# Other than Duma Key, do any Stephen King novels lack human villains? Open spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 15, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728 "2025-12-15T18:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/21 "2025-12-16T01:15:32Z")
Ricky was the villain, he shouldn’t have held his breath!!! ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/22 "2025-12-16T02:22:39Z")
From a Buick 8 doesn’t have a human villain. Neither does Elevation, though there are unpleasant humans. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/23 "2025-12-16T12:57:19Z")
Not to derail the thread but I wouldn’t call Lloyd Henreid evil. He was amoral and did bad things but at his heart he was an angry and weak man but not evil. There is plenty of Evil in The Stand but he wouldn’t be an example of it. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/24 "2025-12-16T16:28:32Z")
The _Eyes Of The Dragon_ has some weak people, but Flagg is _not_ human. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/25 "2025-12-16T20:44:14Z")
I was going to mention Eye of the Dragon. Speaking of Flagg, one could argue that The Gunslinger qualifies; the worst human person in the book is probably Sylvia Pittston, who seems to be acting under Flagg/Walter/The-Man-In-Black’s influence. I suppose one could also argue that Roland sacrificing Jake makes him a villain in his own story, but I think it’s a lot more nuanced than that. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/26 "2025-12-16T21:59:37Z")
Nah. The worst villain in the series is a bog standard human with no special abilities of any kind. Name was Paul “Pimli” Prentiss. In terms of actual acts of villainy, he did far worse than Flagg or even the Crimson King. He’s not just my most hated villain from the Dark Tower series. He’s not just my most hated villain from all of Stephen King’s works. He’s my most hated villain of all the fictional works I’ve ever watched or read, including TV, movies, and video games as well as books. ETA. Dark Tower V-VII were filled with all other manner of distasteful ordinary human villains. That’s why I stick to I through IV 1/2 when I re-read the Dark Tower series. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/27 "2025-12-16T23:46:05Z")
I’m just talking about The Gunslinger. In the series as a whole there are any number of human villains, but most of them don’t show up until later. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/28 "2025-12-18T17:14:28Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Jack is an edge case, but in my view he was enough of a despicable asshole in his base state that _The Shining_ doesn’t qualify. I don’t remember Jack being an asshole. He was an alcoholic and kind of a loser, but he was trying to do his best for his family. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/29 "2025-12-19T01:39:25Z")
He broke Danny’s arm in Vermont, well before they got to Colorado. And I think there’s something in Doctor Sleep or a short story that implies he killed someone in a hit and run while driving drunk ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/30 "2025-12-19T01:54:32Z")
Jack Torrance himself came from an abusive household; his father would beat him and his mother. So, Jack was perpetuating that cycle of violence. The hotel just brought out what was already in him. I will say though, that in the novel version of _The Shining_, Jack sacrificed his own life to burn down the hotel and destroy the evil housed there. So, while he was the villain, he ended up being the hero as well. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/31 "2025-12-19T21:39:36Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Ricky was the villain, he shouldn’t have held his breath!!! You think they would have thought about that possibility while designing the procedure. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728/32 "2025-12-19T21:48:06Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > You think they would have thought about that possibility while designing the procedure. Or had someone check to make sure people are really unconscious. Maybe have equipment that monitors people to ensure they aren’t awake. For something this dangerous, you’d expect that the liability of _not_ doing it is so high, it’s crazy to not have that step. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728.md?page=1)