{"id":5556,"date":"2026-04-27T13:34:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/incubus\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T05:16:31","slug":"incubus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/incubus\/","title":{"rendered":"Incubus"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"5556\" class=\"elementor elementor-5556 elementor-2211 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-hero e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-hero\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-herohl e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-herohl\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-h1lead e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-h1lead\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-h1w elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-h1w\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Incubus, male night demon<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-lead elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-lead\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The incubus is a being-class with deep roots in the history of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span>, drawing on Mesopotamian, Jewish-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Standing outside the recognized canon.\" tabindex=\"0\">apocryphal<\/span>, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> Greek, and medieval Christian layers. This overview presents the sources, the scholastic doctrine, the witch-trial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the beliefs of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span>, and modern phenomenological research. This overview situates the Incubus within medieval Lore, tracing scholastic doctrine and witch-trial theology alike.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-klsbdg e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-klsbdg\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-klshtm elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-klshtm\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"A class of female nocturnal apparitions documented across many cultures, with a similar functional structure. Attested continuously in religious studies from the Akkadian Lilitu tradition (2nd millennium BCE) onward.\">Being Class<\/span><span class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"A cross-cultural phenomenon documented with related structures in Mesopotamian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, and East Asian tradition.\">Cross-Cultural<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-tocbox e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-tocbox\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-toc elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-toc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__am-inkubus-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__am-inkubus-toc\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__am-inkubus-toc\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-herorg e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-herorg\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-am-inkubus-heroim iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"am-inkubus-heroim\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/daemonen_christentum_inkubus-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-20449\" alt=\"Inkubus - Demons of the Christianity tradition, historically illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/daemonen_christentum_inkubus-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/daemonen_christentum_inkubus-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/daemonen_christentum_inkubus-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/daemonen_christentum_inkubus.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x404-s0 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"x404-s0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x404-h0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"x404-h0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Incubus<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x404-s0-bw e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"x404-s0-bw\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x404-t0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"x404-t0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Female night demon that assaults sleeping women. Counterpart to the incubus in Christian-medieval demonology. Connects with older traditions of female seducer <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A spiritual being to which harmful or ambivalent effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">demons<\/span> (Lilith, Empusa, Lamia).<\/p><p>The incubus appears as a male night demon in several medieval demonologies.<\/p><div><p>The incubus is one of the best-documented being-classes in comparative demonology. The term derives from the Latin <em>succuba<\/em> (from <em>succubare<\/em>, to lie beneath) and designates a female nocturnal apparition that acts upon sleeping men.<\/p><p>The concept did not originate in the Christian Middle Ages; it has a clearly traceable prehistory in the Mesopotamian <em>Lilitu<\/em> <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span> and in the Jewish doctrine of Lilith, which displays incubus-like characteristics since late <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">Antiquity<\/span>.<\/p><p>At iWell Guard we treat the incubus as a figure that has grown through the history of religion and carries clearly distinguishable layers: Mesopotamian-Akkadian in the oldest witnesses, Jewish-apocryphal in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Transitional epoch between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, roughly the 3rd to the 7th century.\" tabindex=\"0\">Late Antiquity<\/span>, Christian-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the doctrines of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theological<\/span> in High-Medieval scholasticism, early-modern juridical in the witch-trial corpus.