CHRISTMAS STORIES| LISTICLE

Nine Christmas Villains That We Love to Hate

The evil characters who live for spoiling Christmas are ranked from bad to worst

’Tis the season when the television airwaves and streaming services are filled with Christmas specials and beloved movies.

Each night this time of year, my family gathers around the TV to watch one of the many wonderful classics that center around Christmas.

These specials have been especially fun to watch with my seven-year-old who is seeing many of these movies for the first time.

She marvels at the magic, giggles at the hijinks, and cringes at the villains.

It got me thinking about who are the worst of the worst of the Christmas villains.

Here is a list composed by my family (myself, my wife, and my daughter) and ranked with the the very unscientific but democratic method of voting. I will say that, as usual, I get teamed up against and am often outvoted.

We did decide as a family, that if a villain did redeem themselves by the end of the movie that it didn’t totally absolve them from being evil but allow them not to ranked towards the bottom of the list where the worst of the worst can be found.

9. Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol 1843 novel

There are so many versions of this tale that we decided to just consider the primary characteristics of Scrooge.

He was a penny-pinching, unlikable miser who hated people and hated Christmas even more. Bah Humbug!

But, thanks to the work of some relentless ghosts who visit him in the night and a persistently good nephew, Scrooge eventually sees the error of his ways and is redeemed by the end of the story.

8. Abominable Snowman from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1964 TV movie

This villain is truly frightening. He kidnaps some of the main characters and holds them captive in a cave. Rudolph’s friend Hermey, an elf turned aspiring dentist, tricks the monster and removes all of his teeth.

The only reason the Abominable Snowman did not reach a more evil place on this list is that he does achieve some redemption when Yukon, a mountaineer that the group befriended along the way, tames him at the end of the movie.

7. The Wet Bandits from Home Alone, 1990 movie

When young Kevin McCallister is left home alone at Christmas, Harry and Marv known as the Wet Bandits target his house for burglary.

The enterprising Kevin proves too much for them to handle as they suffer one hilarious misfortune after another.

6. The Grinch from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, children’s book, 1957

The bitter, Christmas-hating Grinch is about as villainous as one can be. The main problem was his vastly undersized heart.

He strips the entire town of Whoville of every single Christmas decoration and Christmas gift that the village had.

Yet, they still sang loudly with Christmas spirit.

With the help of a little Who, Cindy Lou Who, the Grinch repents and his heart grows three sizes bigger and, at last, possesses the spirit of Christmas.

5. Scut Fargus from A Christmas Story, 1983 movie

Ralphie has enough problems on his mind as Christmas approaches. Having to deal with the neighborhood bully Scut Fargus does not help. But, Ralphie gets his revenge when he goes into a trance-like, vulgarity-filled beatdown of his arch enemy.

4. Magician Professor Hinkle from Frosty the Snowman, 1969 TV cartoon

Professor Hinkle is a very bad magician and even a meaner man. He throws his seemingly useless top hat away and it finds its way to a snowman the children built, Frosty.

The hat, however, did have some magic and Frosty comes to life. The magician desperately wants his hat back and only relents after Santa intervenes and threatens Hinkle with no more gifts.

3. Burgermeister Meisterburger, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, 1970 TV movie

Meisterburger is the grumpy mayor of Sombertown and has ordered a decree that no children be allowed to possess toys.

Of course, the adopted son of the Kringles, Kris Kringle, finds ways to sneak the toys into the houses of good girls and boys.

Kringle using the covert name of Claus is captured and escapes with the aid of some magic corn and flying reindeer.

The Burgermeister is never redeemed and Claus must operate his clandestine toy factory far removed at the North Pole.

2. Henry F. Potter, It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946 movie

Known throughout the movie simply as Mr. Potter, this man’s evilness makes him one of the worst Christmas villains on this list.

He is a bitter, greedy old man. He callously seizes the opportunity to steal the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan’s bank deposit for the day and attempts to ruin George Bailey.

We are given a glimpse of what the town would be like without Bailey’s positive influence and the alternate town run by Mr. Potter is filled with nothing but miserable, heartless characters.

Fortunately, good wins over evil with a little help from a guardian angel named Clarence and the villainous Mr. Potter does not triumph.

1. Hans Gruber from Die Hard, 1988 movie

Gruber is absolutely the number one Christmas villain on this list because he is certainly an evil, murderous character and Die Hard certainly is a Christmas movie. Taking place around Christmas time (pretty much the most defining characteristic of a Christmas movie), Gruber’s body-count alone in this movie makes him the most villainous of all the Christmas villains.

I am sure the my family has missed some important Christmas movies and left out some evil Christmas villains.

Of course, the ranking is also merely our opinion. But I feel the above list is a pretty fair guide to some very infamous Christmas characters that could use more than one cup of holiday cheer.

For another Christmas list by Curt: