Throughout history and all across the world, people have reported sexual contact with all manner of supernatural beings. Many people believe “sex demons” were born out of a need to explain away subjects that were generally considered taboo. More often than not, things such as unexpected pregnancy, abortion and promiscuity were met with anger and persecution. As a result, society came up with a number of mythical creatures, ten of which are listen below.
- Popobawa
Popobawa (meaning “bat-wing” in Swahili) is said to be a large, bat-like creature with one eye and a very large penis. It is said to stalk the men and women of Zanzibar, Africa, and surrounding islands. It is a shapeshifter, often taking the form of a human or animal. It usually visits households at night, and it doesn’t discriminate against men, women, or children, often sodomising an entire household before moving on. Victims are warned by Popobawa to tell others about the attack, or risk it returning.
Popobawa first appeared on the island of Pemba in 1965, and sightings have been reported as recently as 2007. There are several different theories about Popobawa’s origin. Some say it is an angry spirit created by a Sheikh to take vengeance on his neighbours. In 2007, Researcher Benjamin Radford investigated Popobawa and found that its roots are in Islam, the dominant religion of the area. According to Radford, “holding or reciting the Koran is said to keep the Popobawa at bay, much as the Bible is said to dispel Christian demons.”
Others argue (perhaps more realistically) that Popobawa is an articulated social memory of the horrors or slavery. The way in which Popobawa is said to sodomise its victims may also have something to do with the fact homosexuality is still illegal in Zanzibar. Popobawa is a creature not necessarily nailed down in terms of solid description. Some call him a ogre, some a ghost or a shape shifter. What is clear about the creature though, is that as recently as 2006 he’s been blamed for entering men’s homes and sodomizing them in their own beds. The madness went as far as men refusing to sleep at home for fear of being victimized by the winged monster.
Many believe the creature takes human form by day, and lives among the people. Others believe he’s just a lonely, horny gay monster accidentally unleashed on the public back in the seventies. Whatever he is, we have more on him right here.
Wikipedia has a horrifying opening paragraph for the legend of Popobawa:
“Popobawa is variously described as either a ghost or ogre with gigantic bat wings and a giant penis. At times he is simply known as “Imran”. He is sometimes thought to be a shapeshifter who looks like an ordinary human during the day. His presence is usually announced by the sound of scraping claws on their roof and a sharp, pungent smell. Different from other incubus legends, Popobawa primarily attacks men and only in their own beds, resulting in many men sleeping outside in streets or on porches after recent reported attacks.
“He attacks men as they sleep, overpowering them, holding their face to the floor and sodomizing them for up to an hour. People who claim to be victims of Popobawa are mostly poorer residents on the island of Pemba, though other reports have also come from other islands and coastal Tanzania. The victims are threatened with repeated, and longer, sodomizations if they do not let their friends and neighbors know of their experience.”
Usually experiences with the beast happen in one on one scenarios as listed above. In the seventies though, he publicly addressed a group of people at once, using a possessed girl as a mouthpiece. During the speech many of those present claimed to hear a car engine ‘revving and rustling’ from a nearby roof.
A strange piece of the Papobawa story is that his attacks, according to some, spike during times of public office election. The BBC elaborates:
“In recent years the residents on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands claimed that Popo Bawa only visited the islanders during voting, such as in the contentious general elections in 1995 and 2000.”
Some argue a political connection. One victim who has spoken to the media about his ordeal is Mjaka Hamad, a fifty-something year old farmer, who said he could feel:
“…something pressing on me. I couldn’t imagine what sort of thing was happening to me. You feel as if you are screaming with no voice. It was just like a dream but then I was thinking it was this Popobawa and he had come to do something terrible to me, something sexual. It is worse than what he does to women. I don’t believe in spirits so maybe that’s why it attacked me. Maybe it will attack anybody who doesn’t believe.”
