I have severe anxiety and a fear of demons. It’s been ongoing for over a decade. One time my brother made a comment that demons can rape women. Is this true? Of course, now I’ve been googling it and I read a bunch of scary stuff, people saying that it is true and it has happened to them. Sometimes I have panic attacks over the fear of it happening to me. I pray and try to stay positive and rational, but I really need reassurance from a reliable source that it is not possible.<\/p>\n\t
The problem with the imagination is that it has no limits.<\/p>\n
“But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The world is filled with information, but not all information is equally good or true. As a Christian, it is very important that you distinguish between truth and falsehood. The sad thing is that some are so firmly convinced that what they believe must be true that even the truth won’t persuade them otherwise. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 2:9-10).<\/p>\n
The Bible tells us that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Not that He chooses not to lie, but that He actually cannot lie because lies are sinful and sin is not a part of God’s nature. Thus, the Bible, which comes from God is truth. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth<\/em>” (John 17:17).<\/p>\n
The tales of incubus and succubus are ancient myths usually revolving around demons. Incubus are supposed to be male demons who visit young women in the night, and succubus are supposed to be female demons who visit young men in the night. The tales have been traced all the way back to the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, two thousand years before Christ. So, it is an old tale, popular, and constantly changing as it is retold.<\/p>\n
People usually call the fallen angels who follow after Satan “demons.” Angels are spiritual beings (Psalms 104:4), which means they don’t have physical bodies. As spirits, they are also eternal beings (that is, they don’t die). Jesus explained that when men are resurrected, they, too, will have spiritual bodies. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 22:30). There is no marriage in heaven because we will be like the angels. If you think about it for a moment, it makes sense. Male and female are attributes of physical bodies. There is no mention of gender with angels. We have males and females who reproduce because people die and need to be replaced. Angels don’t die, so the need for reproduction is not like men. Thus, for both reasons, there is no marriage.<\/p>\n
Besides, how could a spiritual being, without a physical body, interbreed with a physical being? We understand that two different physical species cannot interbreed, so why would we expect it to happen between even more dissimilar beings?<\/p>\n
Therefore, the Bible shows us that it cannot happen, so why do the myths exist?<\/p>\n
It is a guess on my part, but I suspect that the stories about incubus and succubus were perpetuated to hide truths. There wasn’t DNA testing in the ancient days, so when a young woman wanted to hide why she was mysteriously pregnant, she wouldn’t talk about the boy across town who crawled through her window one night; she would tell everyone that a demon raped her. Then, she isn’t a sinner but a victim. I won’t be surprised that sometimes it was the story given when the truth was a woman was raped. Guys would use the same storyline to explain why they had a wet dream. With each retelling, the fictional stories expand and become more mysterious.<\/p>\n
There is another possible source of these myths: There is a medical condition called sleep paralysis:<\/p>\n
“Sleep paralysis is basically where you are kind of half-awake and your brain hasn’t connected to your body’s functions completely so you can’t move. It’s a common occurrence among African Americans but not so much among whites and Africans. It’s often referred to as a demonic visitation, but it is really just sleep paralysis.<\/p>\n
Some people will refer to it as a form of lucid dreaming. To stop such dreams I’d recommend not sleeping straight on your back. I used to get sleep paralysis all the time because of that. Started sleeping on my side and ‘poof’, gone.”<\/p>\n
[What does sleep paralysis mean?<\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is a detailed description of\u00a0sleep paralysis and the myths surrounding it on Wikipedia<\/a>. “Sleep Paralysis<\/a>” contains a good description and links to resources.<\/p>\n
It is common for people to jump to the most fanciful explanation when faced with something they can’t explain. But usually, the true answer is found in the common and mundane. As one doctor used to say, “Why go looking for zebras when horses will do?”<\/p>\n
In other words, there is no reason for you to let your imagination go wild and panic over what you imagine might happen.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I have severe anxiety and a fear of demons. It’s been ongoing for over a decade. One time my brother made a comment that demons can rape women. Is this true? Of course, now I’ve been googling it and I read a bunch of scary stuff, people saying that it is true and it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[685,163],"class_list":["post-51994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-demons","tag-rape"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11795,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-has-revealed-to-me-the-names-of-sexual-demons\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":0},"title":"God has revealed to me the names of sexual demons","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 25, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the past couple of weeks, God has been revealing to me the names of sexual demons: Incubi and Succubi. In this story of Tamar and Amnon was Amnon possessed by either one of these demons. Or, was Amnon the demon himself? Answer: \"I marvel that you are turning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36460,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-did-the-demons-go-after-the-swine-died\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":1},"title":"Where did the demons go after the swine died?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, This is a question that I often wonder about. We are all familiar with the incident of Jesus sending Legion into the herd of pigs because the demons didn't want Jesus to send them into the abyss (Luke 8:31). However once Legion went into the pigs the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23178,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-person-go-to-deliverance-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":2},"title":"Should a person go to deliverance services?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's you take on deliverance? Do you think it's advisable for a person to go to deliverance services? Once someone gives their life to Christ do they need deliverance? I am asking this on behalf of my friend. Answer: Deliverance services are not mentioned in the Bible, which should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92700,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-christian-study-demonology\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":3},"title":"Should a Christian study demonology?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day Jeff, I have a question concerning demonology. Is it right for a Christian to study demonology (operations of demons), considering that fallible men teach this area of study? Shouldn't we rely on the information the Bible provides us with? Thanks. Answer: The Bible is our only source\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45285,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-this-help-illustrate-demons-being-cut-off-from-the-land-yet-still-having-an-influence-in-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":4},"title":"Could this help illustrate demons being cut off from the land, yet still having an influence in the world?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I greatly appreciate\u00a0your explanation of Zechariah 13:2. Would Isaiah 53:8 and Daniel 9:26 be good examples of the removal of a \"physical\" presence (the Messiah in this case) without removing the influence? Clearly Jesus' influence, in our lives, remains today even though He has physically been removed from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55788,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/demonology\/","url_meta":{"origin":51994,"position":5},"title":"Demonology","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry C. Ray Truth Magazine VI: 6, pp. 19-21, March 1962 Truth Magazine VI: 7, pp. 9-11, April 1962 Truth Magazine VI: 8, pp. 6-7, May 1962 Truth Magazine VI: 9 & 10, pp. 9-10, June & July 1962 Due to the limited information in the Bible on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/11\/demon-198x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51994\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}