<\/p><p>The theological framework was established by <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Augustine of Hippo (354-430); Christian Church Father, principal works Confessiones and De civitate Dei.\">Augustine<\/span> in <em>De civitate Dei<\/em> (XV,23) and systematized by <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Italian theologian (1225-1274); principal work Summa Theologiae; Aristotelian synthesis of Christian philosophy.\">Thomas Aquinas<\/span> in the <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Principal work of Thomas Aquinas (1265-1274); systematic compendium of scholastic theology.\" tabindex=\"0\">Summa Theologiae<\/span><\/em> (I, q. 51, a. 3).<\/p><p>Both address the ontological question of how a corporally intangible <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An incorporeal being credited with agency in the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">spirit<\/span> can exert sexual influence; Thomas follows the double-solution that the same <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A spiritual being credited with harmful or ambiguous agency.\" tabindex=\"0\">demon<\/span> first collects seed as a succubus and then transfers it as an incubus. This construction remains the standard model of Catholic demonology up to the <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Lateinischer Originaltitel des Hexenhammers; 1486\/87 in Speyer erschienen.\" tabindex=\"0\">Malleus Maleficarum<\/span><\/em> (Sprenger and Institoris, 1487).<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s0 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-h0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-h0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Mythological Classification<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s0-bw e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s0-bw\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-t0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-t0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div><p>The incubus appears in the religious-historical tradition in several parallel strands that only coalesce into a unified figure in the early-modern synthesis.<\/p><h3>Mesopotamian-Jewish Strand<\/h3><p>The Lilitu of the Akkadian tradition is a nocturnal apparition that appears in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Ritual expulsion of a spirit or demon understood as harmful.\" tabindex=\"0\">exorcism<\/span> tablets of the second millennium BCE as a disturber of sleep and a threat to infants.<\/p><p>In the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Transitional epoch between antiquity and the Middle Ages, roughly the 3rd to 7th century.\" tabindex=\"0\">late-antique<\/span> Jewish tradition she becomes Lilith and develops, in the <em>Alphabet of Ben Sira<\/em> (8th-10th century), a biography of her own as Adam&#8217;s first wife, who leaves Eden over a dispute about sexual position and returns ever since as an incubus figure.<\/p><p>This narrative layer is elaborated in the medieval <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Jewish mysticism with principal works Sefer Yetzira, Zohar, and the Lurianic school; doctrine of Sefirot, Tetragrammaton, and Tikkun.\">Kabbalah<\/span> (<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Principal work of medieval Jewish mysticism (Spain, 13th c.); kabbalistic Torah interpretation.\">Zohar<\/span>, 13th century) and connected with the bowl inscriptions of Jewish-Babylonian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magic<\/span>.<\/p><h3>Greek-Roman Strand<\/h3><p>In Greco-Roman tradition, the incubus can be linked to the circle of Pan, the fauns, and the sileni, male <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being that unites features of different creatures in itself.\" tabindex=\"0\">hybrid creatures<\/span> who were credited with intrusive sexual behavior. The Latin term incubus, derived from the verb meaning to lie upon, captures this idea of a being that settles on a sleeping woman. This represents an independent line of tradition involving male figures of the night.<\/p><p>Empusa is attested in Aristophanes (<em>The Frogs<\/em>) and in Philostratus&#8217;s Life of Apollonius of Tyana; Lamia appears in Pseudo-Apollodorus and in the Christian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Religious writings outside the biblical canon, situated in Jewish and Christian tradition between canonical and non-canonical (e.g., Tobit, Books of Enoch).\">Apocrypha<\/span> as a threat to children. This tradition flows into the medieval incubus doctrine through the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The theology and writings of the Church Fathers (2nd to 8th c.), e.g. Augustine, Jerome, Origen, Chrysostom.\" tabindex=\"0\">patristic<\/span> adaptation of ancient <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The body of inherited deity narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>.<\/p><h3>Early-Modern Synthesis<\/h3><p>With the <em>Malleus Maleficarum<\/em> (1487), Johann Weyer&#8217;s <em>De praestigiis daemonum<\/em> (1563), Nicolas Remy&#8217;s <em>Daemonolatria<\/em> (1595), and Henri Boguet&#8217;s <em>Discours des sorciers<\/em> (1602), the incubus doctrine becomes a fixed component of witch-trial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the beliefs of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span>.<\/p><p>The methodological consequences are severe: the incubus charge is among the most frequent counts in early-modern witch persecutions. Historical research (Brian Levack, Wolfgang Behringer, Wolfgang Schild) has documented the connection between incubus <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the beliefs of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span> and persecution dynamics in detail over recent decades.