Evil laughter or maniacal laughter is a distinct

laughter Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, usually audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laug ...

that is typically exhibited by villains in

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

. It is associated with the horror genre. Evil laughter may be written as ''muahahaha'' or ''bwahahaha''. They are used by

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

s in comic books and video games, generally when some form of victory is attained, to indicate superiority over another, or to mock another character's earnestness. Maniacal laughter may confirm a character's villainy, signaling gratification from performing acts of evil. Deliberately expressing delight in crisis situations is distinctly inappropriate and thus may cause viewers to see a character as an enemy.

Notable examples

During the 1930s, the popular radio program ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'' used a signature evil laugh as part of its presentation. This was a rare case of a non-villain character using an evil laugh, and it was voiced by actor Frank Readick. His laugh was used even after

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

took over the lead role. Actor Vincent Price's evil laugh has been used or copied many times in radio, film, music, and television, notably at the end of the music video '' Michael Jackson's Thriller''. Other examples of evil laughter in film include the alien in

Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

, the stepmother in

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

, Majin Buu in Dragon Ball Z, and the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. In films, evil laughter often fills the soundtrack when the villain is off camera. In such cases, the laughter follows the hero or victim as they try to escape. An example of this is in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', where Belloq's laugh fills the South American jungle as

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

escapes from the Hovitos. Animals such as the

barred owl The barred owl (''Strix varia''), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl or eight-hooter owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus ...

and

laughing gull The laughing seagull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North America, North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic ...

make sounds that resemble evil laughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil Laughter 1860s neologisms Sound effects Humour Interjections Laughter Good and evil fi:Nauraminen#Paha nauru