"Looks good, doesn't it? They're trapped in here. Terrified. Meat for the beast, and there's nothing they can do but wait..... That's all they've been doing for days.... waiting to be picked off. Having nightmares about monsters that can't be killed. But I don't believe in that. I always find a way. I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about. And right now, you and me are gonna show 'em why."

―Buffy^[src]

A Demon, also called a Hostile Sub-Terrestrial, was the designation for a number of creatures native to various Hell dimensions separated from Earth and generally considered to be evil due to their lack of human souls and their destructive tendencies. The term was widely used to describe any creature that was not a god, robot, unmodified human, or standard terrestrial animal. Though individual powers varied between different demon species, most, if not all, demon species possessed greater strength, endurance, and natural abilities than humans. The Old Ones were the first and most powerful of demons, lived on Earth during the Primordial Age where they were brought from their home dimensions by the Seed of Wonder. However, as time passed, new creatures began to appear on Earth, and the Old Ones either retreated to other dimensions or interbred with humans, thus weakening their powers through the generations. Demons native to Earth were not full demons, but had a percentage of human heritage. Full demons were native to other dimensions.

Contents 1 Characteristics 1.1 Behavior 1.2 Reproduction 1.3 Diet 1.4 Powers and Abilities 2 Demon Summoning 3 Society 4 Human Awareness of Demons 4.1 Views of Demons 5 References

CharacteristicsEdit

Demons came in a variety of shapes and forms with hundreds of known species of demon with diverse traits. Most demons were commonly bipedal or humanoid, very likely due to generations of interbreeding with humans, along with reptilian, mammalian and insect-like features such as such as claws, rough skin, horns and sharp teeth. Other demons shared an appearance closer to non-human animals such as Sluks,^[1] the spiders from the Box of Gavrok,^[2] and even more monstrous forms of existing animals like the Grimslaw Demon^[3] and the Sluggoth Demon, which according Anya Jenkins belonged to the same phylum as normal worms. ^[4]

BehaviorEdit

By nature, the majority of demons were innately evil, merciless and unsympathetic towards humans, animals and even other demons. The reason for this seemed to stem from the lack of a soul which provided a sense of feeling culpable to one's wrong doings, evidenced by the fact that when humans became vampires they lost the ability to feel general remorse. Confusing the issue was that most demon's kill as a natural survival instinct while others commit evil acts for their own recreational enjoyment or religious/cultural reasons. Winifred Burkle even claimed that the act of a cockroach demon planting it's offspring into the cranium of a Durslar Beast was "all fine and Darwinian".^[5]

For this demons were seen as purely evil creatures with death as the only case for dealing them. There are, however, some cases of perfectly morally sound demon species or individuals such Codger demons, Lister Demons, Merl, Whistler and Lorne (who appreciated human culture despite being a member of a violent tribe of demons). It's also shown that a soulless demon can reform so much they form special bonds with humans, such the vampire Spike who developed a love for Buffy Summers leading him to fight for his soul.^[6]

A demon's intelligence was also a factor amongst many species and breeds. A lot of demons such as Vampires, Vengeance Demons and various others possessed intelligence equal to humans while others like hell hounds, Drokken Beasts and Werewolves during their lupine period were purely, mindlessly feral and could be manipulated.

ReproductionEdit

Demons reproduced in diverse and complex ways. Some species, including vampires, Wraith-er Demons,^[7] and Werewolves, reproduced by infecting humans and then inhabiting and using their bodies. Others, such as Haxil Beasts^[8] and Skilosh Demons,^[9] infected humans in order to use their bodies to gestate their young. Some demon species reproduced via sexual intercourse. Some indeterminate number of these species, for instance Brachan and An-Movic Demons, were cross-fertile with humans. Some demon species reproduced via asexual methods, such as budding. Some other appeared to have been created or manufactured by some other entity (magic practitioner, Old One, Power), and do not reproduce on their own.^[10][11]

DietEdit

Most demons were carnivores, mostly preferring human flesh as the best food source. Some demons had diets to a specific substance such as Vampires to blood and Lei-Ach Demons to bone marrow.^[12]

Other demons possessed obscure and somewhat metaphysical needs for sustenance. Thesulac Demons required the presence of insecurity,^[13] Der Kindestod fed specifically the life force of sick children,^[14] and the Judge needed to "burn" the humanity out of his victim.^[15]

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

The individual powers that demons possessed varied from species to species, but some appeared to be common to most, if not all species:

• Superhuman Strength - Most demons appeared to be stronger than humans, although the degree varied from species to species.
• Superhuman Endurance - Because many demons were native to very harsh environments, their bodies tended to be more resistant to blunt trauma and injuries than human bodies, some species even resistant to bullets. Some demons had armored bodies, although they were relatively vulnerable if a part or all of the armor was damaged or destroyed.

