A Charismatic Villain is a musing kind of antagonist whose villainy goes further than a manipulator, a orator, and even a liar. They commonly act as charmers who manipulate their ability to compel and influence others with such charisma, they not only make unsuspecting people believe them; but get them to actually trust them or even like them.

Usually, they first appear to be good people or come across as likable to the main protagonists (and thus the audience) until their true colors are revealed. In some cases, to add suspense, other villains make the audience know that they are obviously lying, when the protagonists doesn't know.

They should not be mixed with Sophisticated, who are villains who are openly cruel but still have good manners and style. Charismatic Villains are often depicted as "wolves disguised as sheep". Where they fake friendship and sometimes love towards anyone (including charming heroes themselves), to get what they want from them. They are also well-known for rounding up a great deal of followers who believe anything they claim.

Additionally, this category should not be confused with Affably Evil villains, as those villains are genuinely likable in manner or decisions despite being villains. Where the Charismatic villains are more akinned to the "faux niceness" that is exercised with insincere charm to the public, in order to manipulate others into their schemes and wretched evildoings. It's very rare for this category to go hand and hand with the genuine Affable type, mixing these categories together only works if they don't fall into the typical "Faux Affably Evil" type (ex. Danyell Radcliff and Sylvester).

They are often pretty disturbing characters for their eloquent exterior distracting everyone (both in terms of personality and appearance), which definitely does not match with the horrendous crimes they commit against others. This often causes the hero (and the audience) to feel emotionally violated, especially when they have bonded, empathized or even trusted them for so long prior to the reveal of their true nature. They are good actors that makes it sometimes hard to figure out how they truly feel about the people they lie to, whether they are genuinely friendly or not.

A villain's charisma can be infectious to the characters if they have been admired by their followers or have fans, even when the protagonists and audience think of them as dangerous or creepy. Examples include characters who are serial killers, dictators, etc. Due to their desires to continue their crimes with the excuse to "survive" in a society, their charisma spreads negative influence to their followers.

Some Charismatic villains can qualify as Pure Evil if they use their charisma on other people to get what they want for their evil deeds, when it's revealed that they have a unsympathetic and sadistic touch to their acts.