History Main / AcademyOfEvil

* ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Dracula is mentioned to have studied at the "Scholomance" -- presumably the same one from the Myths & Religion section below. Freda Warrington's [[Literature/DraculaTheUndead1997 unofficial sequel]] has the now-abandoned Scholomance play a big role in the plot.

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* ''Myth/TheScholomance'': a hidden school underneath [[{{Uberwald}} Transylvania]] with {{Satan}} for a headmaster. Students here learn the Main/DarkArts, including the power to control the weather, but the Devil then keeps one of the students as the class's 'tuition' before releasing the others.
[[/folder]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholomance The Scholomance]], a hidden school in deepest [[{{Uberwald}} Transylvania]] with {{Satan}} for a headmaster.

* Played with in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' with the [[MurderInc Assassins' Guild]] [[SpySchool School]]; while it does still teach the art of assassination, is also considered a prestigious academy for gentlemen and, as of recently, ladies. Another Academy of Evil is discussed in ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', though it may not actually exist:

* Literature/{{Dracula}} is mentioned to have studied at the "Scholomance" -- presumably the same one from the Myths & Religion section below. Freda Warrington's [[Literature/DraculaTheUndead1997 unofficial sequel]] has the now-abandoned Scholomance play a big role in the plot.

* Battle School from ''Literature/EndersGame'' is on the very dark side of morally ambiguous. On the one hand, they're training commanders to attack an alien race that once attacked them. On the other hand [[spoiler: they plan the complete genocide of the aliens and consider students killing one another an acceptable part of their training]]. The eventual sequels cast Battle School in a different light, showing that while it's quite deliberately teaching "evil values" to many of the students, it's doing so for their ''weaknesses'': the institution was founded to deal with far more important and long-term problems than an unfortunate kerfuffle with an alien race, and a number of its students were destined even before their enrollment to become problems. Battle School is actually finishing them to look really good to their sponsors upon graduation... and then ''fail miserably''. (And in the meantime, using them to help finish the other students in other directions.)
* The dark elven city of Menzoberranzan from ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' has one, most elaborated on in R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels (but also appearing in Elaine Cunningham's Liriel novels and the ''Literature/WarOfTheSpiderQueen'' series). Tier-Breche (usually simply called "The Academy") is divided into three sub-schools, Melee-Magthere (for warriors), Sorcere (for wizards) and Arach-Tinillith (for the clergy of [[GodOfEvil Lolth]]). Considering its two functions are to train the students to lethal efficiency in their particular discipline and firmly induct them into a ReligionOfEvil, it's a very scary place. Since the main hero Drizzt is a warrior, his education mostly takes place in Melee-Magthere -- and it's ripe with backstabbing, KlingonPromotion and things like using children to bait monsters for students to practice on. And yet Drizzt's mentor [[DefectorFromDecadence Zaknafein]] adamantly insists that he goes there, because apparently Sorcere ''is even worse''.

* Scholomance in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft.'' It's a school for necromancy that trains aspiring cultists and minions of the Scourge.
* The Umbrella Management Training Facility in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero'' is what it sounds like: an ornate, mansion-like university of sorts owned by [[EvilInc Umbrella]] to train prospective employees, managers and scientists for future employment, as well as instill within its students fanatical loyalty to the company. Said education does indeed involve [[MadScience Umbrella's signature unethical experiments with viruses among others.]] Additionally, it's situated in the Arklay Mountains of Raccoon City, not far from Umbrella's main Arklay Laboratory. And yes, there is a hidden lab underneath the facility as well, run by a mad scientist (James Marcus) to boot, and to give you an idea of what kind of madmen this place churned out, series supervillain Albert Wesker got his start here alongside G-Virus creator William Birkin, to say nothing of James Marcus using the students as guinea pigs in his twisted experiments. Pretty much the only nice thing to be said about the place is [[EqualOpportunityEvil they'll take anyone regardless of race, gender, or creed]], according to a file found in the ruins of the joint. The school was shut down at some point, and when plans to reopen it were made, they were just as soon scrapped by both the resurrected James Marcus going on a rampage and unleashing the T-Virus in it, and when Birkin set off the facility's self-destruct system, destroying it.
* The Dark Academy in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' certainly appears to be this kind of place, being a perpetually gloomy and rainy schoolhouse crawling with poltergeists and demons that features ghastly phenomena like bloody hand prints that follow you along the wall as you pass through a room. You never get to see the place teaching anything, but as it features witches and mandragoras as enemies and "[[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} The Creature]]" as the level boss, it's safe to assume witchcraft and mad science are on the curriculum.

