Demons in the Bedroom: Beware of What Manifests in the Early Hours

Almost certainly connected to the issue of Orgone and sexual energy is the issue of supernatural entities that invade bedrooms and engage in what are almost always traumatic experiences of the sexual kind. We’ve seen how paranormal creatures are attracted to so-called “Lovers Lane”-type places. There is very little doubt, though, that the most terrifying beings that fall into this category are the Succubus and the Incubus. In his 2011 book, Strange Intruders, David Weatherly says that these creatures “live in a spirit world and crave the energy and life essence of the living.” They are dangerous, violent and manipulative things that very often present themselves in the form of a person’s definitive fantasy. There is, however, nothing appealing about these monsters of the night. In fact, they should be avoided at all costs. It’s either that or ultimately pay a terrible price. The problem is that it’s very difficult to escape their clutches when you are in bed, completely paralyzed, and held down by a malevolent thing from another plane of existence.

The term, “Incubus,” is a most appropriate one, as it is derived from ancient Latin term which means “to lie upon.” The word itself is “incubare.” In essence, the term is a most apt one, as the Incubus does exactly that: it lies upon its victim and sexually assaults them. The Incubus is the male version of this menacing beast, while the Succubus is the female. It’s a phenomenon that has been with us just about as long as civilization has existed. As evidence of this, we’ll now take a trip back to the world and the people of Mesopotamia, which, thousands of years ago, was situated in the eastern part of the Mediterranean and covering Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. 

Mesopotamia has a long and rich history attached to it: it was where, around 12,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution began. It was the time period in which we, as a species, went from being wandering, hunter-gatherers to people who put down firm roots and who began to grow their own food, rather than scavenge to survive. In that sense, Mesopotamia can be seen as a definitive cradle of civilization. And it was in the heart of Mesopotamia that the most dangerous of all the many and varied Succubus’ in history chose to hunt: her name was Lilith. And, “hunt,” is a most appropriate term to use, since Lilith would mercilessly pursue and plague her victims until she got what she wanted: sex. Or, sexual energy. It should be noted, though, that some religions – such as those who adhere to the Judaism and Pagan faiths – revere Lilith. In that sense, an argument can be made that Lilith has had a bad rap. In the eyes of some, at least. 

The name itself, “Lilith,” is very important. Like the word “Incubus,” it has a deep, ancient meaning. It means: “Night hag,” a most appropriate term, to be sure. For the people of Mesopotamia, Lilith was to be avoided at all costs – if possible, of course. Her seductive and manipulative ways, though, ensured that most men were unable to resist her hypnotic charms – which seemed inviting, but which, in reality, were nothing of the sort. Not even Adam himself - yes, that Adam, from the Old Testament – was able to keep away from her, as will soon become apparent. As for here modus operandi, Lilith was said to stealthily access bedrooms in the dead of night – usually between 1:00 A.M. and 3:00 A.M., which is when most supernatural activity still occurs today, never mind millennia ago.    She would carefully pull back the sheets of her victim’s bed, ensure that the man was on his back, and then sexually assault him – usually while he slept. On occasion, though, a man would wake up – in that earlier mentioned state of paralysis. Lilith ensured that the man would ejaculate quickly: there was nothing of a loving or sensual nature to all this. Lilith needed sperm, which she would then use to create her very own children. They were hideous, half-human, half-demonic monsters that some researchers believe are still with us today - in the form of the menacing Black-Eyed Children, which is an admittedly intriguing theory. As for the victims, they would feel weak and tired – which only got worse when Lilith made repeat calls in the early hours and yet again drained them of their Orgone.

It’s hardly surprising that Lilith had such inextricable ties to Mesopotamia – and specifically to the Babylonians and the Sumerians. Within both cultures, there was a strong belief that demons were quite literally everywhere: manipulating and machinating as they ruthlessly saw fit, and in ways which made it clear that the people of the particular era were merely the playthings of the demons - using, abusing and terrifying them as they saw fit. Particularly feared by the people were female demons, who were seen as the ones, more than any other, as those to be avoided at all costs. If one could avoid them, of course. Lilith was definitely the chief, when it came to she-devils. 

Much of the information and lore we have on Lilith and Mesopotamian Succubus’ come from a groundbreaking book which was published back in 1903. Its title was Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia. The author was Reginald C. Thompson. He was an English archaeologist who excavated extensively at numerous ancient sites in the Middle East – which was close to what is now the city of Mosul, Iraq. Nineveh is noted for being the largest city in the world, up until around 600 BC. It was during the course of his digs that Thompson became friendly with many of the locals – something which ensured that he soon learned of the old legends of the Incubus and the Succubus, which, he also learned, were still believed in and accepted into the 19th and 20th centuries. Thompson was fascinated with, but also somewhat disturbed by, the tales of Lilith and her motley band of night-monsters. The result? He chose to chronicle the history of the demons of the area in his aforementioned, now-acclaimed book. For many, the book was a wake-up call: the legends of old were more than legends – and the creatures of old were still very much among us.

