Edimmu

Fertile Crescent
myth series
Mesopotamian
Levantine
Arabian
Mesopotamia
Primordial beings
7 gods who decree
The great gods
Demigods & heroes
Tales from Babylon
Spirits & Monsters

Good beings:
Humbaba · Kingu
Kishar · Mamitu
Siris · Zu
Evil beings:
Asag · Edimmu
Hanbi · Kur
Lamashtu · Namtar
Pazuzu · Rabisu
Resheph

The edimmu, read incorrectly sometimes as ekimmu,[1] were a type of utukku in Sumerian mythology. They were envisioned as the ghosts of those who were not buried properly. They were considered vengeful toward the living and might possess people if they did not take into account certain taboos, such as the prohibition against eating ox meat. They were thought to cause disease and inspire criminal behavior in the living, but could sometimes be appeased by funeral repasts or libations. The edimmu were also thought to be completely or nearly incorporeal, "wind" spirits that sucked the life out of the susceptible and the sleeping (most commonly the young).

References