Succubi: Female Demons Who Seduce Men to Create Witches - Video

Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going to discuss Succubi, demons who appear desirably, usually as beautiful women, and prey on men in the night. Almost all of the information in this video comes from the Malleus Maleficarum, with some more general information about the nature of angels and demons from other sources occasionally supplementing throughout.

The "Malleus Maleficarum," also known as "The Hammer of Witches," is a treatise on witchcraft written in 1486 by two German monks. It played a significant role in the witch hunts of the Early Modern period in Europe. The book argues for the existence and danger of witchcraft and provides guidelines for identifying, interrogating, and punishing witches. The "Malleus Maleficarum" was engendered by and then came to exacerbate the superstitions and fears of its time, particularly those surrounding women, sexuality, and witchcraft.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Succubi, the plural of succubus, are not actually female demons. They are the female appearances demons choose to embody. The same can be said about incubi, the plural of incubus, which are the male counterpart of the succubus. Undergirding this is the nature of angels. Angels are sexless, neither male nor female. They are beings of pure spirit. Yes, male pronouns are used to refer to them; yes, the names of many archangels have become common male names; yes, angels in popular culture are usually portrayed as men; and yes, all naked cherubs in old paintings have penises, but these facts notwithstanding, angels transcend human binaries and are not constrained by such mortal categorizations. As said, they are beings of pure spirit, the definitions of flesh and blood as irrelevant to them as they are for the power that moves and maintains the cosmos. Extrapolating from the nature of angels, this then ties into the nature of demons. It is the prevailing belief in Christianity that demons are fallen angels. Demons, therefore, are also genderless. So when someone is visited by a succubus or incubus, they aren’t visited, respectively, by a male or female demon, but by a demon who takes on a male or female appearance to contrive corruption and carry out crooked schemes.

Watch the video for the rest!