Demon SummoningEdit

Certain demons could be beckoned, controlled and directed by specific methods. Tucker Wells trained a group of dangerous hellhounds to hunt prom goers by forcing them to watch prom-related movies.^[16] This influenced his younger brother Andrew who could summon demons to attack Buffy by using certain musical instruments such as panpipes and a didgeridoo.^[17]

Some individual demons could be summoned, but not controlled through certain spells. Anyanka could be called via a spell that required her necklace^[18] while both the "goddess" Yeska and Avilas could be brought upon for a ritual sacrifice.^[19][20]

SocietyEdit

Most demons possessing near human intelligence adapted to most of the fundamentals of modern human society. They had an underworld status, often sported clothing of the current era, took part in human pastimes such as playing poker,^[21] though kittens were considered a delicacy among demons as well as currency.^[22] However, money was still valued by mainstream demons.^[23]

Despite this, a lot of demons relied on tribalism. They preferred to stay in packs or clans consisting of members of their own species that practiced ancient rituals and traditions that often involved barbaric sacrifices to their respective deities. They often waged feuds with other clans, as seen with the Viniji and Sahrvin clans,^[24] along with bigoted views of humans and demon species closely related to them such as vampires.

In spite of this, mainstream demons tended to mix with demons of other species as well as tolerate some humans who could accommodate needs such as food from demon friendly bars, legal support from Wolfram & Hart and even serviced humans through demon brothels. Even though they tended to abandon ancient demonic values and still enjoyed a naturally malevolent status, they did follow some loose rules when socializing with other demons as Spike was briefly rejected by his demon brethren for killing demons after receiving his chip.^[25] Demons also seemed to have rather different views on beauty since the loose-skinned demon Clem found Buffy ugly because "her skin’s so tight I don’t know how you [Spike] look at her" and Torg rejected Anya's offer of sex because he found her human appearance as unattractive despite once having a fling with her during her demon days,^[26] however, some demons have been shown to be attracted to humans like Syd Frzylcka who flirted with Winifred Burkle^[27] and the demonic prostitute Lina who was willing to service the vampire Angel so long as he didn't change into his vampire face.^[28]

When it came to modern technology, the majority of demons remained inept with most advances that humans possessed. Though some demons, mainly vampires, were conscientious of forms of media such as newspapers,^[29] televisions,^[30] and electricity, they made very little use of modern weaponry and were usually limited to basic hand-to-hand combat and medieval weapons such as swords and axes. On rare occasions, some made use of firearms. Examples of this behavior included Darla when fighting Buffy,^[31] Griff when collecting a dept,^[32] Lorne who killed Lindsey McDonald with a silenced pistol,^[33] and Razor, the leader of a demon biker gang who used a starting pistol when destroying the Buffybot.^[34]

Human Awareness of DemonsEdit

For most of history, the majority of humans remained unaware or in denial of the existence of demons, with notable exceptions including the Watchers Council, the Initiative, the Slayers, the Scooby Gang, the Angel Investigations team, and vampire hunters like Daniel Holtz or Charles Gunn. Rupert Giles explained this as the tendency for people to "rationalize what they can and forget what they can't."^[35] Aimee Mann, a guest singer at The Bronze, remarked that she hated playing in "vampire towns."^[36] To those who did know, demonic culture and mythology was the subject of scholarly research with ancient books and texts documenting their history. A website titled "Demons, Demons, Demons" also contained accurate information on demons. ^[37]

The Sunnydale High School board and the police department also appeared to be aware of the supernatural goings-on in Sunnydale, as the police often covered up vampire and demon attacks under orders from Richard Wilkins. When Spike and members of the Order of Aurelius attacked Sunnydale High to kill Buffy Summers, Principal Snyder and the police chief wrote it off to the public as an attack by a gang on PCP, an excuse that has apparently been used before.^[38]

All the people present in Los Angeles when it was moved to a hell dimension by the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart in 2004 became aware of demons.