Clearly, Lilith was no normal human woman: she had demonic powers, and she held dominion over newborn babies. That Lilith, as a result of the word of God, was forced to keep on creating new babies for herself - due to the fact that one hundred were destined to die every single day - meant that she had to take a proactive way to ensure her beloved, demonic babies would survive. This brings us to the legend and actions of the Succubus. The only option available to Lilith was for her to supernaturally, and endlessly, manifest in the bedrooms of sleeping men and assault them: the sperm being the vital component. In some versions of the story, Lilith would get pregnant in the conventional, tried and tested way that women have always gotten pregnant. On other occasions, however, she would masturbate men and collect their sperm. Or, if a man had been masturbating in bed, she would collect that too. She would also drain them of sexual energy – almost certainly Wilhelm Reich’s Orgone.Whatever the truth of the matter, the legend of the Succubus was born – and largely so out of the story of Lilith, which dates back to the creation of human life on planet Earth. Now, we’ll see how, exactly, all of this led to the coming of both the Succubus and the Incubus – which are still among us today, something which is a testament to their, ahem, staying power. 

The Development of the Incubus and the Succubus: St Augustine, a noted philosopher and Christian theologian, who was born in 354 and died in 430, commented on this issue.  Kevin Knight, in an article titled “Whether the angels have bodies naturally united to them?” quotes the words of St. Augustine: “Many persons affirm that they have had the experience, or have heard from such as have experienced it, that the Satyrs and Fauns, whom the common folk call incubi, have often presented themselves before women, and have sought and procured intercourse with them. Hence it is folly to deny it.” As this particular extract demonstrates, the term “Incubi” was around millennia ago, as was the connection between the Incubi and sex. Such things were also being talked about more than a thousand years later. Malleus Maleficarum is a book that was written in the latter part of the 15th century by Heinrich Kramer. A priest, Kramer said: “At first it may truly seem that it is not in accordance with the Catholic Faith to maintain that children can be begotten by devils, that is to say, by Incubi and Succubi: for God Himself, before sin came into the world, instituted human procreation, since He created woman from the rib of man to be a helpmeet unto man. But it may be argued that devils take their part in this generation not as the essential cause, but as a secondary and artificial cause, since they busy themselves by interfering with the process of normal copulation and conception, by obtaining human semen, and themselves transferring it. 

Kramer added: “Moreover, to beget a child is the act of a living body, but devils cannot bestow life upon the bodies which they assume; because life formally only proceeds from the soul, and the act of generation is the act of the physical organs which have bodily life. Therefore bodies which are assumed in this way cannot either beget or bear. Yet it may be said that these devils assume a body not in order that they may bestow life upon it, but that they may by the means of this body preserve human semen, and pass the semen on to another body.” Moving on to more modern times, Paul Carus, in 1900, penned The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil. He offered his readers the following words: “Satan is supposed to serve first as a succubus (or female devil) to men, and then as an incubus (or male devil) to women; and St. Thomas declares that children begotten in this way ought to be regarded as the children of the men whom Satan served as succubus. They would, however, be more cunning than normal children on account of the demoniacal influence to which they were exposed in their pre-natal condition. Matthæus Paris mentions that within six months one such incubus-baby developed all its teeth and attained the size of a boy of seven years, while his mother became consumptive and died.”

Bedroom Invaders in Today’s World: It’s important to note that such creatures are not limited to just one or two parts of the planet – or even to specific time-frames. Incubi and Succubi are everywhere – exactly as they were in the distant past. In Newfoundland, there is the Old Hag – a female monster that, just like Lilith, straddles the unwary in the dead of night and steals semen from terrified men. South Africa has the monstrous Tokoloshe. Scandinavia is home to the Mare – which, rather notably, is from where the word “nightmare” comes. Popobawa creates fear and dread for the people of Zanzibar. The Karabasan is a Turkish version. The Boto haunts the cities and jungles of Brazil. And, the Lidérc plagues the people of Hungary. While the names are many and varied (the list above is just the beginning…), the key component of a sexual encounter in the dead of night, in which the victim is unable to stop the experience, is worldwide.

Is it possible that all of this, from the earliest years of civilization – around 12,000 years ago – to the present day is due to nothing stranger than the complexities of the human mind? After all, 12,000 years may be a long time, but we really haven’t changed that much. Admittedly, yes, technologically-speaking, we are very different to the people of yesteryear. On the other hand, though, and just like today, the people back then had families and friends, and they laughed and they cried. In that sense are minds are not so different. Those who are skeptical of the idea that bedroom invaders of a supernatural nature really exist, suggest that all of the above – from the distant past to the present day - can be explained away by what is known popularly as sleep-paralysis. Its medical term is hypnagogia – it’s a period during the sleep state when, sometimes, a person semi-awakens. And, in that half-awake / half-asleep state, the brain can do some very strange things, including creating a sense of something threatening in the bedroom. It’s a condition which was coined back in the 1800s, by Louis Ferdinand Alfred Maury, who was a French doctor. 

Sleep paralysis does not – and cannot – explain away everything, though. There are, for example, cases in which the encounter leaves behind it residual odors, such as brimstone and sulfur – which are reported in numerous paranormal encounters, including the early 1950s-era experiences of Albert Bender, who quickly found himself on the wrong side of the Men in Black, when he started to dig into the UFO mystery. On occasion, a wife has seen her husband straddled by one of these crazed things – and vice-versa. As this shows, these encounters are most assuredly not totally internal to the victims: there is an undeniable external aspect, too. So, this brings us to the most important question of all: what is it that has tormented and tortured so many for so many centuries and why? The Incubus can take on numerous forms, including those of a handsome man, a reptilian-type creature, and a beast resembling a werewolf – among many others. The Succubus typically appears as a beautiful girl or as a wizened old crone. But, there are important factors that must not go amiss: yes, these thing can alter their form. But, they are also able to materialize, dematerialize, and – according to some witnesses – walk through walls and doors. In some cases, they vanish in a flash of light. This strongly suggests they are not flesh and blood entities, at all, but energy-based beings