Bill Sikes. Lady MacBeth. Captain Ahab. The Wormwoods. Long John Silver. Sauron. Iago.

The best villains in literature send a shiver down our spine and make our blood pressure rise. Why do some villains have such a hold on us while others feel like weak sauce?

Let me first say that not every novel needs a classic villain. One might even argue that Moby Dick is the ultimate villain in Moby-Dick instead of Ahab, and there are plenty of novels where more abstract concepts like addiction or thirst for violence are the ultimate “villains” the protagonist must overcome. (For simplicity, I’m going to refer to a singular protagonist in this post even though there are novels with more than one).

But oftentimes it’s ideal for the protagonist with a single archenemy who can test them like no other. Here are some tips on how to craft a memorable villain.