Well if that’s the only reason the beasty needs to attack your southside, then let us publicly acknowledge his existence. He is very much alive, and may or may not have a stake in the upcoming US Presidential election.
- Trauco and La Fiura
Chiloé, an island of the south to Chile, is said to be home to the Trauco, a sexually potent Dwarf with the power to paralyze women with a look before having sex with them. The Trauco is described as being ugly and goblin-like, often wearing a hat and suit. His feet are stumps and he communicates through a series of grunts. Some repots suggest the Trauco doesn’t even need to have intercourse with his victims, that he can in fact impregnate them with his gaze.
Often, when a single woman on Chiloé falls pregnant people assume the Trauco is the father. In these cases the women are considered blameless as the Trauco is said to be irresistible to women.
El Trauco’s wife, La Fiura, is said to be a grotesquely ugly dwarf with the ability to cast a “sickness spell” against anyone who rejects her sexual advances. Her breath is so foul it can physically scar a human and turn animals lame. Despite her appearance, she is generally irresistible to men and after having intercourse with them, she drives them insane.
Trauco has some very special powers. No young or middle-aged woman can resist him. That is why sometimes if a woman gets pregnant, and she does not want to raise suspicion about who the father is, she just said that the father is Trauco.
The woman chosen by Trauco can not forget him as he has sex with her, in a way no other man can. As a symbol of sexual power Trauco carries a small hatchet. It is a local belief that he appears disguised as a priest or a rich landowner.
Men of the island are afraid of Trauco too. His gaze can be deadly. In rare situations brave man can manage to force Trauco to serve him for a whole year. This is possible if the man fixes his eyes on Trauco before he notices him.
Fiura, the same as her husband Trauco, is very ugly creature. Being his wife she is by some also known as the Trauca. She has big nose and tiny eyes. She lives in a forest dressed in moss. She is very strong.
Fiura likes to bathe in local streams. After bathing she lays naked for hours. She brushes her long hair with a crystal comb.
She also spent lot of time wandering in the bushes in search of the „Chuaras“ fruit. She is not very brave. Whenever she hears something she changes her body in quite bizarre positions.
It is very dangerous for ordinary people to look at her. It is believed that looking at her will deform your hands or legs. In some cases it is possible to cure them. First a plant called "Pahueldún" has to be found. Person has to drink a juice extracted from it. To get the juice a person must be whipped! Immediately after the treatment, branch of the plant used has to be thrown in the sea.
One of Fiura's passion is to cast spell on young woodcutters. They get confused, disorientated. She then forces them to have sex with her.
- Succubus and Incubus
The Incubus
The Description of Scotlande of Hector Boethius as translated in the first volume of Holinshed's Chronicles (1577), has three or four notable examples of these demons, which are corroborated by Jerome Cardan. One of these, concerning an incubus, is quoted in the quaint language Holinshed used: "In the year 1480 it chanced as a Scottish ship departed out of the Forth towards Flanders, there arose a wonderful great tempest of wind and weather, so outrageous, that the master of the ship, with other the mariners, wondered not a little what the matter meant, to see such weather at that time of the year, for it was about the middle of summer. At length, when the furious pirrie and rage of winds still increased, in such wise that all those within the ship looked for present death, there was a woman underneath the hatches called unto them above, and willed them to throw her into the sea, that all the residue, by God's grace, might yet be saved; and thereupon told them how she had been haunted a long time with a spirit dailie coming into hir in man's likenesse. In the ship there chanced also to be priest, who by the master's appointment going down to this woman, and finding her like a most wretched and desperate person, lamenting hir great misfortune and miserable estate, used such wholesome admonition and comfortable advertisements, willing her to repent and hope for mercy at the hands of God, that, at length, she seeming right penitent for her grievous offences committed, and fetching sundrie sighs even from the bottome of her heart, being witnesse, as should appeare, of the same, there issued forth of the pumpe of the ship, a foule and evil-favoured blacke cloud with a mighty terrible noise, flame, smoke, and stinke, which presently fell into the sea. And suddenlie thereupon the tempest ceased, and the ship passing in great quiet the residue of her journey, arrived in saftie at the place whither she was bound." (Chronicles, vol. 5, p. 146, 1808 ed)."
