A masked villain, also seen as masked mystery villain,[1][2] is a
stock character in
genre fiction. It was developed and popularized in movie serials, beginning with The Hooded Terror in The House of Hate, (1918) the first fully-costumed mystery villain of the movies, and frequently used in the
adventurestories of
pulp magazines and sound-era
movie serials in the early twentieth century,[3][4] as well as postmodern
horror films[5] where the character "hides in order to claim unsuspecting victims".[6] They can also appear in
crime fiction to add to the atmosphere of
suspense and
suspicion. It is used to engage the readers or viewers by keeping them guessing just as the characters are,[3] and suspension by drawing on the
fear of the unknown.[7]: 135 The "Mask" need not be literal (although it often is), referring more to the
subterfuge involved.
He or she is the often main
antagonist of the
story, often acting behind the scenes with
henchmen confronting the
protagonists directly.[3] Usually, the protagonists must discover the
villain's true identity before they can be defeated.[8] Often, the villain will turn out to be either one of the protagonists themselves, or a significant
supporting character. The
author may give the
viewer or
reader clues, with many
red herrings, as to the villain's identity - sometime as the characters find them and sometimes for the
audience alone. However, the identity is not usually revealed to the
audience before it is revealed to the
characters of the story.[8]
"The Ghost" in Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. - "One of the most memorable of all the masked villains of serials" according to William C. Cline.[7]: 133, 135