To be fair, DarkIsNotEvil, and the Academy Of Evil may just be suffering from a bad reputation. In this case it will at worst be teaching the [[GreyAndGrayMorality Off-Grey]] [[TheDarkArts Arts]] and fomenting {{ambition|IsEvil}} and {{guile|Hero}} in the student body. Speaking of which, expect it to have a near [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Darwinian social scene]] that makes most prisons seem like a SugarBowl. The AlphaBitch won't just badmouth you, she'll have her GirlPosse cut you up and sell you for parts to the MadScientist-in-training.

** It's noted that Durmstrang, the Eastern European school, has the reputation as this among the eleven great Wizarding schools of the world. Even though they don't accept muggleborns and teach Dark Arts, it's {{downplayed|Trope}}. They have one particularly infamous former pupil, Dumbledore's old "friend"/arch-nemesis Gellert Grindelwald, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards they had to draw the line and expel him when he crossed a line]], whereas a school that really played this trope straight would probably have nurtured him. We do meet Durmstrang alumni who are definitely not evil and take a hard stand against evil (Viktor Krum comes to mind right away) and this isn't shown as being very odd. It's also noted in some supplemental information that the school has gone through a bit of a renaissance after trying to rehabilitate after the fall of Voldemort.

* In ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'', it's mentioned that {{Hell}} has a Training College for young devils, run by a demon named Slubgob. They study such courses as sexual temptation ("a subject of considerable tedium", complains Screwtape, who is no {{Horny Devil|s}}) and [[AWolfInSheepsClothing disguising oneself as an Angel of Light]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* It is said that in the city of Odessa, [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia in late pre-revolutionary Russia]], there was an entire semi-official safecracking school run by the local criminal underground. To enroll, you had to pay a hefty entry fee, as well as be vouched for by several already-established criminals to prove your reputation and standing. The classes provided one with a good grasp of topics useful in criminal enterprises, such as chemistry, math, mechanics, law enforcement procedures, and basics of psychology. Passing the final exam -- cracking a genuine bank safe within the time limit -- entitled you to a honorary title, the use of which was restricted by the criminal community to the alumni of the school. Now, does it count as an Academy of Evil? Well, that depends on how you see a GentlemanThief, because that's kind of who the alumni were.
[[/folder]]

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation frequently has to deal with [=SCP=]s created by Alexylva University, a mind control-obsessed organization from an AlternateUniverse where the Roman empire lasted to the modern age.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* It is said that in the city of Odessa, [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia in late pre-revolutionary Russia]], there was an entire semi-official safecracking school run by the local criminal underground. To enroll, you had to pay a hefty entry fee, as well as be vouched for by several already-established criminals to prove your reputation and standing. The classes provided one with a good grasp of topics useful in criminal enterprises, such as chemistry, math, mechanics, law enforcement procedures, and basics of psychology. Passing the final exam -- cracking a genuine bank safe within the time limit -- entitled you to a honorary title, the use of which was restricted by the criminal community to the alumni of the school. Now, does it count as an Academy of Evil? Well, that depends on how you see a GentlemanThief, because that's kind of who the alumni were.
[[/folder]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', there was the H.I.V.E. ([[Literature/HIVESeries not this one]]), which originally trained super-villains to work as mercenaries, its star pupils being Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth, used by Slade in a very early episode. Later, in the third season, the school played a much bigger part of the plot, with Brother Blood as the BigBad of the storyline and headmaster of the school. After Blood's defeat, the school was defunct, but Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth formed a team called the H.I.V.E. Five (which [[OneExtraMembereventually got six members]]) that eventually joined the Brain's Brotherhood of Evil.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', there was the H.I.V.E. ([[Literature/HIVESeries not this one]]), which originally trained super-villains to work as mercenaries, its star pupils being Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth, used by Slade in a very early episode. Later, in the third season, the school played a much bigger part of the plot, with Brother Blood as the BigBad of the storyline and headmaster of the school. After Blood's defeat, the school was defunct, but Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth formed a team called the H.I.V.E. Five (which [[ArtifactTitle eventually got six members]]) that eventually joined the Brain's Brotherhood of Evil.

