Demon

King, a titan, with his board of demons

**Demons** are a type of creature that inhabit the aptly named Demon Realm, known to live on the Boiling Isles. Demons are typically somewhat bestial in appearance or nature (although they can be humanoid), and are usually identified as anything that is not a witch, human, palisman, collector, or titan. Notable examples of demons include Vee and Hooty.

## Background

Demons come in many shapes and forms, though many share physical similarities with known mythological entities or animals. Despite there being many demons of various shapes and sizes, all demons can be placed in one of three categories: Bug, Biped, and Beast.

* **Bug:** Bug-type demons possess characteristics that are commonly associated with real-world bugs such as worms, insects, arachnids, and so on. They possess an instinct for communication through dance; for a demon outside this category, dance communication is very difficult and can lead to unwanted insults. According to Hooty, bug-type demons possess magic, but only to a limited extent. Examples from this category include:
	+ Puppeteers
	+ Fairies
	+ Hooty's species
* **Biped:** Biped demons, as their name suggests, walk on two legs and, like witches, have a sac of magic bile attached to their heart through which they can utilize magic with spell circles. Appearance-wise, members of this type can range from animalistic to looking near-identical to witches. Examples of demons that fall under this category include:
	+ Eileen's species
	+ Moon girl's species
	+ Piniet's species
	+ Principal Faust's species
	+ Tibbles' species
	+ Kikimora's species
	+ Osran's species
	+ The unnamed Merchant's species
	+ Salty's species
	+ Tinella Nosa's species
	+ Warden Wrath and Braxas' species
* **Beast:** Beast demons are usually animal-like in appearance and behavior, though there are examples of Beast demons that possess the same sentience and intelligence as humans and witches, as well as the ability to speak. One such example is the Snaggleback. According to Hooty, only a blood sample can unequivocally confirm whether a demon belongs to this category. Examples from this category include:
	+ Echo mice
	+ Basilisks
	+ Giraffes
	+ Griffins
	+ Ratworms
	+ Selkidomus
	+ Slitherbeasts
	+ Snagglebacks
	+ Trash Slugs

Due to the limited number of categories, demon classification is comprehensive. As little information is provided on general demon biology, and with the tendency of a demon's appearance to overlap with that of other creatures, many demons fall into a group by a primary trait, even if said biology is more prevalent than their demon types, e.g., Hooty is a Bug Demon, presumably due to his overall worm-like physiology, not for his resemblance to an owl. Additionally, the classification does not seem to apply to demons of certain unique origins and species. Due to this ambiguity, it is currently unknown what determines a creature as a demon, or if there are criteria to speak of besides simply being distinct from other Demon (or Human) Realm species.

According to Hooty, the ancestors of demons arose from the muck of a decomposing titan, implied to be the Titan. On the Boiling Isles, demons, depending on whether or not they are sapient, act as the Isles' demographic and fauna, respectively. Demons are not known to have a civilization that is separate from that formed by Emperor Belos, and purportedly had no formal governance during the Savage Ages; after which, they were introduced and unified under Belos's monarchy system. King, the last surviving titan, initially believed himself to be the usurped "King of Demons", as well as a demon himself. In reality, however, this turned out to be a fabrication of his mind as a result of his early upbringing under Eda, as was his alleged status as "King of Demons". Notably, Titan Trapper Island, along with Titan Trapper civilization as a whole, seems to lack demons.

Demons, particularly Beast types, may be treated as non-sentient animals, capable of being captured by Animal Control for disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens. Notably, at least one group of demon hunters existed, nomadic witches who catch and sell potentially valuable beast demons, despite most of the members being demons themselves, albeit bipeds.

Although Hexside is a school for both magic *and* demonics, there is little info on what "Demonics" actually is.

