{"id":11597,"date":"2012-05-24T22:38:01","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T06:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/?p=11597"},"modified":"2013-01-02T09:55:33","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T17:55:33","slug":"bad-to-the-bone-the-worst-children-in-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/?p=11597","title":{"rendered":"Bad to the Bone: The Worst Children in Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Scott Laming via abebooks<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>Children can be innocent, inquisitive and the embodiment of hope.\u00a0\u00a0 But those characteristics make for boring stories.\u00a0 Sometimes authors enjoy creating a fictional child that is just plain nasty. Draco Malfoy might be a bigot and a bully, but he\u2019s rarely dull and is a vital ingredient in the\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em> novels. Roald Dahl\u2019s\u00a0Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em> would not be such a tasty read without greedy Augustus Gloop, bratty Violet Beauregarde and the spoiled Veruca Salt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Draco, Augustus, Violet and Veruca are actually mild-mannered compared to some of the horrible children on this list. Authors have not restrained themselves from portraying children as utterly evil. And while these books are fiction, and human evil-doing is prevalent in literature, there is something especially unnatural and disturbing when the perpetrator is a child, as if it represents the perversion of innocence itself. Be warned, some of these books have the potential to be distressing, particularly for parents. Some of the young characters in this selection abuse, torture, murder and commit demonic acts with barely a second thought. David Seltzer even gave us a youthful antichrist, Damien from\u00a0The Omen<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Pinkie Brown from\u00a0Brighton Rock<\/a><\/em> and Frank from\u00a0The Wasp Factory<\/a><\/em> are two examples of how evil characters can also be portrayed as extremely complex. Skilled authors can make the reader ponder the key question of why a child has become bad to the bone, while being so young.<\/p>\n

The<\/strong> 25 Worst Children in Literature<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Veda<\/a>\"Frank\"The\"Rosalind
\nVeda from Mildred Pierce <\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by James M. Cain<\/div>\n
This daughter is the queen of blackmail and deceit.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Frank from The Wasp Factory<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Iain Banks<\/div>\n
It\u2019s hard to describe Frank and his rituals \u2013 he\u2019s very, very twisted.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The Baby in Rosemary\u2019s Baby <\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Ira Levin<\/div>\n
This infamous child is every parent\u2019s worst nightmare.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Rosalind from In The Woods <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Tana French<\/div>\n
As the older sister of a murder victim, Rosalind becomes entwined in the investigation.<\/div>\n
\"Vernon<\/a>\"Regan\"Rhoda\"Pinkie
\nVernon Little from Vernon God Little <\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by DBC Pierre<\/div>\n
While not evil like some on the list, this foul-mouthed reprobate has few virtues.<\/div>\n
Regan MacNeil from The Exorcist<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by William Peter Blatty<\/div>\n
It wasn\u2019t Regan\u2019s fault that a demonic spirit possessed her.<\/div>\n
Rhoda from The Bad Seed <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by William March<\/div>\n
It\u2019s nearly impossible for a parent to see that their child was born bad.<\/div>\n
Pinkie Brown from Brighton Rock <\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Graham Greene<\/div>\n
The 17-year-old Pinkie is a merciless thug in this classic.<\/div>\n
\"Rynn<\/a>\"Christine\"Leading\"Matilda
\nRynn Jacobs from The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Laird Koeni<\/div>\n
Rynn is a mysterious child with an absent poet of a father and a nose for trouble.<\/div>\n
Christine Hargensen from Carrie <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Stephen King<\/div>\n
\u2018Chris\u2019 is the mean-spirited snobbish teenage girl who leads the torment of Carrie.<\/div>\n
Leading William from All Summer in a Day <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Ray Bradbury (Found in The Stories of Ray Bradbury)<\/div>\n
He enacts terrible psychological punishment on classmate Margot.<\/div>\n
\n
Matilda from The Monk <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Matthew Gregory Lewis<\/div>\n
Coleridge said Matilda was \u201csuperior in wickedness to the most wicked of men.\u201d<\/div>\n
\"One<\/a>\"Ben\"Kevin\"Jack
\nOne of the Twins in The Other<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Tom Tryon<\/div>\n
A boy whose twin brother is intertwined with a series of deaths in a rural community.<\/div>\n
Ben from The Fifth Child <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Doris Lessing<\/div>\n
This grotesque, violent and hateful child is tearing a family apart.<\/div>\n
Kevin from We Need to Talk About Kevin <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Lionel Shriver<\/div>\n
Kevin is a sociopath who murders several classmates in a school massacre.<\/div>\n
\n
Jack from Lord of the Flies <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by William Golding<\/div>\n
He epitomizes the worst aspects of human nature in this must-read.<\/div>\n
\"Regina\"\"\"Damien\"\"<\/div>\n
Nick f<\/a><\/strong>r<\/a><\/strong>om Hate List <\/a><\/strong>by Jennifer Brown.<\/div>\n
\n
In order to\u00a0impress his high school sweetheart, Nick goes off the rails.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Regina Afton from Some Girls Are <\/a><\/strong>by Courtney Summers<\/div>\n
After terrorizing others she is cast out of her clique to become the victim of her own bullying.<\/div>\n
Damien from The Omen <\/a><\/strong>by David Seltzer<\/div>\n
This child from hell turns out to be the antichrist.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Mary\"\"\"\"<\/a>\"\" <\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
Jacob from Before and After<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Rosellen Brown<\/div>\n
A family struggles after their teenage son murders his girlfriend.<\/div>\n
The boys from Boy A<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>by Jonathan Trigell<\/div>\n
Boy A and Boy B were both convicted of murdering a young girl.<\/div>\n
The Children in Let\u2019s Go Play at The Adams <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Mendal W. Johnson<\/div>\n
A group of children are left alone and run amok in ways you would never imagine.<\/div>\n
Mary Katherine \u2018Merricat\u2019 Blackwood from We Have Always Lived in the Castle <\/a><\/strong><\/span>by Shirley Jackson<\/div>\n
She cares for her sister Constance but something is not right with this 18-year-old.<\/div>\n

\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Scott Laming via abebooks Children can be innocent, inquisitive and the embodiment of hope.\u00a0\u00a0 But those characteristics make for boring stories.\u00a0 Sometimes authors enjoy creating a fictional child that is just plain nasty. Draco Malfoy might be a bigot … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1056],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-childhood-reading"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11597"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12390,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11597\/revisions\/12390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/hauntedlibrary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}