Stephen King believed that the Harry Potter books featured a villain more terrifying than Voldemort. King particularly enjoyed the fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s magical series, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, maybe a bit more than the others. The best part of the novel, according to him, was the dreaded villain, Professor Dolores Umbridge. King even compared the character to Thomas Harris’s one of the greatest villains, Hannibal Lecter.
In the novels, Umbridge was the Ministry-appointed Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. She made life miserable for Harry Potter and his friends, and readers were terrified of her every move in the books. This made her character the “slam dunk” in the novel for Stephen King.
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What Did Stephen King Say About Harry Potter’s Creepiest Villain?
Imagine the King of Horror being creeped out by a secondary villain. When Stephen King came across Professor Dolores Umbridge in J.K. Rowling’s fifth Harry Potter novel, little did he know that a villain could be more terrifying than Lord Voldemort in the series. For King, the character perfectly embodies the villain role with her looks, voice, and attire.
The Shining author even compared her with another greatest book villain, Hannibal Lecter in Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. King wrote in his review of the book in Entertainment Weekly:
“A great fantasy novel can’t exist without a great villain, and while You-Know-Who is a little too far out in the supernatural ozone to qualify, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts does just fine in this regard. The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toad-like face, and clutching stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter.”
King further explained why Umbridge resonated with everyone as an intimidating villain. He shared that the character represented the “Really Scary Teacher,” who terrified the readers as a child. The readers of the book feared turning the pages, wondering what the character would do next. Yet, they anticipated that she would get her karma in the end. King noted in humor that a professor capable of banning Harry Potter from Quidditch could do anything. King shared:
“One needn’t be a child to remember The Really Scary Teacher, the one who terrified us so badly that we dreaded the walk to school in the morning, and we turn the pages partly in fervent hopes that she will get her comeuppance… but also in growing fear of what she will get up to next. For surely a teacher capable of banning Harry Potter from playing Quidditch is capable of anything.”
The character was portrayed as vicious as her book counterpart in the film adaptation. The Crown actress Imelda Staunton played the character, and like Stephen King, she too was disturbed by her character in the film.
Imelda Staunton Called Professor Umbridge An Utterly Deluded Woman
When Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was adapted into a movie, the role of Stephen King’s chosen greatest villain was played by Imelda Staunton. It was not an easy task for Staunton, as she revealed that her character didn’t have an ounce of sympathy. According to the Vera Drake actress, Umbridge was a bloody monster and an utterly deluded woman. She shared with EW’s Binge podcast:
“I don’t have to have sympathy at all, not in the slightest. I think she’s a bloody monster and to be played as such. I don’t need to understand what she does, but from a character point of view, she believes she’s doing the absolute best for that school. Yet again, I have embraced a completely and utterly deluded woman.”
The director of the film, David Yates, explained to Staunton the political angle of the character. He explained to Staunton that what Umbridge stood for was a form of “ethnic cleansing.” Yates’s explanation helped her realize that she was “not just a lady in a very nice array of pink outfits,” but “madness and cruelty dressed up.”
Fans might get to see another iteration of the villain character in the announced Max series version of Harry Potter, but only in the distant future. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and other films in the franchise are now available for streaming on Max.
