Succubus

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A bracket carved as a winged succubus on the outside of an English inn, suggesting that a brothel could have been found inside.

In Western medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) or succuba (plural succubae) is a demon, who takes the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men, especially monks ^[1] in dreams to have sexual intercourse. They draw energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death of the victim.^{[citation needed]} One such story^[2] relates to a man in the town of Coblenz, who has been bewitched by a succubus, with whom he is forced to repeatedly fornicate, whilst in the presence of his wife. The story goes on to say that "after an incredible number of such bouts, the poor man at last sinks to the floor utterly exhausted." From mythology and fantasy, Lilith and the Lilin (Jewish) and Lilitu (Sumerian) are in redactive Christian fables (folktales not part of official Christian theology), considered succubi.

According to the Malleus Maleficarum, or "Witches' Hammer", published against the recommendation of the Catholic Church in 1487 and officially banned in 1490, succubi would collect semen from the men they slept with, which incubi would then use to impregnate women^[3] thus explaining how demons could apparently sire children in spite of the traditional belief that demons were incapable of reproduction through generative or gestative means. Children so begotten were supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural influences.^[4]

From the 16th century, the carving of a succubus on the outside of an inn indicated that the establishment also operated as a brothel.

[edit] Etymology

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The word "succubus" comes from an alteration of the Late Latin succuba meaning "strumpet". The word itself is derived from the Latin prefix "sub-" which means "below, underneath", and the verb "cubo" which means "I lie". So a succubus is someone who lies under another person, whereas an incubus (Latin "in-" in this case stands for "on top") is someone who lies on top of another person.^[5]

Mare was also a term used to describe the sighing, suffocative panting, or an intercepted utterance, with a sense of pressure across the chest, which occurs during sleep.^[6] These symptoms were also thought to be an incubus (or succubus), an evil preternatural being, causing nightmares and/or nocturnal emissions. This phenomenon is now thought to be an experience of sleep paralysis.

[edit] Appearance

The appearance of succubi varies, but in general they are depicted as alluring women with great beauty,^[4][7] often with demonic batlike wings, and large breasts; they also have other demonic features, such as horns and cloven feet. Occasionally they appear as an attractive woman in dreams that the victim cannot seem to get off his mind. They lure males and in some cases, the male has seemed to fall "in love" with her. Even out of the dream she will not leave his mind. She will remain there slowly draining energy from him until death by exhaustion.^[7] Other sources say the demon will steal the male's soul through the act of intercourse.^[7]

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