Exercise in Evil

Evil comes in many guises. To me the purest form of evil is evil absolute. I'm reading Blood Meridian at the moment. The character of Judge Holden is this type of evil. The Joker in The Dark Night is another example of evil absolute. What I mean by this is that their evil seems to be wholly formed within them. It has no beginning, and it has no end. It has no cause, and it never can be cured. It is just pure unexplainable evil.

While I have read of this evil in history, only once have I seen this evil in person. My aunt was murdered five years ago. The police found the man responsible, and he pleaded guilty with a sentence of life without parole. The day the sentencing was formally passed, I was in attendance. I looked the man in the eye. I could hear Robert Shaw's Quint in my head "he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes." It was the most chilling moment of my life. As far as I know, he wasn't abused as a child. He was in prison most of his life attempting murder at seventeen. The only conclusion I can come to is he stopped being human at one point. If he ever was.