10 Most Evil People in History That You Probably Didn't Know About

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at some of the most insidious people in history whose crimes have been relatively overlooked…until now.

Fritz Haarmann [a]

Known to many as the Wolf Man, Fritz Haarmaan terrorized the citizens of Hanover, Germany between 1918 and 1924. His targets were boys and young men and his methods were violent. He would often bite his victims’ throats, causing them to choke to death. He’d then dismember them and even give their belongings to his partner. His feral spree continued on until remains were discovered in 1924. Haarmann was found guilty of two dozen murders, although the actual number is thought to be higher, and was sentenced to death. While infamous at the time, both he and his dark legacy have been lost to time, although his severed head was preserved for years at a medical school.

Elizabeth Báthory

Though her guilt is now contested by many, her influence on horror certainly isn’t. A noblewoman in 16th and 17th century Hungary, Báthory had a grotesque reputation. For twenty years beginning in 1590, she allegedly tortured and killed hundreds, allegedly often bathing in their blood to prolong her own youth. By the time she and her accomplices were caught, over 300 people had come forward claiming to have seen proof of her violence. While she served as an inspiration for writers and artists throughout history, her actual life has taken a backseat to the rumors created about her. The accusations surrounding her have been questioned, but it’s still believed she found joy in inflicting pain.

Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova[b]

Báthory is known as the Bloody Countess, but she isn’t the only one who deserves that title. On the surface, Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova appeared to simply be a Russian woman of nobility. However, beneath the luxurious veneer lay something much darker. Throughout her reign in the 1700s, she was behind the torture and deaths of at least three dozen serfs. The victims were often beaten to death, and if anyone came forward, they were likely to be punished. Her brutality was allowed to continue until 1762, when Catherine the Great finally had her publicly tried and imprisoned for life. Despite the extent of her crimes, she remains primarily known in Russia and is essentially unknown to the rest of the world.

Yang Xinhai [c]

In just four years, he became one of the most prolific serial killers of the 21st century, with 67 confessed murders.. From 1999 to 2003, Yang Xinhai traveled across China, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. He would arrive at a village and break into his victims' homes, fatally brutalizing everyone inside before fleeing. His unfettered bloodlust soon earned him the moniker “Monster Killer.” He was eventually detained during a routine investigation in 2003, where his depraved actions were eventually found out. His crimes are akin to those committed by infamous American murderers – but unlike them, his homicides have been largely ignored by the western media, causing them to fall to the wayside.

Belle Gunness

Gunness is credited with killing at least 14 people before dying - or perhaps faking her own death to avoid exposure. After a fire at her farm in 1908, the bodies of her three children and also a headless woman who may have been Gunness were found. However, there were significant physical differences between the woman’s body and Gunness. The aftermath of the fire uncovered a deep rabbit hole of carefully concealed slayings that had taken place across several years. Many of her victims were her husbands or men lured to her home as potential husbands. Her likely victims list also includes several infants,proving that her cruelty knew no bounds.

Javed Iqbal [d]

Discovering a crime firsthand is traumatic on its own, but having the details laid out can be just as stomach-turning. In 1999, officials in Pakistan received a confession from Javed Iqbal, admitting to the sexual assault, murder, and dismemberment of 100 underage males. He included lurid details and even left evidence behind, proving how meticulously he’d planned everything. His motive? His mother died from a heart attack following another violation he’d committed, making him want to bring a hundred mothers to tears as well. A film about him and his misdeeds was finally approved for release in 2023 – but even that hasn’t stopped him from remaining unknown to the greater population.

Gilles de Rais [e]

His association with both the Hundred Years War and Joan of Arc both aren’t enough to conceal the dark legacy he left behind. Though Gilles de Raid left an undeniable mark on the battlefield, his true impact lies within his personal life. Beginning in the 1430s, he began to slip into darker interests, from attempting to summon demons to brutally massacring children. He was finally made to stand trial in 1440, where he was accused and eventually found guilty of slaying almost twelve dozen youths, before meeting his own death by hanging. De Rais’ service to the French Army in no way compensates for his later depraved activities.

Delphine LaLaurie [f]

You may recognize the name thanks to Kathy Bates’ interpretation of her in “American Horror Story,” but even that only scratched the surface of her wicked atrocities. Following her third marriage in 1825, Dephine LaLaurie began to act on some of her darker desires. Deep within her New Orleans home, she had a room dedicated to the extreme torture of those she enslaved. Her cruelty was extreme even for the time period, with the law even stepping in to free nine people from her hold. Despite her open secret, it wasn’t until a disastrous fire in 1834 that several severely battered slaves were discovered in her makeshift torture chamber. Though elements of her depravity have been showcased, the true extent of her hatred remains unknown.

Ilse Koch [g]

You don’t get a nickname like the Witch of Buchenwald without earning it. Though she often goes unnoticed amongst some of the more prominent names within the Nazi party, her sheer cruelty has ensured her a place in history. She was heavily entrenched within the hateful movement, even getting married at a concentration camp. She had no qualms about violence, ranging from assault to aiding in the beatings carried out by soldiers. She was even accused of targeting prisoners with tattoos, supposedly so their skin could be repurposed as lampshades. She was eventually convicted and imprisoned, before taking her own life in 1967. While she isn’t as notorious, she’s proof that even non-officials were swept up in the hatred of the time period.

Shiro Ishii [h]

With all of the horrors committed throughout World War II, one of the worst perpetrators managed to evade both legal and cultural consequences. Shiro Ishii was one of the masterminds and main directors of Unit 731, which used human beings as guinea pigs in the development of biological and chemical weapons. His vile experiments, using everything from plagues to sexually-transmitted diseases, constitute some of the worst war crimes of the period. Following the end of the war, he managed to negotiate immunity for himself in exchange for information on his torture methods. Shockingly, the deal was accepted– and his lack of punishment has caused his transgressions to be forgotten.

Which villainous historical figure are you surprised doesn’t get talked about more? Let us know in the comments below!

[a]https://forvo.com/search/Fritz%20Haarmann/

[b]nee-coh-LYE-EV-nuh salt-ih-KOH-vuh https://translate.google.ca/?sl=ru&tl=en&text=%D0%94%D0%B0%CC%81%D1%80%D1%8C%D1%8F%20%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%CC%81%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0%20%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%BE%CC%81%D0%B2%D0%B0&op=translate https://youtu.be/3ID_M9wSnEI?si=lk2vftEP8hNERQd4&t=11
[c]tawng SHIN-high https://forvo.com/search/%E6%9D%A8%E6%96%B0%E6%B5%B7/
[d]jaw-VAID https://forvo.com/search/javed/
[e]https://forvo.com/search/Gilles%20de%20Rais/
[f]dell-feen
lah-lore-REE / lala-REE https://youtu.be/ti0lbDs4cJk?si=USSs1CZlmHndrGVO&t=6
[g]ILL-zuh KAWhhhh
BOO-KIN-vald https://forvo.com/search/Buchenwald/en/
[h]SHEE-roh ee-shee-ee https://translate.google.ca/?sl=ja&tl=en&text=%E5%9B%9B%E9%83%8E%20%E7%9F%B3%E4%BA%95%20&op=translate