In the early 21st century, the existence of vampires, and demons by extension, became public knowledge and vampires instantly became the subject of a fad, capitalizing on the fact that many humans experience a thrill when bitten by vampires. Harmony Kendall became the face of vampires in the media, starring in a reality show called Harmony Bites

Views of DemonsEdit

Humanity's views of demons, and their views of one another, vary considerably depending on individuals:

• The Watchers Council refused to help Buffy Summers cure Angel of the Killer of the Dead poison on the grounds that he was a vampire, which resulted in her severing ties with the Council for over a year.^[39]

• Xander Harris has a deep hatred for all vampires, partly because of the death of his friend, Jesse McNally.^[35]

• One of the strains on the relationship between Buffy and Riley Finn was that he automatically assumed that all supernatural creatures were bad, harshly criticizing the Scoobies when he discovered that they had been harboring Spike,^[40] though he realized that demons were capable of both good and evil just as humans were when he helped save a werewolf, Daniel Osbourne, from the Initiative, especially after he witnessed his superiors' inhumane treatment of Oz while he was in human form.^[41]

• Cordelia Chase initially believed that all demons, besides Angel, were evil until she discovered Allen Francis Doyle's Brachen demon heritage.^[42]

• Though the Scooby Gang and the Angel Investigations team were dedicated to destroying demons, they only sought to destroy evil ones. Both teams employed the services of demons on several occasions and many key members of both groups had been demons. In fact, the demon members of Angel Investigations often outnumbered the humans. Both also argued that werewolves should not be held accountable for their actions in bestial form as long as they found ways of restraining themselves.

• Gio, a rogue member of Gunn's Crew, led them on a fanatical crusade to destroy demons all over Los Angeles, regardless of their moral alignment.^[43]

• Clem claimed that Rack had "a thing" against his demon species.^[44]

• Willy the Snitch ran a neutral bar for all beings.

• On multiple occasions, the U.S. government and its different groups showed a desire to study supernatural beings and find a way to use their power for military purposes, the most prominent examples being the Initiative and the Demon Research Initiative, its World War II-era predecessor.^[45][46]

• Gib Cain hunted werewolves for their skin, uncaring that they were humans outside of the full moon.^[47]

• The Scourge sought to destroy all non-pure demons and humanity itself.^[42]

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ "The Price"
2. ↑ "Choices"
3. ↑ "Selfless"
4. ↑ "Beneath You"
5. ↑ "Fredless"
6. ↑ "Grave"
7. ↑ "Sleep Tight"
8. ↑ "Expecting"
9. ↑ "Epiphany"
10. ↑ "Superstar"
11. ↑ "After Life"
12. ↑ "Family"
13. ↑ "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been"
14. ↑ "Killed by Death"
15. ↑ "Surprise"
16. ↑ "The Prom"
17. ↑ "Normal Again"
18. ↑ "The Wish"
19. ↑ "Guise Will Be Guise"
20. ↑ "Help"
21. ↑ "Life Serial"
22. ↑ "Tabula Rasa"
23. ↑ "Where the Wild Things Are"
24. ↑ "Harm's Way"
25. ↑ "Goodbye Iowa"
26. ↑ "Showtime"
27. ↑ "Double or Nothing"
28. ↑ "War Zone"
29. ↑ "Becoming, Part One"
30. ↑ "Checkpoint"
31. ↑ "Angel"
32. ↑ "Rm w/a Vu"
33. ↑ "Not Fade Away"
34. ↑ "Bargaining, Part Two"
35. ↑ ^{35.0 35.1} "The Harvest"
36. ↑ "Sleeper"
37. ↑ "The Ring"
38. ↑ "School Hard"
39. ↑ "Graduation Day, Part One"
40. ↑ "Goodbye Iowa"
41. ↑ "New Moon Rising"
42. ↑ ^{42.0 42.1} "Hero"
43. ↑ "That Old Gang of Mine"
44. ↑ "Two to Go"
45. ↑ "Primeval"
46. ↑ "Why We Fight"
47. ↑ "Phases"