How to Look Evil

Last Updated: December 14, 2022

Because evil is generally considered to be attached to Satan and the occult, people traditionally dress gothy or punky when trying to look evil. A lot of famous movie villains manage to look evil without matching the stereotype, and you can too. Both are fine — just do what best suits you. Many of these tips apply to men and women, so just pick and choose what works for you!

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Changing Your Appearance

1
Find your villain/ess inspiration. If you're introverted you might want to look more subtle or sexy-evil, whereas if you're an extrovert you might go for a more crazy-evil look. Choose whatever feels right for you.
- Some examples of famous sexy-evil characters include Morticia Addams, Vampira, Dracula, and Thor's Loki.
- Some less conventional and more modern examples of crazy-evil characters include House of 1000 Corpse's Baby, Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn, Ichi the Killer's Kakihara, and either of the lead characters of Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd.
- If you want to look more subtle, you could model yourself after an old-fashioned mortician (or the Tall Man from Phantasm, on whom the Slender Man is partly based) and just wear a simple dark suit while looking very serious all the time.
- Work with silhouettes to really bring that evil look. Play with sharp edges and forms in your clothing and hair.
2
Use contouring makeup to make your face look more angular. If you really want to look evil, contour your face so that it mimics the shape of a downward-pointing triangle.
- Studies have shown that people find this shape threatening, as it appears to mimic an angry face.^{[1]
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- To do this, you'll want to highlight your forehead and cheekbones, and make your mouth, jaw, and chin look more narrow.
- You can also use contouring to make yourself look sick or corpse-like.
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3
Get bold, angular eyebrows. Having bold, angry-looking eyebrows that slant down towards your nose will make you look more evil.^{[2]
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- You might need an eyebrow pencil or a shadow-and-wax kit to help make your brows look thicker and fuller. This will also help darken and shape your brows.
- Arched brows are also good. They might look more snobby or judgmental than angry, but they're still a popular choice.
- Having no brows at all (accomplished by either shaving them off or gluing them down and then covering them up) is also an unnerving look. If you're going to do this though, make sure you're really committed to it, as you'll regret it if you ever want normal-looking brows.
4
Try out different hairstyles. A common trick is to back comb your hair into a big, wild mess, but really any hairstyle will work — it's more about how you rock it:
- You can do long, flat, hair like Morticia Addams, big wild curls like House of 1000 Corpse's Baby, or messy greasy locks like The Exorcist's Regan. You could do girly pigtails like Harley Quinn, too. If you have short hair you can make it look very messy, or you can slick it back.
- Another option for women is to divide the hair in two parts and make pigtails. Wrap your hair around the pigtails to create some devilish horns.
- If you're a man, you can make your hair big and messy like Robert Smith of The Cure or Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd, or you can grow it long like Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
- You might even draw in a widow's peak using eyebrow pencil/shadow or cut your bangs to come into a point, as these are popular looks amongst famous evil movie characters. (Note that these shapes make an upside down triangle.)
- As for hair colors, black and red are popular options for villains, but natural colors also work. Gray is popular right now and would be great for an old-fashioned ghosty evil look.
5
Grow evil facial hair. If you're a guy, having a pointy beard or goatee and accentuated eyebrows that slant down towards your nose have been scientifically proven to make you look evil.
- Scientists think it's because that way of wearing your hair can make your face look like a downward-pointing triangle, which people generally find threatening.^{[3]
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6
Wear creepy contacts. A lot of shops now carry creepy contacts. These are generally good for at least 30 days. White irises are always good, and full black ones are classic too.
- You should be able to find these at shops (especially shops that sell alternative clothes/accessories and Halloween supplies) for between $15 and $30, if not less.
- Eye doctors will generally charge more for creepy contacts because they fit them to your eye. If you have any eye issues, talk to your eye doctor before using these.
7
Make yourself up to look sick or possessed. Maybe your evil look is inspired by The Exorcist's Regan. In that case, you'll want to look very sick. Here's how you can do it:^{[4]
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- Put on a foundation that is just slightly paler than the color of your skin naturally.
- Exfoliate your lips to make them look red and swollen.
- Dab a tiny bit of red lipstick on the tip of your nose and around your nostrils, then rub it in. You can also add some red to your lips too, it just needs to look natural so don't go overboard.
- Darken under your eyes. A flat mauve, burgundy, or brownish-red powder will work well.
- Rub a small amount of the same red you used on your nose on to the outer corners of your eyes.
- Rub moisturizer between your hands and then gently press your hands on to your face. You can also spritz yourself with a facial mist. The goal is to look clammy and sweaty, and … sick.
- The more natural the makeup looks, the better, so avoid shadows with sparkles in them or anything that will give it away that you're wearing makeup.
- You could try doing a fancy version of this — making smokey eyes with the same palette — just for fun, although it will probably ruin the effect of you looking sick.
8
Apply dramatic eyeliner and shadow. Dark, dramatic eyeshadow and winged eyeliner will make your eyes look more intense. It will also boost the power of your evil glares.
- There are a lot of variations on the winged eyeliner style, so choose one that suits you. You could do very large wings or just small subtle ones, depending on your abilities and comfort.
- Another fun and dramatic style is Egyptian eye makeup, which is also quite dramatic. You might try a variation of that to see how it suits you. It will involve more eyeliner than a regular cat's eye.
9
Dress the part. Dark colors (especially black and red) are usually what you'll see on evil characters throughout popular culture. Punky and gothy clothes are in style and readily available at malls.
- It might be more interesting if you make your own look by shopping at thrift and vintage stores, and altering clothes so that they fit your style. If your clothes appear to be older (i.e. not that brand new skull sweater from Hot Topic), there'll be an added level of strangeness to you that will boost your evil look.
- Two great horror movie characters with a unique style are Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald from Ginger Snaps. They have an old-fashioned, grunge-witch look going on that is all their own. The highlight of their outfits is the bird skull necklace that they've made themselves.
10
Accessorize. Conventional accessories include skulls, crosses, spikes, and other horror- or punk-themed items. They're cool but also so popular now that you're more likely to fit in with the crowd rather than looking particularly evil.
- Instead of buying the same things that everyone else is wearing, go to vintage and thrift stores and see if you can find funky old-looking stuff that matches your look.
- A long string of beads will look great with a Vampira-style outfit and hair.
- An old-fashioned pocket watch will look good with a Bram Stoker's Dracula-style three-piece suit.
11
Don't forget the paraphernalia. If you can afford it, try to make everything you use be an extension of your dark side:
- Use bone pens, old-fashioned notebooks that look like the Necronomicon (i.e. like they're made from human skin), and bookmarks that look like hanged people.
- If you have a locker, you could keep The Satanic Bible or the Necronomicon, or other occult books in your locker so that people see them when they walk past.
- You could also decorate your locker full of creepy drawings and images, or have a little voodoo doll hanging inside your locker or off your backpack.
- An old-fashioned porcelain doll would look pretty creepy sitting inside your locker too, and you could carry her around for added creepiness.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Acting Evil

