There are thousands of villains in fiction, from television, books, comics, and film, each with their own unique motives and methods of madness. But it can be rare to see a character go from a hero to villain before your own eyes. They might start out as an innocent person, with the best of intentions, before transforming into a monster.
These characters weren’t born bad, but were made evil by unfortunate circumstances and their choices later in life.
Jack Torrance from The Shining by Stephen King
At the start of The Shining, Jack Torrance is a writer and family man who takes a job as a hotel caretaker to make some extra money. By the end of the story, he is a murderous monster possessed with deadly thoughts.
Saruman from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Saruman is corrupted by power throughout The Lord of the Rings series. He was originally a good wizard before a desire to obtain The Ring caused him to kidnap Gandalf as he became consumed with finding it.
Theon Greyjoy from the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin
Theon Greyjoy is a character that appears in the Game of Thrones book series. At the start he is aligned with the House Stark and is treated like a brother by Rob, but after Eddard Stark is beheaded, he betrays his former friends.
Peter Pettigrew from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Peter Pettigrew was a close friend of Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin during his time at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. Once he left the school, he joined up with Voldemort and became a Death Eater.