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s1 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-h1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-h1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s1-bw e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s1-bw\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-t1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-t1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div><p>From the perspective of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span>, the incubus is not a single being-figure but a being-class with various hierarchical levels and functional specializations. The developed classifications are found primarily in early-modern demonology and in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Manuscript compendium of early-modern ritual magic, five books (Goetia, Theurgia-Goetia, Ars Paulina, Ars Almadel, Ars Notoria); 17th c.\">Lemegeton<\/span> corpus.<\/p><h3>Hierarchy and Specialization<\/h3><p>The <em>Malleus Maleficarum<\/em> distinguishes between incubus apparitions without lasting attachment (a single nocturnal visitation) and bound incubus relationships (the witch-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In the Christian-medieval tradition, a formal contract between a human and a demon, often signed in blood.\" tabindex=\"0\">pact<\/span> construction). The witch-trial corpus largely adopts this distinction.<\/p><p>In more recent <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span>-magic literature, particularly in the writings of Stephen Skinner and Israel Regardie, incubus beings are further subdivided by sphere of influence (love incubus, energy-draining incubus, control incubus), by provenance (Jewish, Christian-Western, Asian, such as the Japanese Yuki-Onna or the Chinese Hu-Li-Jing), and by form of binding.<\/p><h3>Phenomenological Research<\/h3><p><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"British historian (b. 1969); principal works Grimoires (2009) and Paranormal (2009).\">Owen Davies<\/span>, <em>Paranormal<\/em>, 2009; David Hufford, <em>The Terror that Comes in the Night<\/em>, 1982) explains a portion of incubus reports through <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"The natural muscular inhibition state of REM sleep; in sleep paralysis it persists briefly after waking.\">REM atonia<\/span> and hypnopompic hallucinations.<\/p><p>This explanation covers the phenomenological layer (pressure on the chest, inability to move, sensory impressions) but leaves the cultural-historical layer open (Why does the figure appear in nearly all cultures as female, sexual, nocturnal, and threatening to infants?).<\/p><p>The prevailing position in religious studies today is that the phenomenological and the cultural-historical explanations are not mutually exclusive but address two layers of the same complex.<\/p><h3>Liturgical and Ritual-Magic Approaches<\/h3><p>The Catholic tradition has maintained a developed exorcism apparatus against incubus apparitions since the 16th century, codified in the <em>Rituale Romanum<\/em> (1614). The ritual-magic tradition (from early-modern Solomonic magic to modern <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"British current of the late 1970s, founded by Peter Carroll and Ray Sherwin; methodologically radical, without a fixed pantheon.\">Chaos Magic<\/span>) developed protective <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Magical written sign that graphically condenses a spirit or an intention; central in Goetia, Spare and chaos magic.\" tabindex=\"0\">sigils<\/span>, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or conjuring address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> formulas for binding, and dissolution rites.<\/p><p>The iWell Guard position classifies the incubus in the category of nocturnal energy-draining beings and refers to the protective function of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred syllable or formula repeatedly spoken in Hinduism and Buddhism.\" tabindex=\"0\">mantra<\/span> (see <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/protective-functions-and-affirmations\/\">Function Overview<\/a>) as a methodological response.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s2 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-h2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-h2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Contemporary Reception<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-s2-bw e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-s2-bw\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-add-inkubus-t2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"add-inkubus-t2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer data-nosnippet=\"true\" class=\"iwg-rem-wrapped\"><p>Modern <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"The natural muscular inhibition state of REM sleep; in sleep paralysis it persists briefly after waking.\">REM atonia<\/span>, hypnopompia, and culturally preconditioned schemas. Popular-cultural reception (anime, games) primarily serves the seductive element.<\/p><\/footer><h3>Relation to Other Cultural Beings<\/h3><p>The incubus is merely the most prominent form, within the Western medieval tradition, of a cross-cultural being-schema. Related beings are found in nearly all religiously well-documented cultures: Lamia in the Greek-Roman tradition, the Japanese Yuki-onna in one variant, the Slavic Mara in some readings, the Hebrew Naamah as Lilith&#8217;s sister in Jewish <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Religious current centered on direct experience of the divine; central in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition.\">mysticism<\/span>.<\/p><p>This kinship is instructive from a history-of-religions perspective: it shows that the concept of a female, sexually threatening nocturnal being is not a specific product of Christian demonology but a figure found very widely in cultural anthropology.<\/p><p>The Christian elaboration, with the polarization of incubus and succubus and its connection to witch beliefs, is by contrast historically specific and confined to the late Middle Ages and the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch roughly from the 15th to the 18th century.\" tabindex=\"0\">Early Modern Period<\/span>.<\/p><h3>Theological Deep Structure<\/h3><p>In scholastic theology, the question of whether a demon can appear as a man and have physical relations with a woman is anything but incidental. The incubus in particular forces the scholars into precise definitions, since the possibility of conception is part of the picture here, which puts greater strain on doctrine than mere seductive harassment.