In another case related by the same author, the incubus did not depart so quietly. In the chamber of a young gentlewoman who was the daughter of a nobleman in the country of Mar there was found "a foule monstrous thing, verie horrible to behold." For the love of this "Deformed," nevertheless, the lady had refused sundry wealthy marriages. A priest who was in the company began to repeat St. John's Gospel, and "suddenlie the wicked spirit, making a verie sore and terrible roaring noise, flue his waies, taking the roofe of the chamber awaie with him, the hangings and coverings of the bed being also burnt therewith."
Jean Bodin, author of Démonomaie (1580) cites the case of Joan Hervilleria, who at age 12 was solemnly betrothed to Beelzebub by her mother, who was afterward burned alive for contriving this clandestine marriage. According to the story, the bridegroom was respectably attired and the marriage oath simple. The mother pronounced the following words to the bridegroom: "Ecce filiam meam quam spospondi tibi." Then, turning to the bride, she stated "Ecce amicum tuum qui beabit te." Joan was not satisfied with her spiritual husband alone, however. She became a bigamist by intermarrying with real flesh and blood.
In another story Margaret Bremont, in company with her mother and others, was in the habit of attending diabolic trysts. She and the others were burned alive by Adrian Ferreus, general vicar of the Inquisition.
Magdalena Crucia of Cordova, an abbess, was more fortunate. Suspected by her nuns of magic—an accusation convenient when a superior was at all troublesome—she anticipated their charge. Going before Pope Paul III, she confessed a 30-year intimacy with the devil and obtained pardon.
The Succubus
Old rabbinical writings relate the legend of how Adam was visited during a 130-year period by female demons and had intercourse with demons, spirits, specters, lemurs, and phantoms. Another legend relates how, under the reign of Roger, king of Sicily, a young man was bathing by moonlight. He thought he saw someone drowning and hastened to the rescue. Having drawn from the water a beautiful woman, he became enamored of her, married her, and had by her a child. Afterward she disappeared with her child, which made everyone believe that she was a succubus.
The historian Hector Boece (1465-1536), in his history of Scotland, relates that a handsome young man was pursued by a female demon who would pass through his closed door and offer to marry him. He complained to his bishop, who enjoined him to fast, pray, and confess his sins, and as a result the infernal visitor ceased to trouble him.
The witchcraft judge Pierre de Lancre (1553-1631) stated that in Egypt an honest blacksmith was occupied in forging during the night when a demon appeared to him in the shape of a beautiful woman. He threw a hot iron in the face of the demon, which at once took flight.
- Encantado
In Brazil, and the rainforests of the Amazon Basin, the Boto river dolphin was believed to have shapeshifting powers. It could turn into a very charming and beautiful man called Encantado, or “the enchanted one.” Encantado would take women back to the river, retake dolphin form, and impregnate them. Young women of the region were wary of any man wearing a hat because, according to legend, Encantado always wore a hat to cover up his blowhole.
In many parts of Brazil it is considered bad luck to kill Boto river dolphins. If you kill one, or in some cases just look them in the eye, it is said you will suffer nightmares for the rest of your life.
There are three elements that best characterize encantados: superior musical ability, their seductiveness and love of sex (often resulting in illegitimate children), and their attraction to parties. Despite the fact that the Encante where they come from is supposed to be a utopia full of wealth and without pain or death, the encantados crave the pleasures and hardships of the human world.
Transformation into human form seems to be rare, and usually occurs at night. The encantado will often be seen running from a festa, despite protests from the others for it to stay, and can be seen by pursuers as it hurries to the river and reverts back to dolphin form. When it is under human form, it wears a hat to hide its prominent forehead, that does not disappear with the shapeshift.
