arcs keep us on our toes.

Since you now better understand the psychology of liking villains, it’s time to discuss whether being fond of them is a bad sign.

Is Loving Villains a Bad Sign?

Loving villains isn’t a bad sign, as long as you aren’t glorifying cruelty or idolizing them for their lack of empathy, violent actions, and so forth.

It’s completely natural to be fascinated by them, as many villains are written as complex, multidimensional characters with dramatic arcs, which makes them both compelling and thrilling. If you find them appealing, you’re probably someone who values depth and complexity over simplicity and enjoys deciphering moral dilemmas.

Interestingly, a study by John Johnson found that people with dark personality traits, and especially psychopathy, display higher positive engagement with villainous characters. However, a fascination with such fictional characters doesn’t necessarily indicate Dark Triad traits.

In fact, another study by Krakowiak and Tsay-Vogel suggests that whether we like morally ambiguous characters or not largely depends on how we view ourselves.

The results show that people tend to favor stories with good characters, rather than villains, after being reminded of their positive traits. However, when they’re reminded of their vices, they tend to prefer morally ambiguous characters.

As such, your attitude toward fictional characters can give you insight into your self-perception. Because people typically gravitate toward characters they find relatable, a tendency to love villains may indicate that you’re aware of your flaws.

Next, let’s explore the topic of Enneagram personality types and villain archetypes.

Enneagram Types as Villains

Below is an in-depth overview of common Enneagram villain types you may encounter in fiction:

Enneagram 1

Type 1 is generally conscientious and moral, but even this personality type can have dark traits. As villains, they don’t tolerate imperfection and insubordination; what makes them cruel is their relentless determination to impose strict rules over others.

Principled to the point of ruthless control, fictional Type 1 villains often excuse their cruel actions by claiming that the ends justify the means. They display moral absolutism that leaves no room for nuance, discussion, or mercy, which makes them rather oppressive. Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is an excellent example of this.

Enneagram 2

Generous and caring, Twos yearn to be loved and go above and beyond to help and support others. Fictional Type 2 villains, however, weaponize their kindness and compassion. As such, they can be best described as dark empaths.

Such villains use love and care as currency, offering help in exchange for devotion and obedience. Ultimately, their kindness comes at a cost, and their generosity leaves others in debt. Controlling and manipulative, they expect others to remain grateful and loyal in return. A good example of a Type 2 villain is Annie Wilkes from Misery.

Enneagram 3

Threes are status- and image-conscious individuals who crave success and admiration, so it’s no surprise that villains belonging to this type are prideful, competitive, and manipulative. They often display dark personality traits, such as narcissism and Machiavellianism, exploiting others and using charm to protect their reputation and achieve their goals.

Proud, entitled, and vain, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast is a quintessential example of a fictional Type 3 villain.

Enneagram 4

The Enneagram Type 4 is deeply emotional and introspective, but they can also be self-absorbed, especially when they’re unhealthy. Fictional villains of this type, too, are highly self-centered, which fuels feelings of alienation. They tend to be dramatic, displaying emotion dysregulation and excessively fixating on their pain and suffering.

While most villains are seen as purely evil, fictional Type 4 characters, such as Kylo Ren from Star Wars, are often regarded as tragic figures due to their inner turmoil and complexity.

Enneagram 5

Individuals who belong to Type 5 are analytical, inquisitive, and independent; as villains, they leverage their intelligence and strategic thinking to get ahead.

These fictional characters are calculated and emotionally detached, viewing people as resources to manipulate and exploit for their own advantage. Pragmatic and ruthless, they prioritize logic over empathy and have an unquenchable thirst for control.

Enneagram 5 fictional characters that best exemplify this behavioral pattern are, without a doubt, Walter White from Breaking Bad and Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs.

Enneagram 6

The Enneagram Type 6 is loyal, dependable, and security-oriented; these individuals typically avoid taking risks. As such, it’s no wonder that most villains of this type belong to the sexual Enneagram 6 subtype, which is known for its boldness, contrarianism, and intensity.

Although fictional Type 6 villains, such as Darth Vader from Star Wars, struggle with fear, they don’t give in to it. Instead, they rush into danger head-on, putting on a fearless front.

Enneagram 7

Sevens are fun-loving, enthusiastic individuals with a spontaneous approach to life and a fear of boredom. Type 7 villains, too, fear boredom and do whatever it takes to make their lives more exciting, even if it comes at the expense of other people’s well-being.

Restless and reckless, they follow their impulses, break rules, and escape accountability through manipulation and malevolent schemes. The Joker from Batman: The Dark Knight and Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street are excellent examples of fictional Type 7 villains.

Enneagram 8

Eights are assertive and decisive individuals who desire autonomy. Given that they value power and fear appearing vulnerable, it’s only natural that there’s no shortage of fictional Type 8 villains. Some of the most notable examples are Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Thanos from Avengers, and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter.

These villains are bold, commanding, and power-hungry; they don’t hesitate to confront others and use force, authority, or intimidation to assert dominance and bend others to their will.

Enneagram 9

Due to its peaceful, harmony-seeking nature, it’s common for people to assume that Type 9 is the least likely to become a villain. However, certain fictional Type 9 characters, such as Norman Bates from Psycho, are regarded as some of the most iconic villains of all time.

What makes these villains unique is their tendency to suppress anger and other negative emotions. While some of them are passive-aggressive, others, like Norman, harbor repressed rage until it explodes, leading to extreme violence.

Key Takeaways

Now that we’ve discussed the psychology of why we love villains, it’s time to summarize the key points of this article:

• The reason why villains are more interesting than heroes and why we find them fascinating lies in their psychological depth, strong character arcs, touching backstories, rebellious appeal, moral ambiguity, and ability to reflect our own dark side.
• Loving villains isn’t a bad sign; it’s completely normal to like well-written characters, even if they act in unethical ways, as long as you don’t idolize them.
• Villains can belong to any of the nine Enneatypes; while Type 8 villains are common and Type 9 villains are rare, both can be just as compelling and memorable.

Why We Love Villains FAQs

#1. What makes villains so interesting in movies and books?

What makes villains so interesting in movies and books is their depth, as they are rarely one-dimensional. While we may condemn their actions, they are often charismatic, cunning, and even vulnerable. They drive the story, revealing heroes' flaws and reflecting our own fears, shadows, and dark traits, which is generally why we love villains.

#2. Can loving villains affect my personality or behavior?

Loving villains isn’t likely to affect your personality or behavior, but it can give you more insight into yourself. Researchers at the Kellogg School of Management found that people are generally attracted to villains who are similar to them. So, for example, if you find Regina George from Mean Girls fascinating, you may be confident, chatty, and socially intelligent.

#3. Is it normal to like villains more than heroes?

Yes, it is normal to like villains more than heroes. These characters are often exciting and realistic; after all, no person is as perfect as most fictional heroes are. As such, there’s nothing wrong with having a fascination with villains; they often reflect our human nature, letting us safely explore our hidden desires, values, and moral complexity.