50 Shades of Evil

A red-headed, twelve-year-old brat with matted, curly hair and a freckled face says to a middle-aged lady, "Wow, you're old."

The middle-aged lady says, "Oh yeah? Well, God blessed me with good hair."

What is evil and how do you find the simplest form of it?

Have you ever thought something in your mind, even if for a fleeting moment and then immediately scolded yourself, Shush! That's just EVIL? It’s as simple as that. Say what you thought and evil is exposed. In writing fiction, write that which you would not say. It's the purest form of evil you could ever imagine.

Because evil hides within the confines of the intelligent, all-knowing recesses of your mind, it is literally undiscoverable to the innocents of the world. That's why it is so powerful when exposed. Evil lurks just under the surface of our thoughts. Some unsuspecting evil doers allow the penetration of this surface, others dare not.

Here's an example:

A dear friend shows off her ring and says, "Look, Diane! Frank proposed to me last month." 

It looks a bit tight on her finger, she must have gained a few pounds in her month long complacency. Wonder how much she'll gain once she's been married a full year? (evil lurks)

"How lovely!" I say. (penetration does not occur)

Since we are in first person POV, the evil goes undetected by the other character. How can we change this and make the other character aware of the evil without exposing its source and outing our antagonist?

A dear friend shows off her ring and says, "Look, Diane! Frank proposed to me last month."

It looks a bit tight on her finger, she must have gained a few pounds in her month long complacency. Wonder how much she'll gain once she's been married a full year? (evil lurks)

"How lovely! Take it off and let me have a look," I say. (Subtle penetration, undetected)

The friend attempts to take off the ring and is embarrassed. The ring will not budge. (Effect of evil)

"I'm on my period and my fingers are pretty bloated right now." (Combatting evil)

Now let's do full on evil and not be so coy about it.

A dear friend shows off her ring and says, "Look, Diane! Frank proposed to me last month."

"How the hell did you get that thing on your fat finger? It looks like a knot in a sausage link."

My favorite is the subtle penetration. There's nothing more evil than someone who has control over the situation and goes literally undetected. That is pretty evil to me.

So tell us how you serve up your evil! Are your characters forth-coming or do they play coy and hide from the rest of the world?