Some villains' reign of terror has lasted decades like that of the devious Stefano DiMera.
Others such as Nick Fallon seem to pop in and out.
Nick first came to Salem in 2006 (viaSoaps in Depth).

He became obsessed with Melanie Jonas and later Gabi Hernandez, leading him to engage in some criminal activity.
Nick’s dark side took over when Gabi refused him and he attempted to attack her.
The three women pushed his body into the river and left him for dead.

When he eventually returned, Gabi became so terrified of him that she shot him in cold blood.
However, despite Nick’s death, he has continued to make trouble in Salem.
While the women believed that they had died and gone to heaven, Nick was there to surprise them.
Of course, Berris doesn’t mind returning to Salem every now and then.
In fact, he says that he’s always interested in the way his characters continue to make comebacks.
It’s unclear how many times Nick will continue to pop in and out of Salem in the future.