A demon is a supernatural being commonly understood as dangerous, hostile, corrupting, or associated with forces that a religious or cultural tradition considers harmful. The word covers many different kinds of beings, and its meaning changes substantially across cultures and historical periods.
| Term | Demon |
|---|---|
| Field | Mythology, religion, folklore, and legend |
| Meaning | A supernatural being regarded as harmful, hostile, or morally corrupting |
| Often compared with | Devil, evil spirit, fallen angel, ghost, monster, and jinn |
What is a demon?
In everyday English, demon usually means a malevolent supernatural entity. Demons may tempt people, spread illness, cause misfortune, possess a person or place, guard forbidden territory, punish wrongdoing, or embody chaos and destructive impulses.
There is no single worldwide demon tradition. Beings translated into English as demons may have very different origins, powers, and moral roles. Some belong to formal religious systems; others appear in oral tales, local beliefs, magical texts, legends, or later literature.
Where the word comes from
The English word ultimately comes from the Greek daimōn, a term that could refer to a divine power, spirit, or guiding supernatural presence and was not necessarily evil. As religious ideas and translations changed, demon developed its more familiar meaning of a hostile or wicked spirit.
This history is important: calling every unfamiliar spirit a demon can erase distinctions that matter within the tradition being described.
Common roles in stories and belief
- tempting a person to break a moral or religious rule;
- causing illness, nightmares, possession, or unexplained disturbances;
- guarding treasure, ruins, thresholds, or the underworld;
- making bargains or offering dangerous knowledge;
- taking human, animal, monstrous, or invisible form;
- serving a more powerful supernatural ruler;
- representing disorder, impurity, hunger, violence, or fear.
Demon, devil, spirit, and ghost
A demon is usually a class of harmful supernatural being. A devil may mean the supreme adversary in a particular religion or may be used more loosely for a demon. A spirit is a broader category and may be helpful, harmful, or neutral. A ghost is generally understood as the surviving presence or apparition of a dead person.
These categories often overlap in stories, but they are not interchangeable. A being may be described differently by believers, storytellers, translators, clergy, folklorists, and popular entertainment.
Demons in folklore and legend
Folklore frequently brings large religious ideas into everyday settings. A demon may be blamed for a dangerous location, confronted by a saint or healer, summoned by a magician, defeated through prayer, tricked in a bargain, or recognized by an unusual physical sign.
Demon stories can serve as warnings about pride, greed, forbidden knowledge, broken promises, or entering unsafe places. They can also preserve older supernatural figures whose identities changed as religions and cultures came into contact.
Using the term carefully
When discussing a specific culture, use the being’s own traditional name and description whenever possible. Demon can be a useful comparative label, but it should not automatically be imposed on deities, ancestors, nature spirits, jinn, yōkai, or other beings with distinct cultural meanings.
Related terms
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Demon”
- Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity
- Rosemary Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology
Last reviewed: September 2026.