From my experience analyzing these characters, not all horror villains are evil for the sake of evil. Some used to be regular Joe's who got screwed over by life and decided maybe they needed to make other people's lives messed up as well.
Jigsaw
That's Jigsaw in a nutshell. He wasn't always a bad guy. Jigsaw was born John Kramer; he had cancer, lost his unborn kid, and decided life was basically a bad soap opera. Then he survived a failed suicide attempt and thought that maybe he should teach society a lesson. Most people would start a blog or write a motivational book, but Jigsaw started a blood soaked obstacle course. Jigsaw made a quick career change by trapping people and forcing them to make tough life or death decisions. His traps were the stuff of horror legend because one minute you're waking up in a dirty basement and the next minute you're digging through a guy's stomach to find the key to your ankle cuffs. If you don't play the game right, you explode, bleed, or get crushed by some medieval looking machine. But he didn't think of himself as a killer, all because his motives were based on the twisted belief that he was helping people. Jigsaw only picked people he thought were wasting their lives; this included drug addicts, liars, and cheaters. He wanted them to suffer through a nightmare so they'd come out grateful, kind of like a yoga retreat but with more chains and fewer meditations. Most people would call this torture, but Jigsaw called this personal growth. But no matter how twisted he was, I consider Jigsaw an ethical killer because he didn't just pick names out of a hat. He simply ran his operation like a hardcore escape room with a moral lesson waiting in the end.
Norman Bates
Hotels with good customer ratings tend to have killer prices, but that's a lot better than booking a hotel with low prices but comes with an actual killer named Norman Bates. He runs a lonely motel that you wouldn't exactly call customer-friendly. The towels may be clean, but the sewers are clogged by blood. It all started with Norman's bad childhood, which was more like an episode of How to Ruin a Kid. His mom was worse than a stage five clinger; she didn't let him make friends, date, or even think about having a life. Basically, she raised him like a pet parrot. And when she found a boyfriend, Norman snapped by poisoning them. After that, he kept her corpse, dressed it up, and started pretending she was still alive. Most people keep photos of loved ones; in Norman's case, he kept the actual loved one, like a very creepy souvenir. And he even dressed up as her, pretending to be an entirely different person. So every time Norman felt attracted to a woman, his fake mother personality got mad and decided it was stabbing time. It was like having an overprotective mom in your head who thought dating was a crime punishable by cutlery. Norman blamed all the murders on her, like a kid blaming the dog for eating the homework. But he wasn't trying to be evil; he was simply a messed up man who wanted to keep a fantasy alive where his mom still loved him. His motive wasn't about revenge or power; instead, it was about holding on to mommy dearest like she was a haunted teddy bear. But instead of going to therapy or maybe journaling like a normal person, he picked murder as his coping mechanism.
Chucky
If your hobbies include murdering people and running from the police, it may be a good idea to stay in a doll's body. But that's not exactly ideal for world domination, bathroom breaks, and maybe a bit of romantic action. That's why Chucky doesn't want to stay in a doll's body. Of course, he had no choice. Chucky used to be a human who killed so many people that the police were basically on his tail. When he finally got shot in a toy store and was moments away from becoming a chalk outline, he whipped out some voodoo magic like it was a last-minute party trick. Instead of dying, he pulled a fast one and stuffed his soul into a doll. He escaped certain death and turned into a murder doll whose sole motive for killing was becoming flesh and blood again. Turning into a doll wasn't too bad, except for the fact that he could no longer eat, have sex, or enjoy all the finer things that life has to offer. Even for a convicted murderer, that's why he went on a mission to turn human once more, hoping he could relive the glory days before the police shot holes in his body. But the voodoo fine print said the only human he could transfer his soul to was the first person he told his secret to. Sadly, it had to be a boy named Andy. So now you have a full grown killer in a child's toy chasing a real child around, and he goes around killing people to get his tiny hands on a boy in what became a twisted game of hide-and-seek where the prize is permanent possession. Eventually, after a few failed attempts and a growing body count, Chucky realized this doll gig wasn't too bad because there were no taxes, rent, and sleep. He could enjoy murder without anyone thinking a doll was the number one suspect.
