One common element is often a lack of empathy. In many true evil stories, the perpetrators show no regard for the feelings or well - being of their victims. For example, in cases of violent crime, the criminals don't care about the pain they cause.
A truly evil ghost story often involves malicious intent from the ghost. For example, if the ghost in the story is out to harm or torture the living without any remorse, like in the story of the Amityville Horror where the family was terrorized in their new home. There were strange apparitions, bad smells, and unexplained physical attacks.
The Rwandan genocide is also a true evil story. Hutu extremists targeted Tutsi people. In a very short time, hundreds of thousands of people were brutally murdered. It was a tragic event that showed the depths of human evil, with neighbors turning on each other due to ethnic differences.
The concept of the Necronomicon, the book of the dead in 'Evil Dead', might have been inspired by real - life ancient texts or superstitions about powerful and dangerous books. Some cultures have stories of books or scrolls that hold great and often malevolent power. Raimi could have drawn from these ideas to create the Necronomicon in the movie.