In folklore traced back to medieval legend[1], a succubus (plural succubi) is a demon who takes the form of a woman to seduce men in dreams to have sexual intercourse. In modern times, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often depicted as highly attractive, while in the past succubi were depicted as frightening and demonic.[2] The male counterpart is the incubus.
Succubi draw energy from men to sustain themselves, often until the victim becomes exhausted or dies.[citation needed] In one such story,[3] a man in the town of Koblenz is bewitched by a succubus, with whom he is forced to repeatedly fornicate in the presence of his wife. The story says that, "After an incredible number of such bouts, the poor man at last sinks to the floor utterly exhausted and disgusted beyond belief." From mythology and fantasy, Lilith and the Lilin (Jewish) and Lilitu (Sumerian) are in redactive Christian fables (folktales not part of official Christian theology), considered forms of succubi.
According to the Malleus Maleficarum, or "Witches' Hammer", written by Heinrich Kramer (Insitoris) in 1486, a succubus collects semen from the men she sleeps with, which incubi then use to impregnate women,[4] thus explaining how demons could apparently sire children despite the traditional belief that they were incapable of reproduction. Children so begotten were supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural influences.[5]
The word is derived from Late Latin succuba "strumpet" (from succubare "to lie under", from sub- "under" and cubare "to lie"), used to describe the supernatural being as well. It is first attested from 1387.[6]
[edit]Possible explanation for alleged encounters with succubi
It is believed by some in the field of medicine that the stories relating to encounters with succubi bear similar resemblance to the contemporary phenomenon of people reporting alien abductions, which has been ascribed to the condition known as sleep paralysis. It is therefore suggested that historical accounts of people experiencing encounters with succubi may have been in fact symptoms of sleep paralysis, with the hallucination of the said creatures coming from their contemporary culture. [7] [8]
[edit]Qarinah
In Arabic superstition, the qarînah (قرينه) is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabia (see Arabian mythology).[9] A qarînah "sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams."[10] They are said to be invisible, but a person with "second sight" can see them, often in the form of a cat, dog, or other household pet.[9] "In Omdurman it is a spirit which possesses. ... Only certain people are possessed and such people cannot marry or the qarina will harm them."[11]
[edit]Succubi in fiction
Al Basti
Cecaelia
Demonology
Empusa
Energy vampire
Hisa-me
Hone-onna
Huli jing
Incubus
Kitsune
Lamia
Lidérc
Lilith
Mara
Melusine
Naamah
Qarînah
Vandella
Spirit spouse
Yuki-onna
