The Other Woman is a psychological thriller that adds a twist to the classic story of a woman and her insidiously evil mother-in-law. As it's a creepy read we thought we'd ask the author to give us her top 5 Creepy Characters.
Nurse Ratched – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ratched was one of my earliest encounters with a character who used her power and influence for the bad. She is a mean and cold-hearted nurse who keeps the patients in a mental institution in line by using their weaknesses against them. She methodically works through the ward, administering punishment whenever she sees fit and encourages other patients to act as informants for her. Her cool calmness chilled me to the bone. The perfect baddie.
Perry Wright - Big Little Lies
Celeste has it all; beauty, brains, gorgeous children, money and an apparently perfect husband in Perry. But nothing is as it seems, as away from prying eyes, Perry is only ever hot or cold. There is no middle ground with him and he’s either loving his wife or abusing her in the worst possible way. The unpredictability of his character kept me on the edge of my seat, and, Iike Celeste, I found myself wanting to love him, but when he turned, he made me shudder.
My favourite fictional creepy characters aren’t the stereotypical monsters in horror stories, but more the psychopaths, who are capable of murder, yet still function in every day life. I find it particularly unnerving to see how these characters develop and get under my skin, making it crawl. Here are my Top 5 creepy fictional characters….
My Favourite fictional Creepy Characters
GUEST POST - Sandie Jones
author of The Other Woman
Child Catcher – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
I remember watching this when I was perhaps six or seven years old, thinking what a lovely film it was. I loved the characters, the songs, and the car was just the most magical thing I’d ever seen. At no point was I, or my mother, prepared for the child catcher, who appeared out of nowhere, in the most sinister way. I screamed and sobbed my way through the rest of the film, unable to get the image of Robert Helpmann out of my mind. I’ve watched it a few times since, but I’ve always had to leave the room before he appears.
Jack – Behind Closed Doors
You know what they say; if it seems too-good-to-be-true, then it often is. Jack is overtly charming, convincing everyone around him that he will do anything for his wife, Grace. Men want to be him, and women want to be with him, but be careful what you wish for, because as soon as Jack and his Grace are on their own, he locks her up, rations her food and controls every element of her life. I have a fascination, in fiction and real-life, for characters who present themselves to the world in one way, only to morph into a completely different person when they are behind closed doors.
Olivia & Corinne – Flowers in the Attic
I read this book as a teenager and was floored by the story and the horrors that unfolded in the attic. Again, following the theme, Olivia, seemingly lives a normal life in the house where her grandchildren are being imprisoned in the attic. She knows they’re there and her interaction with them is of the cruellest nature. She is clearly devoid of any feelings for them and I spent much of the book praying for the return of Corinne, the childrens’ mother. Surely, she was going to take them away from the hell they were in? But instead of helping the children, she appears to co-operate with her evil mother, and together, their malice knows no bounds.
The Other Woman, by Sandie Jones, is out June 14th, through Pan, £7.99