<\/p><p><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Italian theologian (1225-1274); principal work Summa Theologiae; Aristotelian synthesis of Christian philosophy.\">Thomas Aquinas<\/span> develops a nuanced answer in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Principal work of Thomas Aquinas (1265-1274); systematic compendium of scholastic theology.\">Summa Theologiae<\/span> (I, q. 51): demons can assemble bodies from air and matter, with which they collect male seed as a succubus and reintroduce it elsewhere as an incubus.<\/p><p>This construction resolves the theological problem of demonic procreative capacity: they do not procreate themselves but serve as vehicles; the result (for example, the Antichrist in medieval conception) is therefore not a demonic being but a human conceived through demonic mediation.<\/p><p>This theological deep structure explains why incubus and succubus could be conceived in medieval <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the beliefs of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span> not as two separate beings but as two modes of the same being.<\/p><h3>Religious Studies Bibliography<\/h3><p>Anyone wishing to engage academically with the incubus topic will find the theological tradition worked through in the Russell series (&#8220;Lucifer&#8221;, &#8220;Mephistopheles&#8221;).<\/p><p>The history-of-religions connection to the Lilith tradition is treated systematically in Patai (&#8220;The Hebrew Goddess&#8221;, 1990); the <a class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/sleep-paralysis\/\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Waking state during muscular REM atonia; interpreted worldwide as a spirit encounter (Mahr, Old Hag, Kanashibari) - neurologically explicable.\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:none\">sleep paralysis<\/a> research in Owen Davies&#8217;s &#8220;Paranormal Experiences&#8221; and in the sleep-medicine review literature. The more recent feminist reading is accessible in Jane Caputi and in the &#8220;Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft&#8221;.<\/p><h3>Note on Further Research<\/h3><p>Those wishing to go deeper into religious studies research will find detailed references to specialist literature on the directory pages of the &#8220;Index Religionum&#8221; and in the &#8220;Encyclopedia of Religion&#8221;.<\/p><p>Research on the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Principal work of medieval Jewish mysticism (Spain, 13th c.); kabbalistic Torah interpretation.\">Zohar<\/span>, 13th c.) refines the construction: Lilith becomes the queen of Sitra Achra, the other side. The Christian Middle Ages adopt this idea and identify Lilith with the incubus.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52a09c8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"52a09c8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Contemporary Reception and Sexuality<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bw-c7d59f3-3092fdf e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"bw-c7d59f3-3092fdf\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7d59f3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c7d59f3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\"><p>In modern reception, the incubus has undergone several shifts in meaning. In popular culture (anime, video games, novels), the incubus is often portrayed as a seductive but not necessarily malevolent figure. The feminist reading interprets the incubus tradition as a projection of male guilt over sexual dreams.<\/p><p>Sleep medicine sees in incubus experiences, as with the succubus, <a class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/sleep-paralysis\/\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Waking state during muscular REM atonia; interpreted worldwide as a spirit encounter (Mahr, Old Hag, Kanashibari) - neurologically explicable.\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:none\">sleep paralysis<\/a> with culturally preconditioned perception. At iWell Guard we hold all three readings transparently side by side: from a history-of-religions perspective, a cultural-critical perspective, and a sleep-medicine perspective. Differentiated classification rather than one-dimensional explanation.<\/p><h3>Sleep Medicine Explanation<\/h3><p>Modern sleep medicine explains incubus experiences as a <a class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/sleep-paralysis\/\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Perceptual state in which consciousness wakes while the body remains paralyzed by REM atonia.\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:none\">sleep paralysis<\/a> phenomenon: the physiological awakening from REM sleep while muscular paralysis persists, frequently accompanied by visual or auditory hallucinations.<\/p><p><a class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/sleep-paralysis\/\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Perceptual state in which consciousness wakes while the body remains paralyzed by REM atonia.\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:none\">Sleep paralysis<\/a> affects approximately 8% of the general population at least once in their lifetime, with increased frequency in cases of sleep disorders, shift work, drug use, and psychological stress.<\/p><p>The contents of the hallucinations, a pressing figure on the chest, sexual assault, the feeling of being unable to call out, are remarkably similar across cultures because the physiological phenomenon produces the same perceptual patterns. The cultural elaboration, incubus, succubus, Mahr, Pesanta, Kanashibari, Old Hag, varies according to religious and folk-belief context.<\/p><h3>Continuity in the History of Religions<\/h3><p>Despite the sleep-medicine explanation, the religious-historical depth of the incubus concept remains intact. The idea of a female harmful being that visits sleeping men has a documented history of over 2,500 years, from the Babylonian exorcism tablets through the Jewish Lilith tradition and the Christian-medieval demonology up to modern <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies everyday culture, customs, and inherited beliefs.