#demons: EXORCIZED (actively summoned demons into my home writing this)

[gyrovagi]

when the wolfsbane blooms

“A demon would have long since been provoked into revealing itself. You know who I am, Inquisitor.” “If you were Solas," Caden says carefully, "that still wouldn’t be true.”

In the months following Corypheus' defeat, the Inquisitor's dreams have been plagued by demons in Solas' guise. He does not expect the man himself to actually appear.

4.5k words, mature rating, ykwtfigo

[downwithwritersblock]

Happy Halloween! In honor of this wonderfully spooky month, my amazing and brilliant partner in crime @quills-and-golden-ink and I have decided to bring back the Monthly guide to monsters, so in addition to the monthly prompt sets, somewhere during the month there will be one of these guides to a mythological creature.  

Since I am a huge fan of demonology (which has little to do with my friends joking that I am one) and since demon/angel aus have been really popular in fandoms lately (*cough*thanks good omens *cough*), we decided to start this out with just that! 

***Please remember that these guides are just for fun! If for whatever reason something about one of our guides bugs you, please message me in my inbox before going off on a rant without full information, context and views.  These are meant to help inspire people in their writing pursuits and offer creativity, nothing more***

Enjoy! Have fun! and feel free to tag me in anything this might inspire! 

Demons

Definition: A supernatural malevolent being that is commonly found throughout different mythologies and history. The original greek origin word ‘Daimon’ does not actually have a necessarily hostile meaning. ‘Daimon’ denotes a spirit of great of divine power, and most likely finds its routes in the Greek verb for to divide or distribute. Demons are most commonly known as evil spirits of the underworld. In many religions/mythologies, Demons are thought to be angels that have fallen or have been banned for heaven due to their own sins. 

Demons can be summoned by a person or a horrific event but there is not always reason to why a demon haunts a specific location. Demons can also follow people from one location to another. 

Description: The descriptions of demons vary from culture to culture. Some have physical forms, some are only spirits that mortal humans can not see. Those that do have physical forms tend to be animal-like or ‘monstrous’ in order to further enforce fear. There’s also the common idea that demons can inhabit human bodies and blend in naturally or potentially give themselves away with ‘demonic’ traits like unusual eyes, horns, serpent tongues, sharp teeth or claws or other subtle/ minute ‘devilish’ traits. It’s also commonly thought that some demons have separate forms, one more human and one animal. 

Abilities: The abilities of demons also varies depending on the specific demon, but the most common belief is that demons can influence or possess humans in order to corrupt (and often collect) their soul. Demons, like ghosts, are said to feed off the energy of the living world around them. The more negative their environment the stronger they can get. In many cultures, Demons are what brings out humanity's worst traits like jealousy, envy, pride and wrath, and are bringers of things like disease, famine, and war. 

Signs of a Demonic Haunting: 

-Strange unexplained odors that come and go. Usually a scent of something rotting or dead. 

-odd, unexplained noises are usually the first sign of a demonic haunting. These noises often include whispers, scratches, footsteps, growling, thumping or knocking sounds. Particularly the sound of three consecutive knocking sounds, which is said to be the demonic spirit mocking the holy trinity. 

-Animals are said to be able to pick up on paranormal activity that humans can not. So an animal that is suddenly acting very strange or scared with no logical reason, it could be a sign of a haunting. 

-It has been said that Demons can communicate with people through dreams, or more accurately through their nightmares. 

-Unexplained, random surges of negative emotions. Demons are beings that feed off of negative emotions, so they often try to create or enhance whatever negativity they can find 

-Physical marks on the body. Many people who claim to have experienced demonic hauntings report finding red marks like scratches and burns or bruises on their body. 

-Sightings of ‘shadow people’ or human-like figure made of darkness are also common in demonic hauntings

-Demonic activity is most active at night, and supposedly between heightened between the hours of 3 and 4 am. 

How to stop a demon: 

-Bibles: Demons in western culture are said to be repelled by holy symbols from Christianity. The bible thought to be word of the Lord himself can repel demons. 

-Crucifixes: The cross is a holy symbol of Jesus Christ, and is also thought to repel evil. 

-Holy Water: Water blessed by a priest in the name of God can repel and potentially harm the western demon

-Rosaries: Rosary beads are an object(often necklaces) used to help mediation and prayer, it’s thought to bring you closer to God as you pray, which could potentially protect one from evil. 

-Cleansing: Many different cultures have different ways of ‘cleansing’ a home or person of evil. Smudging: The act of burning special herbs(usually sage) to cleanse is a sacred practice among many Native American tribes.  Many other cultures have similar practices. Frankincense, Myrrh, Amber and Dragons blood incense are also commonly used for cleansing. 

-Exorcisms: Most religions and cultures have some type of Exorcism, in which a spiritual leader of some kind goes through a sacred and divine ritual in order to purge something of evil. The most common examples are the exorcism practices of catholic priests. 

Demons in media: 

-Supernatrual(T.V show, 2005)

-Lucifer(T.V show 2016)

-The Mortal Instruments/ ShadowHunters (Book series/T.V show 2016)

-Wynonna Earp(T.V show 2016)

-The Conjuring(Movie 2013)

-Insidious(2010)

-The Exorcist(1973)

-Constantine(T.V 2015)

-Penny Dreadful(T.V show 2014)

-Good Omens(Book, T.V show 2019)

The list of demons in media is a very long one(especially in the realm of movies) so this is a very simplified list. For more check out last years ghost post!

Prompts: 

1. “You’re uh… You are not at all what I expected a demon to look like…”

2. “For the last time! I did not summon you! Go bug someone else!”

3.“That seems a bit excessive, even for a demon.” 

4.“Don’t you ever, ever trust a demon. Not even me.” 

5. “Getting rid of a demon isn't that easy, all you’ve done is make it mad”

6. “I am supposed to be a demon, but I no longer know what that means.”