The Creeper
Imagine if a scarecrow, a bat, and a butcher had a three-way in bed and gave birth to a twisted looking creature. That's essentially the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers. But because life didn't exactly bless him with human parts, he spends 23 days every 23 years collecting them. Basically, this creature kills people as if he were shopping for human body parts. Unfortunately, he doesn't have access to online delivery, so he only goes after people who happen to stumble close to his hunting grounds. But unlike ferocious monsters that eat for the sake of eating, the Creeper eats whatever he needs. If his eyes are blurry, he's not going to have his eyes checked to buy prescription lenses; instead, he'll eat yours to regain that perfect 20/20 vision. If his wings are saggy, he'll eat your spine for that instant lift. Basically, he treats people as a buffet where the food runs and screams. The weirdest part is how he picks his meals. He doesn't swipe on his DoorDash app; instead, he smells your fear and decides if you're tasty. If you're sweating like a nervous meatloaf, you're on the menu. It's less about looks and more about terror. Imagine being hunted because you're scared of being hunted. That means the only escape is to accept being the main course, which is easier said than done.
Kayako Saeki
If you're in Japan, it may be a good idea to read the reviews before booking an Airbnb. That's because there may be an angry ghost waiting to make your life a living hell. That's what Kayako Saeki loves. Kayako Saeki is the ghost from The Grudge, and she's basically a walking temper tantrum with hair problems. She's what you'd call an angry ghost who probably got punished with eternal menstrual cramps, which explains why she's so cranky. And her revenge story starts with a guy because, as I see it, every story about an angry woman always includes a man breaking her heart. She used to be a quiet and awkward woman who fell in love with a guy. Unfortunately, her husband found her diary and flipped out, turning their home into a murder museum. He killed Kayako and their son Toshio. Now, in Ghost Logic, if you die in a super angry and painful way, you get to stick around and ruin other people's lives. Kayako got that bonus feature unlocked. Instead of haunting one guy, she decided to haunt everyone. Her house is basically a booby trap where you get a cursed ghost lady crawling at you.
Candyman
His name may make him sound like he's the tooth fairy's first cousin, but the Candyman isn't there to shove candy bars under your pillow. Instead, he shows up in your mirror if you say his name five times. So he basically stole Bloody Mary's signature summoning ritual, but that doesn't mean he's not as scary because almost everyone with a hook for a hand is scary. Still, like most horror characters I've looked into, there's a tragic story behind this murderous magician popping out of mirrors. He was a black man named Daniel Robitaille who became famous for painting portraits. Then he made the mistake of falling in love with a white woman, and since this was the 1800s, there was no way that love story was ever going to have a fairy tale ending. The woman's dad wasn't thrilled, and that's when a mob chased Daniel down like he was an animal. They cut off his hand, shoved a hook into the stump, covered him in honey, and let bees turn him into a human pin cushion. Then they set him on fire before scattering his ashes around what would later become Cabrini-Green, a housing project that unknowingly got a ghost thrown into its list of amenities. So whenever the Candyman shows up, he chases and kills people because he is sadness, trauma, and rage packed into one ugly and scary product. He does this because he was turned into a symbol of violence and racism; forcing the world to keep watching his horror show is his way of avenging what happened to him when he was still alive. He also doesn't like it when people say he's fake because he wants to be remembered. He's basically a ghost with a PR strategy, so he keeps the story alive by showing up and making people talk about him. And it's all because he doesn't want people to forget the horrors he endured during a racist era.
Pennywise
When you have an alien from a different dimension that feeds on fear, you have a horror story that won't end well for anyone on the menu. But you probably won't expect this from a clown named Pennywise. But the truth is that Pennywise isn't a clown; he just dresses like one. He's a shape-shifting interdimensional creature that happened to crash land on Earth like a lost tourist. But instead of taking selfies and leaving, he overstays his welcome to make a buffet out of the children of a town called Derry. And his motive is simple: Pennywise needs to feed. He doesn't want to dominate the world or anything like that; he's simply a creature with a stomach that needs to digest for 27 years before it reminds him it's time for a binge eating fest worthy of a mukbang showcase. That means there's no tragic backstory or revenge fest for this clown. He simply exists to feed, and he needs to feed to exist. Meanwhile, even though he can take the form of anything, he dresses like a clown because he thinks kids wouldn't mind getting friendly with clowns. Well, that was before his story became widely known, but after that, kids have been avoiding clowns like the plague, thinking one of them might come after them with razor sharp teeth. Speaking of kids, Pennywise eats adults and children alike, but he prefers kids not only because their meat is more tender but also because it's easier to spice them up with a flavor called fear. Pennywise loves it when his victims are afraid, and that's why he goes after children, who are easier to scare than adults.
