The 11 Most Infamous Demons Of All Time

[Kazimiera]

The 11 Most Infamous Demons Of All Time

Oh, demons. If they’re not after your livestock, they’re after your soul. For more evil demons and ingenious ways to get around their mischief, check out Constantine, NBC’s new show featuring an exorcist detective bent on saving humankind from dark, occult, and demonic threats.

1. Abyzou



Origins: Jewish mythology
Attributes: Abyzou murders a child every night, she never sleeps, and she attacks virgins, babies, and pregnant women.
Appearance: She has green skin and, according to some sources, the lower body of a fish or serpent.
How to Defend Yourself: Try out the magic of Solomon or write “archangel Raphael” on some papyrus.


2. Spring-Heeled Jack



Origin: Victorian England
Attributes: Best known for his superhuman jumping abilities, spitting flame, violent clawing, and his preference for attacking young women.
Appearance: He was reported to look like a tall, thin gentleman with metallic claws and burning red eyes.
How to Defend Yourself: Hang out in large groups of well-armed people.


3. Mephistopheles



Origin: 16th-Century German Faust folklore
Attributes: A tragic, cynical fallen angel known for corrupting souls and bringing them to Satan. He is a prominent demon in literature who’s mentioned by Goethe, Marlowe, and Mann.
Appearance: Winged and horned.
How to Defend Yourself: Don’t sell him your soul. DUH.


4. The Jersey Devil



History: First identified by Native Americans in New Jersey
Attributes: Though terrifying to humans and threatening to livestock, this demon has become a point of pride for the people of New Jersey — they’ve even named a hockey team after it.
Appearance: It stands on two legs, has the head of a goat, the wings of a bat, horns, cloven hoofs, and a forked tail.
How to Defend Yourself: Shoot it with a gun or blast it with a firehose.


5. Nergal



Origin: Sumero-Babylonia
Attributes: Nergal is the demonic god of the underworld associated with plague, ruination, war, and pestilence.
Appearance: He is often shown wearing a long robe and holding a scimitar or scepter.
How to Defend Yourself: Worship him and beg for mercy.


6. Lilith



Origin: Widely debated
Attributes: Lilith is a succubus demon who fornicates with men while they’re asleep. She also strangles and steals children at night.
Appearance: She is said to look like a normal woman but with wings.
How to Defend Yourself: Concerned that your children have been possessed by Lilith? Just give them some amulets and/or a tap on the nose.


7. Pazuzu



Origin: Assyrian and Babylonian mythology
Attributes: As king of the wind demons, he is known for inflicting humankind with storms, droughts, and plagues. Also notable for possessing Regan from The Exorcist (1973).
Appearance: He is depicted as having a scaly body, a dog-like head, taloned feet, wings, a scorpion’s tail, and a serpentine penis. Yikes.
How to Defend Yourself: Wear or decorate your home with Pazuzu amulets.


8. Asmodeus



Origins: Jewish legend
Attributes: A fallen angel who became the demon of lust, jealousy, rage, lechery, luxury, and gambling. He was often brought up during the Salem Witch Trials as a demon with whom the witches were accused of fornicating.
Appearance: A devil with rooster legs.
How to Defend Yourself: Burning a fish’s gall on some coals will make Asmodeus flee pronto. (We assume this would work pretty well on non-demons too.)


9. Krampus



Origin: Germany
Attributes: Krampus is the anti-Santa. Instead of handing out presents to good children, he beats the bad children and is fabled to steal them off to the underworld.
Appearance: Krampus is half goat and half demon.
How to Defend Yourself: Don’t be a naughty boy or girl if you want to avoid a holiday season demon beating.


10. Aka Manah



Origin: Zoroastrian mythology
Attributes: Often referred to as the demon of evil intentions, Aka Manah tempts people to betray their moral responsibilities (ex: not saving someone’s life, not being a good parent, etc.). He also enjoys making babies cry by showing them images of the fate of the world.
Appearance: He has blonde hair, blue eyes, tusks instead of teeth, and a long tail.
How to Defend Yourself: Try calling up his rival god, Vohu Manah.


11. Lady Midday



Origin: Slavic mythology
Attributes: This demon asks tough questions to farm laborers, and when they answer a question incorrectly, she beheads them.
Appearance: She sometimes appears as a young girl, sometimes a beautiful woman, and sometimes a crone.
How to Defend Yourself: Answer all her questions correctly.


Source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbsp/cons...l-time#26xbsxk

[Äijä]

Grendel

[Gustave H]

Good thread, Kaz.

