The "Dragon Tears" Antagonist

 

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where something about the villain just felt downright intimidating? I know have. I felt it when I watched "Avengers: Infinity War;" I also felt it when I watched "Silence of the Lambs." But focusing in on the world of the books though, I felt it when I read Dean Koontz's novel "Dragon Tears." 

I would argue that to achieve the effect of making people see the villain as intimidating depends almost entirely on how you introduce that villain. In "Avengers: Infinity War," Thanos is introduced by him mascaraing a bunch of innocent people, leveling the Hulk, and rendering Thor helpless. It didn't seem hard for Thanos either; it was easy. The next time you see Thanos you take him seriously; you find him intimidating. In the same way Koontz, introduces a villain like no other. A homeless man is hiding from a cloaked vagrant. The cloaked vagrant catches up to him, and when he does, you immediately get the sense of something inhuman. There is something off about him. The villain has all the confidence in the world even though he is unarmed. The homeless man huddled in the corner hiding though is absolutely terrified of him; this just isn't a passing fear; this is complete and total terror. As you are reading it, you can not help but wonder why. 

The cloaked vagrant keeps making it clear that no matter where the homeless man goes that he will always be right behind him, but you get the sense that is quite literally true. You could fly across the continent and he would still be there, sparking more questions.

The homeless man keeps calling the cloaked vagrant "rat man" without explanation, leaving you even more intrigued. And then out of nowhere, the villain's body contorts and melts into a swarm of rats. 

To me, this is effective. It's chilling and invites so many questions. "How can he always be right behind him?" "Why is the homeless man so scared of an unarmed man?" "And how on earth does the villian's body just changed into a swarm of rats?" All of these questions are answered in the book, but you know so little for so long, and everything always feels hopeless, for there appears to be no escape. No matter how far you get ahead, he is always right behind you saying the same thing each time. " Tick Tock! Tick Tock! You will be dead by dawn."

You are constantly left with that feeling of dread. Every time the villain shows up, you are thoroughly intimidated. But if you or I ever want to create a villain that is so intimidating that every time the villain makes an appearance they have an incessantly intimidating presence, then you have to introduce the villain in a way that sticks and makes everyone take the villain seriously. After all, if the villain has not done anything to establish himself yet, as a threat like you have never seen before, then why on earth should you be intimidated by him? Establish your villain in a way that your reader will not forget, and that whenever this villain makes its next appearance, your reader is scared for the hero like they have never been before.