Since this October and Halloween is approaching, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the origins and histories on some of the most common monsters that appear in horror movies, costumes and decorations around Halloween.

First up is Demons.

Follow up:

The word Demon comes from the ancient Greek word 'Daemon', which means 'messenger'. Interestingly, the word Angel also comes from another ancient Greek word that's a corruption of a Hebrew word that also means 'messenger'. In fact, up until about the Renaissance, the words 'demon' and 'angel' could be used interchangeably, for both spirits of Heaven or Hell. In Christianity, Demons were believed to have been former spirits of Heaven, who were cast out by God after siding with Satan in a great rebellion.

The belief in evil spirits that cause problems is as old as civilization itself, and some form of demon is found in virtually all religions all over the world. In older religions, they were viewed as evil gods, ones that must be pacified and revered as much as good gods, and most of the time represented destruction and chaos, rather than what most of think of as 'evil' today. Most commonly in movies, especially those from Hollywood, the interpretation of demons is the Christian one. However, with the popularity of Anime and J-Horror, Japanese demons are more and more commonly known. And in the case of some animes and mangas, the ideas start to blend together, like in Black Butler.

The three most common depictions of demons in Hollywood and popular Western Culture are: demonic possession, demonic cults, or devil worship or the Antichrist. In traditional Christian belief, demons can possess human bodies and cause problems such as mental or physical disease, but can be removed through exorcism, which requires calling on the power of God or Jesus to force the evil entity out. Jesus performed many exorcisms personally in the Bible, and was a common practice in Catholic and Jesuit tradition until the Enlightenment. Exorcisms are still practiced in many parts of the Christian world, including the US. In strict Christian interpretations, a demon cannot force a person to do anything against their will, only cause disease and suffering, but commonly in movies and fiction, a demon-possessed person will commit terrible acts of evil. The most famous movie about demonic possession, of course, is "The Exorcist".

Demonic Cults are also a very popular theme of horror movies. Groups worshiping Satan, practicing horrific rituals with the intent of bringing hell on earth. And the fact is: demonic cults and satan-worship, for all intents and purposes, have never actually existed. The belief in Demonic Cults has been around since pretty much the beginning of the Catholic Church. It was the Church's attempt at propaganda, claiming all heretical movements were actually false churches working for Satan. Contrary to popular belief, most of these movements and claims of demon worship were not against witches or pagans, but rather it was all in-fighting against groups like the Orthodox and Coptic churches. Even today 'The Church of Satan' is actually a group of organized Atheists. While small groups and individual believers may 'worship Satan', there never was an underground movement trying to destroy the world by overthrowing Christianity.

The last of the common Demon storylines is of course, about the Apocalypse and the Antichrist, in movies such as "Judgment Day" and "The Omen". These storylines of course are based off of the book of Revelations from the Gospel of John in the canonical bible. Of course, none of the movies actually come close to the canon, but all are about the eventual destruction of the world and Satan coming to power.

Fun facts about Demons:
--In some West and East Slav folklore, not all demons are evil. Some demons feel sorry for the humans they torment in Hell, and there are quite a few stories about demons trying not to act so--demony.
--Lucifer was not originally a term for the devil. In Latin mythology, Lucifer was the god of the morning star, the gatekeeper to the sky who brought in Dawn. Lucifer is mentioned in the Bible, but a misinterpretation by a Bishop mooshed the two together (much like the story of the Prostitute and Mary Magdelene). But today it is one of the most common names for the devil.
--Pentagrams are often associated with devil worship, and today is representative of Wicca, but ironically, Nordic Christians used the Pentagram as a way to keep evil spirits out, as the five points represented the five wounds of Christ.

Sources: King James Bible, Spellbound, The Dictionary of Angels, The History of the Devil, Polish folk stories my mom told me.