Besides the ability to shapeshift into human form, encantados frequently wield other magical abilities, such as the power to control storms, "enchant" or haunt humans into doing their will or becoming encantados themselves, and inflict illness, insanity, and even death. Shamans and holy men are often needed to intervene and ameliorate the situation, but sometimes the spell is so great that it can not be completely cured.
- Lilu
Jewish folklore tells of Lilu, a demon who visits women while they sleep. His feminine counterpart is Lilin. These demons were a particular source of anxiety for mothers because they were known to kidnap children. Ardat Lili was another succubus who would visit men at night to ensure the continuation of her demonic race. The incubus was Irdu Lili, who would visit human women to ensure they would produce his offspring.
- Liderc
In the Northern regions of Hungary there was said to lives a creature called the Liderc (or ludvérc, lucfir, or ördög depending on the region). It hatches from the first egg of a black hen, and is often said to hide in people’s pockets. It enters its victims homes through the keyhole. Once inside, the Liderc shapeshifts into a human, often taking the form of a dead relative of the intended victim. It rapes its victim, and then makes the house very dirty before departing. Some reports say that Liderc becomes attached to its victims and never leaves. The Liderc can be exorcized by either sealing it inside a tree hollow, or persuading it to perform a near impossible task, such as carrying water with a bucket full of holes. It is common even today for children in Hungary to stomp on eggs taken from a black hen, or leave the eggs on doorsteps to cause mischief.
The first, more traditional form of the Lidérc is as a miracle chicken, csodacsirke in Hungarian, which hatches from the first egg of a black hen kept warm under the arm of a human. Some versions of the legend say that an unusually tiny black hen's egg, or any egg at all, may become a Lidérc, or that the egg must be hatched by placing it in a heap of manure. The Lidérc attaches itself to people to become their lover. If the owner is a woman, the being shifts into a man, but instead of pleasuring the woman, it fondles her, sits on her body, and sometimes sucks her blood, making her weak and sick after a time. From this source comes a Hungarian word for nightmare -- lidércnyomás, which literally means "Lidérc pressure", from the pressure on the body while the being sits on it. Alternate names for the Lidérc are iglic, ihlic in Csallóköz, lüdérc, piritusz in the south, and mit-mitke in the east. The Lidérc hoards gold and thus makes its owner rich. To dispose of this form of the Lidérc, it must be persuaded to perform an impossible task, such as haul sand with rope, or water with a sieve. It can also be destroyed by locking it into a tree hollow.
The second variety of the Lidérc is as a tiny being, a temporal devil, földi ördög in Hungarian. It has many overlapping qualities with the miracle chicken form, and it may also be obtained from a black hen's egg, but more often it is found accidentally in rags, boxes, glass bottles, or in the pockets of old clothes. A person owning this form of the Lidérc suddenly becomes rich and is capable of extraordinary feats, because the person's soul has supposedly been given to the Lidérc, or even to the Devil.
The third variety is as a Satanic lover, ördögszerető in Hungarian, quite similar to an incubus or succubus. This form of the Lidérc flies at night, appearing as a fiery light, a will o' the wisp, or even as a bird of fire. In the northern regions of Hungary and beyond, it is also known as ludvérc, lucfir. In Transylvania and Moldavia it goes by the names of lidérc, lüdérc, and sometimes ördög, literally, the Devil. While in flight, the Lidérc sprinkles flames. On earth, it can assume a human shape, usually the shape of a much lamented dead relative or lover. Its footprints are that of a horse. The Lidérc enters houses through chimneys or keyholes, brings sickness and doom to its victims. It leaves the house with a splash of flames and dirties the walls. Burning incense and birch branches prevent the Lidérc from entering one's dwelling. In the eastern regions of Hungary and beyond, it is said the Lidérc is impossible to outrun, it haunts cemeteries, and it must disappear at the first crow of a rooster at dawn.