\" tabindex=\"0\">folklore studies<\/span>.<\/p><p>From a religious-studies perspective, this continuity indicates that the concept fulfills deep psychological and cultural functions: it channels fears of sexual threat, theological ideas about purity and impurity, and social norms around male sexuality.<\/p><h3>Modern Reception in Popular Culture and Practice<\/h3><p>In modern reception, the meaning of the incubus has shifted considerably. In fantasy literature, in computer and role-playing games, and in modern occult currents, the incubus is often an ambivalent, sometimes even positive figure: an embodiment of female sexual power, desire, and self-determination.<\/p><p>This reinterpretation follows a broader feminist reading of older demonology, which finds its most prominent anchor in Lilith. At iWell Guard we report on these reinterpretations from a religious-studies standpoint, without evaluating them; we make visible how the meaning of a mythological figure shifts across the centuries and which cultural needs the respective readings serve.<\/p><h3>Ethical Notes<\/h3><p>Anyone who seriously wishes to incorporate an incubus-related element into their spiritual practice should be aware of the religious-historical contexts and the psychological dimensions. The incubus is, in its original tradition, a harmful figure; a modern appropriation as a positive practice partner changes this meaning substantially.<\/p><p>We recommend neither the invocation of incubus beings nor the practice of ritualized sexual magic; both belong in the hands of those who are well acquainted with their own psychological, ethical, and religious-historical preconditions.<\/p><p>The incubus belongs to the documented beings of Western <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The body of inherited deity narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span> and demonology.<\/p><\/footer>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-wv-inkubus-faq-150815 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"wv-inkubus-faq-150815\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-wv-inkubus-faq-col-5486fc\" data-id=\"wv-inkubus-faq-col-5486fc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-wv-inkubus-h elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"wv-inkubus-h\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Frequently Asked Questions about the Incubus<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-wv-inkubus-t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"wv-inkubus-t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\\n<details class=\"iwg-faq-item\">\\n  <summary><strong>What is an incubus?<\/strong><\/summary>\\n  <p>An incubus is a male sleep demon from the Jewish-Christian and medieval European tradition that sexually assaults sleeping women. The name derives from the Latin incubus (the one who lies upon). The idea is closely connected to the phenomenon of sleep paralysis and the nocturnal sensation of pressure on the chest.<\/p>\\n<\/details>\\n\\n<details class=\"iwg-faq-item\">\\n  <summary><strong>How did people in the Middle Ages ward off incubus and succubus?<\/strong><\/summary>\\n  <p>In medieval <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Religious ideas and customs that are widespread in everyday life.\" tabindex=\"0\">popular belief<\/span>, spoken prayers, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">holy<\/span> water, crucifixes, and relics were considered protection. Scholastic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the beliefs of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span> (Thomas Aquinas) discussed the phenomenon with controversy. <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off evil: of signs and objects intended to repel harmful influences.\" tabindex=\"0\">Apotropaic<\/span> practices included iron objects at the bedside, the sign of the cross on the threshold, and reciting the Lord&#8217;s <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The verbal turning of a person toward a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">Prayer<\/span> before sleep.<\/p>\\n<\/details>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-wv-inkubus-s elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"wv-inkubus-s\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\r\n{\r\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\r\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\r\n  \"mainEntity\": [\r\n    {\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is an incubus?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"An incubus is a male sleep demon from the Jewish-Christian and medieval European tradition that sexually assaults sleeping women. 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Apotropaic practices included iron objects at the bedside, the sign of the cross on the threshold, and reciting the Lord's Prayer before sleep.\"}}\r\n  ]\r\n}\r\n<\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Incubus, male night demon The incubus is a being-class with deep roots in the history of religion, drawing on Mesopotamian, Jewish-apocryphal, ancient Greek, and medieval Christian layers. This overview presents the sources, the scholastic doctrine, the witch-trial theology, and modern phenomenological research. Being ClassCross-Cultural Table of Contents Incubus Female night demon that assaults sleeping women. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20446,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"incubus","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Incubus \u2013 Male Night Demon of Medieval Lore","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Male night demon that assaults sleeping women. In the Christian-medieval tradition, the counterpart to the female succubus.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[106,79,83],"class_list":["post-5556","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christianity","category-cultures","category-seduction-demons"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Incubus \u2013 Male Night Demon of Medieval Lore<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Male night demon that assaults sleeping women. 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