An Incubus is a lustful male demon who satisfies his sexual urges by attacking women while they sleep. These creatures may seem ridiculous, but they are actually very dangerous, as they can cause unwanted pregnancies or even death.
Characteristics
Like many mythological villains, he has been glamorized in recent decades. Today, they appear as young men with perfectly sculpted muscles, powerful wings, and long, suggestive tails, but in the past, these night demons were far from attractive. The original Incubus were small creatures with faces like monkeys or gargoyles.
They usually had dark skin or hair, claws, horns, and bat-like wings. When not flying through the darkness of the night, they crawled, climbed, and sat in hunched positions. As expected, they also had exaggerated genitals.
Personality
Generally famous for their insatiable lust, these demons are so crazed by sex that their human partners can literally die of exhaustion after too many midnight dates. Incubi can also be violent. Many victims describe the demons sitting on their chest or covering their mouth, so that they couldn’t breathe.
Special abilities
When an incubus arrives to get his way with a woman, he takes precautions to prevent her from interfering. He might put her in a trance so she can’t wake up, or paralyze her so completely that she can’t even scream for help.
During the encounter, the incubus may attempt to impregnate the woman. Interestingly, incubi are incapable of reproduction, so they use sperm collected from a human male. If the woman gives birth to a child, it will be a changeling—a human with some magical or demonic abilities.
Some legends say that the Incubus can also change sex. It appears in female form (called a succubus) to attack human men and collect their sperm. It then changes back to a male form to attack and impregnate human women.
Cultural Representation
Cultures around the world have sexually driven demons. Amazonian natives believe in the Boto, a pink river dolphin that turns into a male sex maniac at night, while Chileans believe in the Trauco, a dwarf who seduces young virgins. Swedes tell stories of a night horse that rides on the chests of its victims at night, while their Germanic neighbors fear the alpino, who sits on young women. In South Africa, the Tokolosh stalks virgin women.
The first written record of an incubus appears in none other than The Epic of Gilgamesh, widely considered the first work of fiction ever written. In Gilgamesh, the hero’s father is described as a “lilu,” a magical being that impregnates women while they sleep.
Still, it’s impossible to say that the idea of a nocturnal sex demon began with Gilgamesh. Legends of this type are so widespread that they probably arose separately, in cultures around the world, and it’s impossible to know which came first.
Modern appearances
Incubi are popular in the fantasy and paranormal romance genres. Stephen King, Stephanie Meyer, and Orson Scott Card have all used incubi (or succubi) in their works of fiction. The demons have also lent their name to a popular rock band, Incubus.
Explanation of the myth
Without a doubt, incubi were used to cover up cases of sexual assault or rape. However, there may be a less sinister explanation for the worldwide popularity of these creatures.
A sleeping disorder called sleep paralysis can mimic all the signs of an encounter with an incubus. Scientists estimate that 60% of people will experience sleep paralysis at least once in their lifetime, which could explain why “incubus attacks” were so common throughout history.
Sleep paralysis occurs when a person wakes up from REM sleep, but their body remains in a sleep-like state. Although the person is fully conscious, their muscles remain immobile, just as they are during REM sleep. This person may also experience chest pressure and a feeling of suffocation, as the body’s pulse and breathing rate are slower, as in REM sleep.
But the most terrifying symptom of all is hypnagogia, a multisensory hallucination that can evoke visions, smells, sounds, and extreme emotions of fear or euphoria. With all these symptoms together, sleep paralysis may be the closest thing to a demonic encounter that a sane person can experience.
