A Demon in the Codex Gigas book, arguably the most popular depiction of a Demon.
Demons are supernatural beings that can be found in almost every culture or religious group, but by far the most famous demons which can be considered an archetype of what people think a "demon" is come from Christianity.
Description[]
Biology[]
A medieval painting portraying several humanoid Demons
Demons are extremely diverse, each Demon is different; it's practically impossible to describe a "typical" demon, as such a thing simply does not exist, but the archetypal Western view of a demon is a red-skinned humanoid with horns, sometimes bat-like wings, and rarely, a thin tail ending in a spade or arrow-like shape. Another popular Western image of a demon is that of a goat-headed humanoid.
Behavior[]
An archetypical Western portrayal of a typical Demon - red, horned and possibly winged.
Typically described as a type of spiritual or inter-dimensional being, Demons could be used to explain a vast number of cryptids, including ghosts, ghouls, aliens, etc. Most cultures associate Demons with beings who have dark spiritual powers, or are more or less evil or malicious in some way or form - they have been blamed for possessing people, haunting places, causing sickness and sometimes death.
Demons can also possess people and even objects.
Just as common as Demons in folklore are the exact opposites, which are typically messengers from a god or gods, for example, in Christianity these good creatures are called Angels.
Demons coming out of Hell's Mouth
It should be noted that Demons are not solely bad or evil spirits in every culture, in the Greek culture, before attacking a city, they would pray to that city's gods asking them to change sides; if they won the battle, they would build a temple and make those gods smaller gods in their mythology. After a time, the Greeks would blame bad things on these smaller gods, and they would call them Demi-Gods, but the Demi-Gods were not seen as evil.
Medieval depiction of Demons armed with human weapons
In most cultures with Demons, some people were considered to have made deals with these evil creatures. These people sometimes gained wealth, or perhaps supernatural powers. Sometimes these people were put in positions of high power within the culture, and sometimes they were hunted down and killed for being witches. Typically, a deal with a Demon involves some bad consequences for the deal-maker afterwards. This is where the phrase "Deal with the Devil" comes from.
When most Christians refer to a Demon in a literal sense, they are speaking of the spiritual being of evil from the Bible. The Bible features several demons, including Legion, who Jesus Christ exorcises out of a man.
Sightings[]
A picture of a Demon, probably a tree, also said to be Mothman.
Demons are a popular creature that's frequently mentioned in paranormal encounter stories - they can be either encountered themselves, or someone might encounter someone possessed by a Demon. Demonic possessions are highly controversial among scientific circles (see Possible Explanations section.
Many usually non-paranormal cryptids are sometimes described as "demons" or "devils", such as the Devil Bird, Devil Monkeys, or the Black Demon. Pat Spain once interviewed a man who thought that the Mapinguari was a Demon; after encountering the Mapinguari, he became a very religious person.
Annelise Michel, a West German girl who infamously died while being "exorcised" from "demonic possession."
Sometimes sightings featuring Demons don't actually feature the creatures in person, but instead, their presence is being felt by the victim. A famous example of Demon sightings that usually feature only a demonic presence are the sightings of a Demon called "Zozo" which is allegedly contacted via a Ouija board.
Several Muslim communities frequently consider deformed animals suffering from cyclopia Demons, and incarnations of the Islamic Antichrist known as Dajjal, who could also be considered a Demon.
Possible Explanations[]
Demons were possibly created by early humans as an explanation for unexplained events, such as mental illness, or bad things happening to them.
Demonic possessions are nowadays usually attributed to undiagnosed mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or epilepsy.
In Popular Culture[]
Demons are extremely popular creatures to feature in movies, video games, literature, and all forms of media, typically as antagonists, and as such, it's practically impossible to list all appearances of these creatures in culture. One of the most famous examples of demons in Western culture is the Exorcist horror series which features a demon called Pazuzu.
External Links[]
- Demons on Wikipedia
- Demons on Villains Wiki
Gallery[]