The Tall Man
He may look like an angry grandpa with a lot of pent-up rage and issues, but the Tall Man is a lot scarier than that. He's the type of guy with a weird fascination with life and death, and he takes the interest seriously in the worst way possible. But he wasn't always a scary interdimensional uncle who refused to go down. The Tall Man was a 19th-century mortician named Jebidiah Morningside. After years of working with dead bodies, he developed a weird fascination with any connection between our world and the world of the dead. So he went full mad scientist and built a machine that allowed him to travel through time and space. Old Jebby returned as the infamous Tall Man after a quick sightseeing tour through space and time. He never forgot about his fascination with the world of the dead. That's why he changed careers from undertaker to corpse collector. He opens up graves like it's the Black Friday sale at the cemetery, and he likes collecting bodies like trading cards. But he doesn't steal bodies for the heck of it. Instead, he takes these bodies to a different dimension where gravity is cranked up to the highest setting. He then shrinks the bodies and turns them into little zombie workers. And his goal is simple: the Tall Man simply wants to build an army of tiny undead creatures who look like they escaped from a haunted dollhouse. He doesn't even do anything with these zombies. The Tall Man just wants them to populate his planet so that he can call himself the Lord of the Dead.
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is the type of killer you'd probably want to hug after hearing his backstory. Unfortunately for you, he's not interested in having a shoulder to cry on. He probably only likes shoulders after separating your head from them. You're familiar with Jason as the huge machete wielding killer wearing a hockey mask, but before he became the walking horror movie special, he was just a kid having a rough time. He had serious mental health issues, and the other kids treated him like a human emotional punching bag. Then one day, he drowned in the lake during summer camp, all while the camp staff were too busy learning about each other's bodies. Jason's mom didn't take that news calmly; she went full murder mom and slashed her way through the camp until one of the camp counselors chopped her head off. Jason, who was still somewhat alive, saw that. The experience of seeing his mom getting decapitated added to his list of reasons to go into rage mode. So he continued the family tradition of murdering people in cold blood. He's basically fueled by the spirit of revenge after experiencing firsthand Camp Crystal Lake's bad customer service. After all, naughty kids and irresponsible camp counselors were responsible for his drowning and his mother's killer era.
The Leprechaun
You'd probably think leprechauns are friendly little guys like that mascot on your Lucky Charms cereal box. But not this Leprechaun. This guy's a greedy bastard with a weird fashion sense and an unhealthy obsession with gold. And if you so much as sneeze near his treasure, he won't hesitate to enter psycho mode. But when he's angry, he doesn't do it subtly. His preferred punishment method is murder, and he does it by using sharp objects and weird magic. Even though he has enough powers to kill anyone in the blink of an eye, he prefers using ridiculous weapons like pogo sticks, lawnmowers, or other everyday stuff because of his sick and twisted sense of humor. Meanwhile, his motive for going on killing sprees is his hatred for people with sticky fingers. The moment you touch his gold, he becomes a one-man Irish horror parade. He doesn't care if you stole it, found it, or thought it was chocolate wrapped in foil. You touch it, he shows up with murder in his eyes. He already has more gold than a pirate's dream journal, but he doesn't know the meaning of the word sharing. If one coin goes missing, he turns into the world's most violent metal detector. He guards his gold like a toddler guards snacks. This level of greed makes a gold hoarding dragon look like Oprah Winfrey when she's handing out freebies to everyone. You can't even reason with him because he's got the personality of a stubborn Chihuahua who refuses to listen. His obsession with his gold is so toxic that he's ready to chase you to the ends of the universe to teach you a lesson about touching something that isn't yours.
Dr. Heiter
Most mad scientists are usually plotting to take over the world by building weapons of mass destruction, lasers, or anything that can force the Avengers to take action. But Dr. Heiter is a different kind of mad scientist. He's the type of scientist not even other mad scientists would like to be associated with. Even villains who want to destroy the world look nice next to Dr. Heiter. That's because he's the infamous doctor from The Human Centipede. Yes, I am talking about that story that has seen more critics expressing disgust than perhaps any other horror concept combined. And there's a good reason why. Dr. Heiter developed a weird obsession with sewing people together mouth-to-butt. Before he brought this concept to wider attention, he used to be a surgeon specializing in separating conjoined twins. Then one day, his brain gave him a twisted idea involving reversing this process. That's when he went on a mission to find unlucky strangers for his experiment. He doesn't even pick his pieces carefully because he just finds random people like he's grocery shopping. To him, you're not a person but merely step one of his cursed arts and crafts project. The only reason why he thinks he needs to do this is because he believes he's making scientific history. But instead of dedicating his life to finding the cure for cancer, he's making a human poop parade. He thinks this will change medicine forever, but all it did was put this idea in the Hall of Fame of the most disgusting concepts imaginable.
