As others point out this essay is not good (does not even touch on the Native American threads prevalent in the movie that are missing in the book). However, i

As others point out this essay is not good (does not even touch on the Native American threads prevalent in the movie that are missing in the book). However, it does sort of point to a major characteristic in King’s typical “could’ve been good” villains: As opposed to totally evil characters, eg Bev’s husband in It, who are driven by their primal urges, these characters would have landed in a whole different place had the dice landed differently. Overall they are good but with a few weaknesses, which evil forces manipulate to pull them under. Another good example of such a character is Nick, in The Stand. If you replace “evil forces” above by “life’s circumstances”, I think this to be a good description of how real-life villains are made.