The Rat Man

The Rat Man is one of the villains of the Stephen King Apocalyptic Thriller, The Stand. He was played by the late Rick Aviles.



"Ratty" Erwins, also known as "The Rat Man", is a pirate-like hoodlum. Descriptions of Erwins refer to him as a person who adopts the dress sense of an Ethiopian pirate, with a red sash, a necklace of silver dollars around his "scrawny neck" and a sword he often threatens Underwood and Brentner with. Erwins also coins the nickname, "Wonder Bread," for Underwood, and "Farmer John" for Brentner. The character is described, in Lawry's words, as "the only guy in Las Vegas too creepy [for Lawry] to sleep with; except maybe in a pinch". Erwins is killed in the explosion at the end of the book.

In the miniseries, The Rat Man is portrayed by Rick Aviles. He briefly appears in New York when the plague initially hits. After Larry bumps into him in an arcade, he and a friend look at Larry, and he says "The Rat Man forgive you, this time" very creepily, before breaking down in laughter. He later appears very prominently in Flagg's society, and accompanies Lloyd in sending the Trashcan Man to Flagg, later is among the group which apprehends Dayna Jurgens, and breaks Larry's guitar before he and Ralph are taken on stage to die by dismemberment.