%%* ''Webcomic/{{EVIL}} (the Elite Villain's Institute of Learning)'' is a combination of this and WackyCollege.

* St. Hadrian's Finishing School for Girls in ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Batman Incorporated]]'', which is run by the international TerroristsWithoutACause group Leviathan and trains its pupils to become spies, assassins and depraved seducers. After Batman and an undercover Stephanie Brown took it out, it was restarted by Spyral, and trained its pupils to become spies, assassins, and depraved seducers for ''good causes'', under the new headmistress [[spoiler:Kathy Kane (the Silver Age Batwoman, recently retconned back into continuity)]].

* The school seen in the ''Cannon Fodder'' segment of ''Anime/{{Memories}}'' seems to only teach material applicable to designing, building, and launching bombs. The whole city is in a ForeverWar against an enemy who might not even exist, so this is the totalitarian government's way of cementing their control over the next generation. Of course, the kids (and possibly the teachers) don't consider it evil, since they've never known anything else.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, any institution run by [[Characters/MarvelComicsTaskmaster Taskmaster]] is this -- he first came to prominence running schools for henchmen of other supervillains. Later, during ''ComicBook/DarkReign'', he was in charge of ''The Initiative'' for a while. He's so good at what he does that the government sometimes hires him to train their operatives, including a replacement ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelNoir'': Xavier's School for Exceptionally Wayward Youth in ''ComicBook/XMenNoir'' is a reform school... but Professor X teaches his students how to be better criminals rather than actually reforming them. He insists this is a ploy to gain their trust so they will gradually open up to him and therapy can begin in earnest. In reality, he is developing and studying them to prove his theory that sociopathy is the next stage of human behavioral evolution.
* In mainstream ''Comicbook/XMen'' continuity, Characters/EmmaFrost used to be headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy -- a front for the Hellfire Club that produced the Hellions, rivals to the then-Xavier Institute student body, the ''ComicBook/NewMutants''. When Emma had her HeelFaceTurn, the Massachusetts Academy became a SuperheroSchool, the front for ''ComicBook/GenerationX''.
** In ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'', the Hellions were another "house" within the Xavier Institute, but still kind of villain-y and rivals to the New Mutants team.
** The Hellfire Academy in ''Comicbook/WolverineAndTheXMenMarvelComics'' is kind of like the Massachusetts Academy only ''completely insane''.

* Played with in {{Literature/Discworld}} with the [[SpySchool Assassins' Guild School]], which while it does still teach the art of assassination, is also considered a prestigious academy for gentlemen and, as of recently, ladies. Another Academy of Evil is discussed in ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', though it may not actually exist:
-->Of course, all [[EvilVizier Grand Viziers]] talk like that all the time. There's probably a school somewhere.

* Creator/SaraBergmarkElfgren and Creator/MatsStrandberg's ''Literature/TheCircle2011'': The witches are told straight out that their school is a place of evil. [[spoiler: And much of the bad stuff in the novel happens there.]]

* Creator/CatherineJinks's ''Literature/EvilGeniusTrilogy'' sends its protagonist, the SociopathicHero Cadel, to the Axis Institute, which includes courses like "Poisoning" and "Forgery." This is probably one of the most [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]] uses of this trope in literature; the institution was founded despite violating in-universe suspension of disbelief of its founders that the concept was workable either as an ideal for education or a for-profit business, and it mostly exists as [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by an in-setting narrative expecting it to exist. And it directly conflicts with an arguable message of the series as a whole: that social systems intended for good, even while corrupt, employed by the negligent and uncaring, and actively exploited by the evil, still tend to end up providing people with better lives than they could seize for themselves through selfist acts.