1
Perfect your evil grin. This will make it seem like you're up to something no good, and may disturb whoever it's directed at. Again, this is where it may help to have a few of your favorite movie villains on hand for reference.
- You could have a small, mischievous grin like Morticia Addams, a smirk like The Vampire Diaries' Damon, or even a full-blown, wild toothy smile like the Joker from Batman.
- Look intensely at your target while grinning to make them uncomfortable. During an argument, stare into your opponent's eyes with an evil smile on your face.
2
Practise your evil stare. There are a lot of ways to do this, so practise in front of a mirror to see what you like best. You might even alternate an evil stare with an evil laugh for added creepiness.^{[5]
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- Narrow your eyes and focus on your target. Avoid blinking for as long as possible. You can ease some of the pressure to blink by narrowing your eyes a little more once in a while.
- If you're talking to a few people, be sure not to blink when you're looking from one person to the next, as this will be extra unnerving.
- Try playing with the timing of moving your head and your eyes. Moving them at separate times can be creepy. For instance, if you are talking to two people, move your eyes to one person while keeping your head pointed at the other, and then move your head to where your eyes are pointed.
- Tilting your chin downward and looking up from under your eyelids is also a great way to achieve a creepy glare.
- Your mouth could be serious, smirking, grinning, or full-on smiling while you do this. It's up to you.
3
Work on your evil laugh. Most famous villains have an evil laugh. What will yours be like? Deep and slow? Fast and high-pitched? Try recording yourself to see what laughs you like best.
- Try different styles of laughing. For example, you might laugh really hard for only 1 or 2 seconds, then suddenly stop laughing and look very serious or do your evil stare.
- If you've let a friend in on your goal of looking evil, ask them to give you feedback on your laughs to tell you which ones are the creepiest.
4
Adjust your voice. Having an evil voice is sure to boost your evil appearance. Movie villains are often famous for their voices. To decide on your villain voice, consider what your evil persona is like.
- Are you the silent type? Maybe your evil voice is just a bit slower, deeper, and quieter than your regular voice. Or maybe it's the complete opposite: loud, higher, and faster.
- Maybe you're pretty extroverted, with a higher, louder voice. Maybe that voice gets higher and louder when you're evil, or maybe it goes in the opposite direction — low and slow — just to surprise people.
- Have fun playing with different voices before you settle on what your signature evil voice will be.
5
Be mysterious. The less people know about you, the more they'll wonder if you could actually be evil. Note that if you do this, you'll likely be a pretty lonely person.
- Even if you think you want to be lonely, and you want to push people away, consider your reasons for doing this. If you're unhappy you owe it to yourself to get help rather than making the unhappiness worse.

Expert Q&A

Question

How to make yourself look evil with accessories?

Alina Bokovikova
Costume Designer
Alina Bokovikova is a Costume Designer from California. With over 15 years of experience, she specializes in designing costumes for stage productions. Alina earned an MFA in Costume Design from the University of California, San Diego and her Master of Education from the Novosibirsk Pedagogical University. She’s won two Outstanding Costume Design awards and her costumes have been displayed in Moscow, Prague, and San Jose, California.

Alina Bokovikova

Costume Designer

Expert Answer

A black cape looks pretty devilish! Gloves, a black jacket, and long nails are also great ways to make yourself look more evil.
Question

What if I can't get my evil smile right?

Community Answer

Keep practicing. If that doesn't work, you could do a blank expression, like a sociopathic person.
Question

Could any tattoos or piercings make me look evil?

Community Answer

It depends on what tattoos and piercings you get, but these are more likely to make you look tough than evil, technically speaking.

Warnings

Consider the repercussions of looking and/or behaving evil. If you're doing it for a prank, make sure that it doesn't go so far that you or other people end up getting hurt.

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