Different types of demons

[Monica4316]

This is sort of a disturbing topic (at least to me…) but I just wanted to know what the Church teaching is… is it true that there are demons called “incubi”?

I found this on wikipedia:

St. Augustine touched on the topic in “De Civitate Dei” (The City of God), admitting that there were too many attacks by incubi to deny them. He stated, “There is, too, a very general rumor, which many have verified by their own experience, or which trustworthy persons who have heard the experience of others corroborate, that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called incubi, had often made wicked assaults upon women.”

800 years later Thomas Aquinas would lend himself to the ongoing discussion, stating, “Still if some are occasionally begotten from demons, it is not from the seed of such demons, nor from their assumed bodies, but from the seed of men taken for the purpose; as when the demon assumes first the form of a woman, and afterwards of a man; just as they take the seed of other things for other generating purposes.”[9] Thus it became generally accepted that incubi and succubi were the same demon, but able to switch between male and female forms.[10] A succubus would be able to sleep with a man and collect his sperm, and then transform into an incubus and use that seed on women. Their offspring were thought to be supernatural in many cases, even if the sperm and egg originally came from humans.

I’m just wondering what you all think. Is this true??? (it’s very creepy regardless).

I think St Thomas’ explanation might clarify some questions about the Nephilim that are being discussed in another thread.

 

[Church_Militant]

Monica,

You may be showing an unwise interest in these things. There’s a lot of stuff out there on this because our society tends to have an unhealthy interest in it, but as one friend of mine put it.

“Don’t get too hung up about demons. Treat them like spiders, since Our Lord has given us His Holy Spirit and by that the capability to put them to flight. Just step on 'em and keep on your way.”

Works for me…
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.

 

[Monica4316]

You may be right… I don’t actually think about these things regularly, I try to just focus on God. I definitely don’t think about these incubus types of demons

it’s just that a while ago, a friend of mine told me about her friend who supposedly had something like this happen to her… I didn’t know what to think because I’m not sure what the Church teaching is here

but a part of my reason for asking might also be curiosity, which I admit isn’t the greatest motive

 

[mountaintop]

the serpent waged war on the women and her children,say your rosary read numbers 21 and look at a crucifix. if you focus on Jesus incubus and succubus have to obey and leave…:shrug:just a thought:console:

 

[Monica4316]

Thanks for the reply, well I’m not actually dealing with this personally (thankfully!). But I’m just wondering if the Church teaches this actually exists. Because… I hope not…

 

[Shannon9791]

It’s OK to have some questions about demons, just like it would be OK to have questions about any other aspect of the spiritual world. The trick is to not let your curiosity run rampant and lead you to places that one would consider spiritually unhealthy. That being said, I recently read the book “The Rite: The Making of a Modern Day Exorcist” because I saw the trailer for a movie by the same name. It talks a little bit about the choirs of demons. Basically what it says is that since demons were once angels, they would probably fall into the same kinds of “categories” that the angels who work for God do. It didn’t go as far to say anything concerning Incubi and Succubi, but one could probably assume that there are demons who have led individuals to do the things that Incubi and Succubi are said to do.

Again, I think it’s OK to know certain things about our enemy and his “staff.” But more importantly, you need to know that they have no power over you as long as you stay within the graces of our Lord and His Father.

 

[WorkerPriest]

Some modern exorcists (catholic and otherwise) speculate on this topic, and seem to suggest their experience dealing with them (Fr. Malachi Martin’s and Fr. Gabriel Amorth’s names come to mind, but I can’t remember where I read the passages specifically.)

The standard textbook of the medieval Inquisition has quite a bit to say about incubi and succubi, and was a standard text even for many Reformation churches into the 19th century… it was called The Mallues Maleficarium, or Witches’ Hammer. If you really want to creep yourself out, spend an evening reading that. I believe it’s common use in the United States began to seriously wane after the Salem Witch Trials.

All that to say, I agree with one of the other posters here, that spending much time pondering these things is not healthy. There are stranger things in heaven and earth than most people have ever bothered to contemplate, and certainly much stranger than fiction. Our Lord, however, bids us keep our eyes on Him, come what may. My recommendation would be, that if you or someone you know has been attacked by something like this, go to someone in your diocese properly trained and prepared to both discern and deal with it. And then, both throughout and afterward, keep your eyes on Christ.

Blessings be to you.

Thanks for the reply, well I’m not actually dealing with this personally (thankfully!). But I’m just wondering if the Church teaches this actually exists. Because… I hope not…