Succubus

A **Succubus** (also known as Succuba, Succubi, Lilith, Mara, and other variations) is a wildly attractive, but demonic female creature. Its male counterpart is the Incubus that is a male demon that preys on sleeping women. A succubusis known to draw the life out of sleeping men by performing sexual intercourse with them. Although succubi is present in today's film and literature, the fear of this demon was popular during the medieval time period as promiscuity in women was highly shunned upon. Intercourse for most of human history was seen as just a way of reproducing. The most commonly referenced succubus is the Biblical Lilith who was created when God created Adam. She ran away after fighting with Adam and swore that she would hurt children.

Succubus is also used in psychiatry to describe someone suffering from dreams of sexual assault or harassment.

## Etymology

Late Latin (3rd-6th century CE) translates the word meaning “strumpet” (synonym for prostitute) and the ancient Latin translates the words as “one who lies under”:  *sub* “under” and *cubare* “to lie”.

## Folk History

### Lilith

The history of the succubus varies among many regions of the world. The most well known succubus is Lilith who in Biblical terms, was created with Adam. Stealing the sperm of sleeping men, she would reproduce children of demonic spirit. In terms of ancient folk history, Lilith was the main cause of blame for crib-death. Before modern scientific research, Lilith was also attributed to sleep problems such as nightmares and wet dreams though now these issues are known as natural occurrences. The belief of succubus was even used to make sense of sexual assault and normalize it as just a paranormal act.  There are many other interpretations of Lilith that practically it appears each culture has their own version.

### Meridiana

Seduced Gerbert of Aurillac at a time of desperation for him and promised to be his companion as long as he would not cheat on her. Eventually, Gerbert become the Pope and died after Meridiana had a vision of him dying after his mass in Jerusalem. He was forgiven for his sins.

### Johannes Junuis

A man denounced for witchcraft in the 17th century for initiating sacrifices. Junuis blamed his actions on a succubus that attacked and seduced him forcing him to claim that Satan is his God. He claimed that after his confrontation, demons beat him for refusing to kill his children.

## List of Texts/Media

* South Park: The Succubus- Chef becomes distant from the boys. They come to the conclusion that Chef has fallen in love with Veronica, whom they believe to be a succubus who has him under a spell.
* Jennifer's Body - A movie featuring Megan Fox as an attractive demon-possessed cheerleader that takes a liking to   seducing her teenage boy classmates with her seductive attitude. Not only that...she feeds on them to uphold her good looks.
* Honore de Balzac's, The Succubus - a 19th century French short story telling the tale of a female demon that sexually pleasures men at night, but eventually punishes them for giving in.
* *Catherine* - a 2011 video game where the main protagonist Vincent is seduced and tormented by a succubus named Catherine. Catherine's main objective is to seduce Vincent and ruin his relationship with his girlfriend, Katherine. The game highlights how a succubus gives men nightmares in which as Vincent, the player must navigate through his twisted dreams.

## References

1. ↑ *Dictionary.com*. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/succuba>.
2. ↑ "Top 10 Sex Demons - Listverse." *Listverse*. N.p., 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://listverse.com/2011/01/13/top-10-sex-demons/>.
3. ↑ Ayers, Mary Y. *Lilith: Repository for Masculine Shame* (n.d.): n. pag. Web. <Ayers, Mary Y. Lilith: Repository for Masculine Shame (n.d.): n. pag. Web.>.
4. ↑ "Terrifying Demon Sleeping W/You: Succubus, Incubus, A Paranormal Romance With the Devil & A Women's Personal Encounter.... | Religion." *Before It's News*. N.p., 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
5. ↑ "The Succubus: Myth and Reality." *The Honest Courtesan*. N.p., 02 Nov. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <https://maggiemcneill.wordpress.com/resources/blog-archives/la-libertines-salon/the-succubus-myth-and-reality/>.
6. ↑ Leitch, Aaron. "Lilith:From Demoness to Dark Goddess:." N.p., 2002. Web. <http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer\_anunnaki/esp\_sumer\_annunaki15c.htm>.
7. ↑ "Succubus: Demonic Seductress." *Succubus*. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.cyodine.com/succubus/index.htm>.
8. ↑ "The Succubus." *IMDb*. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705966/>.
9. ↑ "Jennifer's Body." *IMDb*. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/>.
10. ↑ "Vampire and Horror Stories and Beyond." *: The Succubus by Honore De Balzac- Free Succubus Horror Story*. N.p., 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://vampireandhorrorstories.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-succubus-by-honore-de-balzac-free.html>.
11. ↑ *Catherine.* Atlus. 2011. Video game.