Succubus

Lore & Background

In folklore, a succubus may take the form of a beautiful woman, but closer inspection may reveal deformities such as bird-like claws or serpentine tails. Folklore also describes men being forced to perform cunnilingus. In later folklore, the succubus took the form of a siren. Throughout history, priests and rabbis, including Hanina ben Dosa and Abaye, tried to curb the power of succubi over humans.

Reader's Guide

The succubus holds significance in European folklore as an explanation for distressing nighttime phenomena, chiefly wet dreams and sleep paralysis. Historically, belief in succubi motivated interpretations of nocturnal experiences and served as a moral caution about sexual temptation. In medieval Europe, union of an incubus or succubus with a human was supposed by some to result in half-demon, half-human children; the legendary magician Merlin was said to have been fathered by an incubus. The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) proposed that succubi collect semen from men they seduce, which incubi then use to impregnate human females, explaining how demons could sire children despite traditional beliefs of their incapability to reproduce. King James, in his dissertation Dæmonologie, refuted angelic reproduction and suggested a devil would steal sperm from a dead man or possess a dead body for sexual relations, though no mention has been found of a female corpse being possessed to elicit sex from men. In modern representations, the succubus is often depicted as a beautiful seductress rather than as demonic or frightening, reflecting a shift from fear to allure in popular culture.

Did You Know?

• The term 'succubus' derives from Late Latin succuba 'paramour' from succubare 'to lie beneath.'
• Repeated interactions with a succubus can lead to the production of a hybrid child called a cambion.
• The legendary magician Merlin was said to have been fathered by an incubus.
• King James in Dæmonologie suggested that a devil could steal sperm from a dead man to impregnate a woman.