[Kazimiera]

Top 10 Worst Theological or Mythological Demons

Whether you are religious or not, demons have played a large part in mythology, books, movies, and even music. Films, such as “Paranormal Activity”, “The Exorcist”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, “Fallen”, and–more recently–”The Last Exorcism”, have made demons something to fear. Movies, however, rarely scratch the surface of just how evil these former, corrupt servants of God (or many gods) can be. Here, in no particular order, are the 10 worst–and/or weirdest–demons in theological and mythological history.

Abyzou



Origin: Jewish mythology
Also known as: Abizou, Obizu, Obizuth, Obyzouth, and Byzou

This female demon was believed to be responsible for miscarriages, still-births, and infant mortality. Abyzou is believed to have been infertile, so these heinous acts were/are most likely out of jealousy. She is often depicted having snake- and/or fish-like attributes.


Agares



Origin: Christian demonology
Also known as: Agreas

This male demon makes “those who run stand still”, a terrible thing to be a victim of during, say, a tornado. He is also said to be one of the demons that controls earthquakes. Agares also teaches many languages, focusing on the profanities and ethnic slurs. He is also believed to be the ruler of the eastern zone of Hell, and he is said to have 31 legions of demons at his command. He is also one of the–if not the–strangest looking demon on this list. He is often portrayed as a pale elderly man riding a crocodile, with a hawk either attached to or on his fist. No joke!


Aka Manah



Origin: Zoroastrian mythology
Also known as: Akem Manah, Akoman, Akvan

His name means “manah made evil”; in this case, the word “manah” represents “the mind”. Many refer to him as the demon of “evil intention”, “evil mind”, “evil purpose”, or “evil thinking”. His job: To prevent people from fulfilling their moral duties (.i.e.: being a good parent, saving a life, etc.).


Ala



Origin: Pre-Slovic and Slovic mythology, and Christian demonology
Also known as: plural: Ale

Ale are some of the few demons on this list who does evil deeds, but can be persuaded to do good deeds, and can even help you! They particularly like creating bad weather (most notably, hail- and thunder-storms) over farms, orchards, and vineyards, in order to destroy crops. They also are said to like eating children. Ale are so hungry, that they are said to be able to “eat the sun and/or moon”, creating eclipses. They can pose a great threat to a persons’ mental and physical life; they can even possess you. However, if you approach an Ala with trust and respect, she and the other Ale will save your life whenever necessary, and make you rich! Ale are also very afraid of eagles…just in case you don’t want to become friends with one. What they look like changes with each account; some say they look like ravens, others like clouds or dark winds; many say snakes or female dragons. They are believed to live in lakes, springs, clouds, unreachable mountains, forests, caves, or gigantic trees.


Asag



Origin: Sumerian mythology

Asag is one of many demons that causes sickness. “But what,”, you say, “separates him from other demons that cause sickness?”. Well, for one, he had sex with all the mountains in the world, and had a litter of “rock-demon” offspring that defends him in any battle. He is also believed to be so grotesquely, unbelievably ugly, that his very presence causes fish to be boiled alive in rivers and/or lakes within viewing-distance!


Belphegor



Origin: Christian demonology and Kabbalic mythology

Belphegor is absolutely unbelievable. He got his start in Assyria, many, many years ago. He was first called Baal-Peor, and he was associated with orgies, and other types of lewdness. The Israelites worshiped him, in the form of a phallic (penis-shaped) idol. Later on, in Kabbalic mythology, he was a demon who made people paranoid of each other, and who would seduce them with money and overall wealth. Needless to say, it was hard to summon Baal-Peor, because he required the sacrifice of human excrement! In the 16th Century, he changed his name to Belphegor, and changed his strategy (somewhat). He pretty much threw away the idea of causing mutual mistrust in people, and instead…focused on inventions. He would “suggest” crazy (yet plausible) inventions to people, and then use their greed to his (and their) advantage when they became successful. According to legend, Belphegor was sent to Earth from Hell to either justify of disprove the rumors that marriage can result in happiness. Finding no evidence that happiness is possible in a marriage (now, there’s a surprise), he chose to stay on Earth. He is notable for two bizarre attributes: He is believed to be physically, mentally, and strategically strongest in the month of April, and he either was or is Hell’s/Satan’s ambassador to France. Belphegor also played an role in Milton’s book, “Paradise Lost”. He is either depicted as a hideous, bearded demon with horns and claws, or a beautiful young woman.


Jikininki



Origin: Japanese Buddhist mythology

Jikininki are the spirits of selfish, greedy, or ungodly people who have passed on. They are said to be cursed to eat the flesh of human corpses. It is also said that they take valuables from the corpses, in order to bribe local law-enforcement officials to leave them alone. Unlike most demons, they actually hate what they are, and are in a constant state of self-disgust and self-loathing. Some accounts state that they are so terrifying to look at, that seeing one would make you paralyzed with fear. Other accounts indicate that Jikininki can take the form of normal human beings, and can even lead seemingly normal lives by day. They are notable in that–unlike other gaki or rakshasa (“hungry ghosts”), and ghosts in general–they are an endangered species, if one can use such a term in this context.


