Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate that special woman who gave us life. She was there to tuck us in at night, make us soup when we got sick…Ah, mothers. They really are a delight, unless we’re talking about crime fiction or psychological thrillers.
Crime fiction is the go-to genre for bad mothers. That’s because it lends itself to stories of intoxicating female dysfunction with anti-hero protagonists we love to hate. Maybe we’re so interested in reading about bad mothers in fiction because they aren’t real (and no children are actually getting hurt), or perhaps it’s simply the delight of voyeurism—mothers are not supposed to behave this way, and yet they do.
Between obsessive and controlling moms to absent and uncaring mothers, there are some bad mamas in literature we can’t stop reading about. And we dug deep. Long before the “girl” in the title crime books era, there were some of the creepiest mothers you’ll ever read about. Here are eight of the worst—be thankful they aren’t your own.
Jack Ketchum, The Girl Next Door
What mother holds a young girl captive in her basement? A foster mother named Ruth from Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door that’s who. Based on true events, this book is shocking and has one of the scariest villains out there. Ruth is as sick and twisted as they come, encouraging her own sons (and those in the neighborhood) to rape, torture, and eventually slaughter her distant niece, Meg, who unfortunately was left in her care.
Janet Fitch, White Oleander
Looking for a light and fuzzy read about a loving mother-daughter relationship? Well, you won’t find it in Janet Fitch’s White Oleander. Meet Ingrid, a talented poet who is locked away for murder. She is also the mother and to no surprise, not a very good one. She is a master manipulator to her daughter and the reader, casting a spell on everyone with her beauty and creativity. When we enter Astrid’s world, we see the young girl go in and out of foster homes all the while stuck in one of the most dysfunctional relationships with a mother we’ve ever witnessed.
Robert Bloch, Psycho
Norman Bates is a terrifying character, but he didn’t get that way all alone. We can probably thank his mother (or at least the one in his head) for his odd and deadly behavior. Their bond is incredibly unhealthy, but she does make him feel loved in an overly possessive kind of way. She wants him all to herself and won’t lose him to another woman. No matter what, she is always there and ready to kill when the moment strikes.
Emily Ruskovich, Idaho
Idaho is a story told by multiple views, making for an interesting and masterful read. But one things is for sure: Jenny killed her six-year-old daughter, May and is locked up for the crime. Throughout the story, we are taken back and forth to the past and present, trying to gain insight on what made this mother kill her own child. She doesn’t seem that evil, or does she? The story never does give us a firm answer, but it does show us how even the most unlikely mothers can sometimes snap.
Ian McEwan, Nutshell
Trudy is a woman who has made some bad decisions. She cheated on her husband with – get this – his brother and now they are plotting the husband’s death. And oh yeah, Trudy is pregnant and the fetus knows everything. She has already shown her inability to be a mother, much less a good one, drinking all the time and making her baby drunk in the process. And Trudy shows no remorse for any of it. The constant sex and discussions about drugs, murder, and torture also do a lot of emotional damage to this unborn baby.
V.C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic
Some people will do anything for a hefty family fortune – even lock their own children away so no one knows they exist. The mother in V.C. Andrews’ classic Flowers in the Attic knows all about that. She stores her children up in the attic like unwanted furniture, where they are kept lacking in vitamin D, malnourished, and sickly, and therefore never properly develop. And no one can help them, not even their grandmother, who is so sadistic we think she’s probably the worst of them all.
Koren Zailckas, Mother, Mother
Josephine is one bad mama you don’t want to mess with. Her entire family is afraid of her – especially when she gets mad. After one daughter runs away, the other begins disobeying her mother who eventually sends her to a mental hospital – nobody defies mommy dearest. And then there’s Josephine’s son, Will, who is not only homeschooled by his obsessive mother but also still bathed by her even though he’s way too old. She stops at nothing to make her family to do what she wants. When they don’t, there is hell to pay.
Ali Land, Good Me, Bad Me
Just when we thought we’ve come across them all, we find Ali Land’s Good Me, Bad Me. This is a story about Milly, a young girl trying to understand who she is after having a mother as a serial killer. Not only does she have to live with the consequences of her mother’s actions, but she’s stuck in a terrible tug of war: loving her mother and knowing she needs to turn her in. And since she was raised by a psychopath, Milly has lots to consider about her own well-being – you know, like if she is a killer, too. Talk about a trait you don’t want passed on by your mother.
