White Power!
~ The KKK's motto.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK for short) are one of the most recognized and infamous paramilitary groups in the Western world and their extreme and xenophobic doctrines are widely seen as harmful by many in society. As such they are common antagonists in fiction, and in almost all works they appear in are depicted as a source of fear or ridicule. Sometimes they are both.

In fiction Ku Klux Klan members tend to wear the infamous white hooded robes and engage in burning crosses, lynching, hate-crimes, and other violent acts. It is worth mentioning that though the real KKK are guilty of all of these things the stereotypes of the organization are actually not universal for the real life KKK (for example the white hoods were a fairly "new" development in the Klan's uniform and the group itself became very splintered over the years).

Arguably the Ku Klux Klan are only rivaled by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany as the most commonly seen fictional version of real life organizations as villains and like those groups are depicted as antagonists in most every story they appear in (since to depict them as heroic or even just not villainous would have unfortunate implications).

Serious Portrayals of KKK in Fiction

  • Black Panther versus the Ku Klux Klan (Marvel Comics) (this also introduced the KKK-inspired villain, Soul Strangler)
  • Brotherhood of Death

KKK Parodies / Comedy in Fiction

Fictional Groups Clearly Inspired by KKK