11 Jaw-Dropping Signs Someone’s Soul Might Be as Black as Mercury Retrograde—And You’ll Want to Dodge Them Faster Than a Bad Tinder Date!
Added on December 14, 2025 inASTROLOGY CARDS
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You ever wonder if Mercury’s in retrograde just to mess with us by sending the worst people our way? Because let me tell you, no matter how much you want to believe everyone’s got good vibes, there are some seriously rotten apples lurking in every crowd. We’ve all bumped into that one soul who somehow manages to drain your energy and make you question mankind’s collective sanity — whether it’s a “romantic” disaster or just a so-called friend who’s actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sometimes these bad eggs scream their nastiness from the rooftops, and other times they’re sneakier than a cat burglar at midnight, disguising their true colors until it’s too late. Lucky for you, I’ve peeled back the curtain to reveal 11 dead giveaways that someone’s truly terrible—so you can spot ‘em, dodge ‘em, and keep your sanity intact. Curious yet? LEARN MORE
As much as we hope everyone we meet has good intentions, the sad fact is that there are terrible people out there. We have all come in contact with someone who has upset us. Some people do us wrong, no matter how pure our intentions are as we enter the relationship. Whether it’s romantic or platonic, a horrible person can make you lose faith in humanity.
Sometimes, it’s easy to spot a bad person. They will ruin our days with their toxic behavior. In other instances, they make their bad behavior more covert. If you are struggling to tell someone’s true intentions, it’s a calculated move. They want to trick you into thinking they are a good person. However, there are telltale signs that show someone is not a good person. Once you pick up on them, you’ll be able to tell that they are seriously bad people.
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Manipulation is a classic way to tell someone is a truly terrible person. However, many of these people are covert in the way they play games to get what they want. Some people use affection and compliments to win you over, then cross boundaries and make you feel guilty when they are around you. They want to wear you down. By praising you and then manipulating you, they can get what they want from you.
Hilary I. Lebow notes that it’s easy to spot a manipulative person if you know the signs. Some ways they may be impacting you are through emotional blackmail, love-bombing, and gaslighting. Do they sometimes give you the silent treatment or issue a smear campaign about you to others? You may be dealing with a truly terrible person.
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When someone hurts us, the only thing we want in return is an apology. We expect that person to take the time to give a genuine, heartfelt reaction to their behavior. It means the world when someone can spot their mistakes and improve on their actions. When someone is a truly terrible person, they refuse to take responsibility for their behavior, no matter how bad it was.
A bad person may even flip the script. They hurt you, but they will make it seem like you are the bad guy. Somehow, they’ll manipulate you into saying sorry to them. This can make you lose self-esteem and self-worth. A good person would never make you feel bad for how upset they made you.
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Bad people can be good at telling lies. They may be able to hide their deceitful behavior with convincing actions. We have all been lied to at some point. The pain that even the whitest lie can bring is upsetting. A good person will never lie to you, even under the guise that it’ll ‘protect you’ like many truly terrible people do. Telling lies is the easiest way to break someone’s trust.
A good liar, however, will somehow be able to reel you back in. Even though you caught them in a lie, they will convince you to forgive them. Lying about things shows someone’s true intentions. If they are not willing to be honest with you, it’s time to cut them off. A bad person will lie with ease and do so often.
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Think of someone truly special to you. The person who comes to mind likely wants to see you succeed. They provide support to allow you to flourish. It’s what makes them a good person. When someone is more than happy to see you fail, they are a terrible person. They miss out on true human connection because they’d rather be the best in the room instead of the most genuine.
Rooting for someone’s failure is cruel. Rejoicing in misfortune is a sign that someone is a bad person. Not only are they a bad person, but they are also insecure. They have schadenfreude, a term psychologists coined to categorize those who find joy in the downfall of others.
“Research has shown that those prone to schadenfreude have lower self-esteem, simply because a lower opinion of yourself will benefit comparatively more from knowing that you are not the only one who is struggling in life. It is, in effect, a simple statistical issue: If others aren’t as fortunate as I thought they were, then I am not as unfortunate as I thought I was, compared to them,” says psychiatrist Rafa Euba.