* The Higher Institute of Villainous Education, or ''[[Literature/HIVESeries H.I.V.E.]]''. This is very nearly [[DuelingWorks dueling]] with the ''Literature/EvilGeniusTrilogy'' above. Whereas the Axis Institute will sacrifice nearly any amount of practicality for the sake of more evil, the H.I.V.E. is dedicated primarily to the personal empowerment of its students and their natural talents, and secondarily to the survival of supervillainy as a lifestyle choice. This means ButNotTooEvil: ensuring its graduates are happy also means ensuring they know when to stop for their own benefit, and the institution and its better students actually seem to get into EvilVsEvil situations more than the heroes of the setting. (Basically, the philosophical difference is that H.I.V.E. believes in getting more for yourself in absolute terms, and looks down on the kind of villainy that values "having it ''all''" more. Self-elevation versus forcing the world to rest of the world to lie down so you can still see over their heads.)

* In ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'', it's mentioned that {{Hell}} has a Training College for young devils, run by a demon named Slubgob. They study such courses as sexual temptation ("a subject of considerable tedium," complains Screwtape, who is no {{Horny Devil|s}}) and [[AWolfInSheepsClothing disguising oneself as an Angel of Light]].

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'' has V.I.L.E. Academy, where said villainous organization trains new generations of super criminals. The title character was a student there, having been raised there from infancy, but escaped and went rogue after [[HeelRealization realizing]] they were the bad guys.

* ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' feature a humorous advertisement for a school for villains, showing a teacher pointing at the black board and reading, "Ah...ha...ha...ha...ha..."

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E15HomieTheClown Homie the Clown]]", where TheMafia takes over Krusty's clown college and the new instructors encourage students to commit crimes.
--> '''Mafia Goon:''' Kids these days have a lot of money, so after you perform, you might consider robbing 'em!

* The Umbrella Management Training Facility in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero'' is what it sounds like: an ornate, mansion-like university of sorts owned by [[EvilInc Umbrella]] to train prospective employees, managers and scientists for future employment, as well as instill within its students fanatical loyalty to the company. Said education does indeed involve [[MadScience Umbrella's signature unethical experiments with viruses among others.]] Additionally, its situated in the Arklay Mountains of Raccoon City, not far from Umbrella's main Arklay Laboratory. And yes, there is a hidden lab underneath the facility as well, run by a mad scientist (James Marcus) to boot, and to give you an idea of what kind of madmen this place churned out, series supervillain Albert Wesker got his start here alongside G-Virus creator William Birkin, to say nothing of James Marcus using the students as guinea pigs in his twisted experiments. Pretty much the only nice thing to be said about the place is [[EqualOpportunityEvil they'll take anyone regardless of race, gender, or creed]], according to a file found in the ruins of the joint. The school was shut down at some point, and when plans to reopen it were made, they were just as soon scrapped by both the resurrected James Marcus going on a rampage and unleashing the T-Virus in it, and when Birkin set off the facility's self-destruct system, destroying it.

* The Armed Brain Army Volt in ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'' are a cult of super-geniuses who entice promising university students into joining with the offer of obtaining more knowledge. Granted, their isn't anything inherently evil about most of the super science they teach (and it's pointed out several times that if they really wanted to, the students/executives of Volt could [[CutLexLuthorACheck use their research to better the world instead]]) but the students of Volt are actively encouraged to give up their humanities in the pursuit of more knowledge.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, any institution run by [[Characters/AvengersEnemies Taskmaster]] is this -- he first came to prominence running schools for henchmen of other supervillains. Later, during ''ComicBook/DarkReign'', he was in charge of ''The Initiative'' for a while. He's so good at what he does that the government sometimes hires him to train their operatives, including a replacement ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.