## Known Demons

### Bugs

* Adegast (deceased)
* Hooty
* Spider Teacher (Bug hybrid)

### Bipeds

* Braxas
* Carnival Boss
* Eileen
* Kikimora
* Moon girl
* Tibbles
* Tinella Nosa
* Warden Wrath
* Osran
* Angmar
* Salty
* Merchant
* Illusion Teacher
* Green Fang
* Red Fang
* Blue Fang
* Ukla
* Ukla's Mother
* Detention Teacher
* Vitimir

### Beasts

* Luz's Echo Mouse
* The Snaggleback
* A beached Trash Slug on the shores outside of Bonesborough
* King's Trash Slug, "Prince Jr."
* Bonesborough's derpy Ratworm
* Bonesborough's scarred Ratworm
* The Slitherbeast and her baby
* Selkidomus and her baby
* Eberwolf's Ratworm
* Vee
* The Inspector

## Trivia

* In many cultures and folklore, a "demon" refers to a supernatural entity or spirit. Although its name is derived from the Greco-Roman word for "daemon", or spirit, "demon" has traditionally meant a wicked personification of malevolence, especially in Abrahamic religions; others, such as Egyptian and Hindu mythology, interpreted demons as frighteningly powerful beings either good or bad. In later antiquity and Medieval occultism, demons were portrayed as a combination of these traits: they were destructive spirits like in Abrahamic religion, but similar to their Greco-Roman counterparts, their morality was not constant, and they used their magic to assist whoever summoned them. Likewise, demons in *The Owl House* are supernatural creatures associated with magic.
* According to King and Hooty, giraffes are Beast-type demons. This is also added by the fact that Eda claims giraffes were once a part of the Boiling Isles' inhabitants but were banished to Earth for being "a bunch of freaks."
* King has described demons as being grim tricksters of the twilight and creatures of sulfur and bone who live only to bring chaos and misery. He claims that their only known weaknesses are purified water and, sometimes, passive-aggressive comments (as according to him, even demons have inner demons).
	+ However, King's knowledge of demons and his demon encyclopedia appears to be somewhat inaccurate. One notable example describes the Snaggleback as a giant ferocious monster who wanders the boiling rain as it feeds on boiled tourists, but in reality, the Snaggleback is small and friendly and prefers to get out of the rain. This may be due to his original belief that he was a demon and attributed them with traits he perceived.
* Other types of demons may be related or descended from the aforementioned three classes. For instance, Hooty has been referred to as a "house demon" by the demon hunter from "Hooty's Moving Hassle", Lilith in "Agony of a Witch", and Amity in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door".
	+ A folder marked "Hybrids" on the demonology board in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door" implies the existence of hybrid demons, albeit it is not clear if this refers to hybrids between demon classes or with non-demon species, such as witches.
	+ The spider teacher from Hexside is classified as a Bug-type demon with a "hybrid" note next to it, making her the only known hybrid demon in the series so far.
* In "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", while the Owl Beast is categorized with other beast-type demons, a small note with "???" can be found next to it, suggesting that Hooty isn't entirely confident about its type.
* While Hooty has confirmed that bug demons and biped demons possess their magic, it's not exactly known whether beast demons can do the same. Basilisks need to consume magic to transform (and it is implied they gain some other sustenance from it as well), but it is unknown if they possess their source of magic.
* Bug demons' propensity to communicate with each other through dance is likely based on the waggle dance, a behavior in honey bees used to communicate the direction and distance of nearby resources, such as pollen, nectar, water, et cetera.

## References

1. ↑ Rachel Vine (writer) and Stu Livingston (director) (January 17, 2020). "Witches Before Wizards". *The Owl House*. Season 1. Episode 2. Disney Channel. — Eda: "*He's what you'd call a puppeteer, a demon who specializes in scamming and manipulating people.*"
2. ↑ Mikki Crisostomo (writer) and Bridget Underwood (director) (June 26, 2021). "Echoes of the Past". *The Owl House*. Season 2. Episode 3. Disney Channel.
3. ↑ Dana Terrace, Zach Marcus (writers) and Stu Livingston (director) (August 1, 2020). "Really Small Problems". *The Owl House*. Season 1. Episode 14. Disney Channel. — Carnival Boss: "*Since I'm a forgiving **demon** I'll give...*"