What is the greatest "Ancient Evil" in fiction? - Off-Topic

#1 Edited by themangalist (1442 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Nothing quite sends chills up my spine like ancient evil entities. They need not be explained; their powers and intentions are infinite beyond human knowledge. Even in the end of these stories the protagonist merely delays it, or wins a small victory over it. They may not be the "best characters/villains" but they certainly add an overwhelming oppressive atmosphere really gives tension to whatever fiction it is in.

I just want to hear from you guys, from literature to manga, film to video game, what's the most powerful and fearsome ancient evil in fiction in your opinion? Or just your favourite? And also, why?

Here are some I could think of:

- Cthulu (how could this not immediately come to mind?)

- Satan? Forces from hell? (Doom and most shitty B-movie horror)

- Sauron (LOTR)

- Reapers (Mass Effect)

- Cenobites (Hell Raiser)

- Markers? (Dead Space)

- Sith (Star Wars)

- Weeping Angels and the Silence (Dr. Who)

- God Hand (Berserk)

-Dwarf in the Flask (Full Metal Alchemist)

- Chaos (Warhammer)

- Burning Legion (Warcraft)

- Mehrunes Dagon, Dagoth (Elder Scrolls)

- Zhaitan (Guild Wars 2)

- Soul Edge (Soul Calibur)

,,,

Oh I can't think of anymore for now. They are all awesome.

#2 Posted by I_Stay_Puft (1047 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Cyborg Paul Ryan.

#3 Posted by Animasta (12781 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

the first from Buffy is something that comes to mind.

#4 Posted by JasonR86 (7734 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Man.

#5 Posted by golguin (2372 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Anti Spiral

#6 Posted by ArtisanBreads (1763 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Cthulu for sure. Nothing is more grand and more unsettling.

#7 Posted by Animasta (12781 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

@JasonR86 said:

Man.

that's not exactly ancient though.

unless you really just have a hate for cro magnons or somethin

#8 Posted by Unmada (66 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

CTHULHU.

#9 Posted by TheSouthernDandy (2912 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Kind of different from what you're talking about but very much in the same spirit, you should check out Phantoms by Dean Koontz. Pretty great book, real creepy. Avoid the movie it's terrible. The only good thing that ever came from it is this.

#10 Posted by TheHT (8146 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Melkor is probably worse than Sauron.

#11 Posted by L44 (491 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

The Beast from Doctor Who.

#12 Posted by Icicle7x3 (899 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

#13 Posted by JasonR86 (7734 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

@Animasta said:

@JasonR86 said:
Man.
that's not exactly ancient though.
unless you really just have a hate for cro magnons or somethin

Well, the ancestors of man were probably jerks too.

#14 Posted by Levio (1409 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Sin from FFX was pretty great in that civilization had adjusted it's entire way of life to accommodate the presence of the unstoppable beast. That kind of story sure works better than stories where an ancient evil is incredibly powerful yet no one ever notices its presence until the movie climax for sketchy reasons like "mind control rays" or "people only see what they want to see".

#15 Posted by TruthTellah (3567 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Ourselves.

#16 Posted by MariachiMacabre (5370 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

I really love the Weeping Angels. So damn unsettling. I also really enjoy Cthulhu, though....and Sin from FFX...I don't know.

#17 Edited by householddutch (42 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Nyarlathotep > Cthulhu. Just sayin'. Sure, Cthulhu is a massive, unfathomable undead space squid, but Nyarlathotep hangs out with humans, looks like us, talks like us, is smarter than us and is a gigantic asshole. Also, Azathoth is his dad. You can run away from Cthulhu, but not The Crawling Chaos.

The Wraith from the early Stargate: Atlantis episodes were kind of bad ass.

#18 Posted by Shookems (436 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Any of Lovecraft's elder gods

#19 Posted by crusader8463 (13080 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

That gunk that forms in your arm pits when you get extremely lazy and don't shower for a week. Also, Rita Repulsa.

#20 Posted by Sparky_Buzzsaw (4922 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

I know it's centuries old, but I think Dante's take on Satan and the betrayers is still one of the most frightening scenes in literary history. For examples a bit more modern, I'll throw out Randall Flagg and Pennywise, from The Stand and It.

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#21 Posted by Yummylee (18157 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

@Animasta said:

the first from Buffy is something that comes to mind.

Same. They're so damn evil, they can actually make a guy like Nathan Fillion intimidating. Anywhoo when there's Buffy, there's Angel. So can't not bring up Wolfram & Hart as another great Ancient Evil.

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#22 Posted by AzlamOrlandu (20 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Whatever essence that causes social retards to shoot up school children.

#23 Posted by HerbieBug (2633 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

I like the Shrike from Simmon's Hyperion. It's not even necessarily evil from what I recall. It's been a few years since I read those books so memory is pretty foggy.

#24 Posted by Pr1mus (2443 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian old gods.

#25 Posted by MarkWahlberg (3958 posts) - 3 months, 18 days ago

Milton's Satan