* St. Hadrian's Finishing School for Girls in ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Incorporated]]'', which is run by the international TerroristsWithoutACause group Leviathan and trains its pupils to become spies, assassins and depraved seducers. After Batman and an undercover Stephanie Brown took it out, it was restarted by Spyral, and trained its pupils to become spies, assassins, and depraved seducers for ''good causes'', under the new headmistress [[spoiler: Kathy Kane (the Silver Age Batwoman, recently retconned back into continuity)]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', there was the H.I.V.E. ([[Literature/HIVESeries not this one]]), which originally trained super-villains to work as mercenaries, its star pupils being Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth, used by Slade in a very early episode. Later, in the third season, the school played a much bigger part of the plot, with Brother Blood as the BigBad of the storyline and headmaster of the school. After Blood's defeat, the school was defunct, but Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth formed a team called the H.I.V.E. Five (which [[ArtifactTitle eventually got six members]]) that eventually joined the Brain's Brotherhood of Evil.

* Scholomance in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft.'' It's a school for necromancy that trains aspiring cultists and minions of the Scourage.

* Creator/CatherineJinks's ''Literature/EvilGeniusTrilogy'' sends its protagonist, the SociopathicHero Cadel, to the Axis Institute, which includes courses like "Poisoning" and "Forgery."

* The Higher Institute of Villainous Education, or ''[[Literature/HIVESeries H.I.V.E.]]''

* In ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'', the Career tribute schools in District One (District Academy for Excellence in Youth Development or simply, DAEYD) and Two (The Institute) are seen as this from the perspective of people from outside the corresponding districts. Justified as they teach children to kill other children in the name of money and honor, and those children have an unfair advantage over the other district children.

* ''ComicBook/MarvelNoir'': Xavier's School for Exceptionally Wayward Youth in ''X-Men: Noir'' is a reform school... but Professor X teaches his students how to be better criminals rather than actually reforming them. He insists this is a ploy to gain their trust so they will gradually open up to him and therapy can begin in earnest. In reality, he is developing and studying them to prove his theory that sociopathy is the next stage of human behavioral evolution.

* The dark elven city of Menzoberranzan from ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' has one, most elaborated on in R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels (but also appearing in Elaine Cunningham's Liriel novels and the ''Literature/WarOfTheSpiderQueen'' series). Tier-Breche (usually simply called "The Academy") is divided into three sub-schools, Melee-Magthere (for warriors), Sorcere (for wizards) and Arach-Tinillith (for the clergy of [[GodOfEvil Lolth]]). Considering its two functions are to train the students to lethal efficiency in their particular discipline and firmly induct them into a ReligionOfEvil, it's a very scary place. Since the main hero Drizzt is a warrior, his education mostly takes place in Melee-Magthere -- and it's ripe with backstabbing, KlingonPromotion and things like using children to bait monsters for students to practice on. And yet Drizzt's mentor [[DefectorFromDecadence Zaknafaien]] adamantly insists that he goes there, because apparently Sorcere ''is even worse''.

** In ''Dungeon of the Mad Mage'', Level Nine is Dweomercore, the academy started by [[EvilSorcerer Halaster]] to train up potential new apprentices. Players have to contend with the other students jockeying for Halaster's favor, and can potentially disrupt everything by taking out the headmaster [[spoiler:an arcanolith posing as Halaster]], or devote themselves to spreading dissent among the student body before descending to the next level of Undermountain.

* Villain Academy in ''Manga/SentaiSchool''.

* In ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'', the Career tribute schools in District One (District Academy of Excellence in Youth Development) and Two (The Institute) are seen as this from the perspective of people from outside the corresponding districts. Justified as they teach children to kill other children in the name of money and honor, and those children have an unfair advantage over the other district children.

* ''Webcomic/{{EVIL}} (the Elite Villain's Institute of Learning)'' is a combination of this and WackyCollege.
* Evil University in ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}''.

* Perfecto Prep from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.

* ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'', a FanFic about ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', describes the creation of the schools for the Career tributes from Districts 1 and 2.