Pontianak



Origin: Indonesian mythology
Also known as: Kuntilanak, Matianak, or Boentianak

The Pontianak are the spirits of ladies who died during child-birth, and became undead. Pontianak are said to scare people (mostly men), and then rip out their internal organs for feeding with their claws. In the case of men that the Pontianak knew when they were alive (who abused, or otherwise betrayed them), they are said to remove the man’s genitalia with their bare hands (Ouch!!). They are much like vampires; however, they do what they do more out of vengeance, rather then necessity or sustenance. It’s also hard to judge just how far away from you they are; usually, a loud cry means the Pontianak is far away, whereas a soft cry signifies that the Pontianak is nearby. It is also said that a faint floral fragrance is detected upon first seeing it, however, the fragrance changes to something rotten after a short period of time. Pontianak are believed to live in banana trees, a possible phallic-/fertility-reference.


Lady Midday



Origin: Slavic mythology
Also known as: Pscipolnista, Poludnica, Polednice

“Lady Midday” is certainly a unique female demon. She is said to pose tough questions and make conversation with laborers working in the fields during the hottest part of the day in summertime. Any incorrect answer or unprompted subject change results in a beheading, either with a scythe, or a pair of shears. “Lady” is also the personification of heat-stroke, and can also give people insanity or heat-sickness, in lieu of decapitation. Her description varies between a 12 year old girl, an old woman, or a generally beautiful woman.


Lamashtu



Origin: Sumerian and Mesopotamian mythology
Also known as: Dimme

Lamashtu is a heinous, terrifying, demoness. She is said to menace women throughout and after the end of their pregnancies. She is routinely said to kidnap infants while they’re breastfeeding; she would suck their blood, and chew on their bones. Add to that the fact that her other hobbies included: Infesting rivers and lakes, killing crops and other plants, sucking the blood of men, creating sleep-disturbances, spreading diseases and illnesses, and bringing nightmares. And, unlike most demons from Mesopotamian mythology, she didn’t answer to anyone; not any god, or man, or any part of any divine hierarchy. So evil was Lamashtu, that pregnant women and their loved ones would routinely summon the demon, Pazuzu, to protect them. For the uninitiated, Pazuzu was the demon made famous by the, “The Exorcist” movies! Allegedly, Pazuzu and Lamashtu were fierce rivals, who would attack each other at any chance. While Pazuzu was known for bringing famines and droughts, soon-to-be-mothers were so afraid of Lamashtu, that they were willing to take the risk! That means that, yes, Linda Blair’s performance in “The Exorcist” was nothing compared to the wrath of Lamashtu! Lamashtu is usually described as a “mythological hybrid”, with the head of a lioness, the teeth and ears of a donkey, the feet of a bird (complete with sharp talons), as well as a hairy body, and long, sharp fingers and fingernails. She is usually depicted nursing a dog and a pig and holding snakes, while standing or kneeling on a donkey! Subtle, isn’t it?


Source: http://listverse.com/2010/09/09/top-...ogical-demons/

[Kazimiera]

Grendel

What is the story behind/about him?

[Guapo]

12 including me

[StormBringer]

Just reminded of this radio show (?) dealing with bizarre myths.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Footprints

[Merida]

Very interesting, Kaz! Didn't know many of them. Thanks for sharing!

[Äijä]

What is the story behind/about him?

The poem Beowulf is contained in the Nowell Codex. As noted in lines 105–114 and lines 1260–1267 of Beowulf, Grendel and his mother are described as descendants of the Biblical Cain. Beowulf leaves the Geats in order to find and destroy Grendel, who has been attacking the mead-hall of Herot, killing and eating anyone he finds there. Grendel attacks the hall after having been disturbed by the noise of the drunken revellers. One cryptic scene in which Grendel sits in the abandoned hall unable to approach the throne hints that his motives may be greed or revenge. After a long battle, Beowulf mortally wounds Grendel by ripping his arm off. Grendel dies in his cave under the swamp. There, Beowulf later engages in a fierce battle with Grendel's mother, over whom he triumphs. Following her death, Beowulf finds Grendel's corpse and removes his head, which he keeps as a trophy. Beowulf then returns to the surface and to his men at the "ninth hour" (l. 1600, "nōn", about 3 p.m.).[1] He returns to Heorot, where a grateful Hrothgar showers him with gifts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel

[Sakis]

It is ok,we have Dean and Sam Winchester.