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Another sign of a bad person is how easily they can break down others around them. They want you to feel terrible about yourself. Imagine this: you have just achieved a goal you set for yourself. You’re excited, and you want to share your success with the people in your life. Someone approaches the situation you share and dismisses you. How could you have done better? What if you did more? It’s really not that big of a deal. These are hurtful phrases a truly terrible person would use to bring you down.
Constantly criticizing people around them shows how bad a person is. They think they are superior, so they find faults in everyone else. They’re not afraid to voice them. Hurting people’s feelings is just part of life for them. These people are always looking for a way to bring you down.
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Setting boundaries with people in your life is not an easy task. We can feel like we owe others our time and energy. However, this is how we burn ourselves out. To keep people from taking advantage of our kindness, we need to place firm boundaries with them. Setting clear expectations with someone shows how much you value your own self-care. If someone is constantly ignoring your boundaries, they are a truly terrible person.
If someone is constantly stepping over your boundaries, they are taking advantage of you, and it will show in your feelings towards them. “If you feel resentful for going along with someone’s expectations of you, they may have violated your personal boundaries,” explains Bryana Kappadakunnel, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “Often folks will believe that unless they sacrifice their boundaries for the needs of others, they won’t be liked, loved, or valued.”
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It may seem obvious that a terrible person acts cruelly without regard for others. Truly manipulative individuals can convince you that their behavior is warranted. Maybe they tell you the person they are being rude to did something to them and therefore deserves this. Or, they treat you cruelly and then quickly apologize, hoping you’ll forget what happened and stay in their web.
Cruel acts include a lack of empathy, encouraging self-doubt, denying things that happened to fit their narrative, and name-calling. When someone in your life behaves in these ways, they are likely a bad person. Moving away from spending time with them can be the best thing you do for yourself.
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We have all been wronged. It is a part of life. For most of us, we don’t seek revenge on those who hurt us. We are mature enough and good-hearted to move forward, even if getting back at them seems appealing. A truly terrible person is constantly seeking revenge. They want to cause harm to everyone who hurts them. Not only is it emotionally immature, but it is damaging.
Revenge feels good to a terrible person in the moment, but its lasting impact is negative. “Studies have found that while there may be initial satisfaction, revenge actually perpetuates the pain of the original offense,” writes Bernard Golden, Ph.D. “Additionally, it often creates a cycle of retaliation, with the victim citing the most recent offense as yet another justification for further revenge. In effect, revengeful feelings and behaviors only train the brain to become more vulnerable to seeking revenge.”
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We’ve all heard the saying ‘forgive and forget.’ We are taught this at an early age. When someone gets under our skin, it’s best to just agree to disagree and move forward. Holding grudges can negatively impact our mental health. It causes more stress than we need in our lives.
A truly terrible person wants to hold a grudge. They have a hard time forgiving others. These people don’t care how holding a grudge impacts them or the other person. This behavior is often paired with the need for revenge. They will want to do unto others what they have done to them instead of moving forward. Forgiving and forgetting is not an option for a truly bad person.
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Highly empathetic people are special. They can truly relate to those going through a hard time. They extend themselves to help others in any way possible. Sadly, this makes them an easy target for truly terrible people. These people will see them as weak and easy to manipulate. They’ll use your compassionate feelings against you to get what they want.
A bad person believes that kindness equals weakness. They see someone they can convince and control. These people expect your guard to be down. They believe they can trick you into feeling sorry for them. If you’ve noticed this behavior in someone, you should stay away.
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I’ll be honest, drama can be entertaining. While I do not want to be involved in it myself, hearing second-hand gossip is something I’ve always been interested in. However, I am against anyone’s feelings getting hurt or people being taken advantage of. For a truly terrible person, drama follows them wherever they go. You’ll notice they are caught up in every negative situation going on.
Bad people enjoy stirring the pot. They want to pin people against one another. Some ways they’ll influence drama are by spreading rumors, talking poorly about others, and starting unnecessary fights. You will notice that they are often in some sort of drama with someone at all times. Truly terrible people lose friends over this behavior often.
Haley Van Horn is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in Humanities, living in Los Angeles. Her focus includes entertainment and lifestyle stories.
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