Many people have wondered about the psychology of evil. Could it be due to their living situations? Circumstances they can’t control? Or could it be due to certain genes they were born with? Is there a trigger for that evil? Or are we just mislabeling their personalities because we can’t understand it? Moreover, what about humanity’s morality? Are we inherently good or evil? Do those concepts even exist?

While answering these questions was mainly treated as a philosophical and religious endeavor, millions of fiction authors have explored the same ideas. A protagonist struggling against an opposing force could reveal what the author may believe about evil. An antagonist trying to overcome their own self-doubt could be construed as them trying to overcome the evil within themselves. Heroes and villains will debate for decades on end about what it means to live in society. Because of the complexity of the topic, below are some of the ways that mainstream fiction may portray evil.

External Forces
Evil can be shown as an external force. These external forces may revolve around a character’s environment, a supernatural force, or even another person. For instance, in Stephen King’s It, evil was represented in a clown that lured and ate unsuspecting children. In James Patterson’s Maximum Ride, evil took the form of scientists who experimented on children and, when those children escaped, hunted them down to try to continue their experiments. In the video game, Rapture, the protagonist is forced into an environment in which almost every living creature is ready to kill them, all for the sake of satisfying their bloodlusts or their egos. Interestingly enough, these external forces can also be seen in the characters' backstories, such as abusive parents or horrific traumas.

Internal Forces
On the other hand, evil can also be represented by internal forces. These forces generally include the evil within ourselves, our doubts and shames, our guilt, and past sins. They may manifest in a character’s narration, thus turning them into an unreliable narrator. This can be seen in paranormal romances and literary drama. The characters are struggling with the darkness inside themselves, trying to ensure their loved ones’ safety and their own. This can be shown in Amelia Atwater Rhodes’s In the Forests of the Night, where the protagonist must struggle with her ever-growing hunger, all the while learning to understand how her humanity has been affected. In Bret Eason Ellis’s American Psycho, the protagonist Patrick Bateman is a serial killer who feels indifferent to the innocent lives he’s taken, or how much suffering he’s caused. Many readers believe he symbolized the evils of capitalism itself, and how numb it can make its members.

Of course, there are many writers who go more into detail about morality. Shakespeare, Machiavelli, and Dante are some of the few writers that explore these ideas, trying to explore the roots of humanity’s sins. But more than that, there are so many facets to evil that some readers contend that evil does not exist. Despite this viewpoint, evil is still a fascinating topic that continues to be explored in literature today.