There's a problem with devils and demons. Everyone who's ever breathed the breath of life has felt free to make one up. Just the word devil has a million uses.
A "bedevilling" question is puzzling.
The "Devil's Advocate," is the person appointed by papal authority to oppose the beautification or sainting of a person. In common usage it means someone arguing a point they don't necessarily agree with.
"The devil's in the details" means the plan won't work unless the details are worked out.
The "Tasmanian Devil" is a small Tasmanian predator so named because of its taste for lamb.
The "Devil's Triangle" is the Bermuda Triangle.
The "Devil Rays" are some sort of sports team.
And I don't know why "Devilled Eggs" are called 'devilled' unless it's the brimstone stink you give off if you eat to many.
The mythological idea of a demon or devil is primarily Middle Eastern, appearing in religious traditions from Egypt to India. There are "evil spirits" in virtually all other religions but closer examination reveals that devils as minions of the devil or other evil deity and demons as a type of malicious spirits are unique. I've combined devils and demon because there is so much overlap in the literature, but they and their movement into European mythology along with Christianity are unique from other mythological creatures found around the world.
Here's a really incomplete list of the names and descriptions of various devils and demons for you to spice up your stories with, sort of like croutons on hell's salad.
Abignor - Devil of War. He'll sell the secrets of victory to anyone willing to trade the knowledge for his soul.
Adranus – A fire demon from Mount Etna in Greek myth.
Adramelech – Sometimes referred to as his own God, sometimes held to be Satan's lieutenant, Adramelech is referred to in the Bible, 2nd Kings as the God of the Sepharvites, who sacrificed their children to him.
Aeshma – A Zoroastrian devil whose name means "Fury" in Ancient Persian.
Ako Mana – This means "evil mind" in ancient Persian and was a devil who tempted liars.
Alu – This is a Babylonian devil who would fall on people while they slept crushing them. I found another reference to an evil spirit who would crush people in their sleep. If you didn't know what a heart attack was, would you decided it was the devil?
Aluqa – Often associated with vampires or Succubi, Aluqa is a she devil who would suck the blood of men after having sex with them. This would so upset the men that they would commit suicide. Whimps!
Baal Fegor – Another god who got demoted as time went by. Baal Gefor is the devil that causes curiosity.
Berith – Berith could turn any metal into gold. This was back before the theory of inflation made such skills inadvisable.
Dalhan - Follow along closely, there's real magic coming. Dalhan was a devil who tore around the desert on the back of a ostrich, riding people down and eating them. That's right. I typed it. And ostrich.
It seems like it would make people easy to catch. They'd all be saying things like, "Say honey, is that a devil on the back of an ostrich?" or "Scoot right up next to the ostrich so I can get you all in the photo."
Dasim – It's not that your husband is a lazy oaf who won't get off the sofa. It's Dasim the demon of marital strife, keeping you from seeing the value of empty beer cans and "all nighters" with the boys. Damn that Dasim.
Daruga – Another demon of lies, this one from Persia.
Ghaddar – This bad girl lived in the desert and ate genitals. Bad girl! Bad! Bad!
Sakhr – This devil, who's name means "rock" was the baddest of the bad in Solomon's kingdom, Solomon tied a rock with God's secret name on it around Sakhr's neck and threw him into a lake. Sakhr remained in the lake for many years but was eventually freed when the rope holding him down rotted through.
Shiqq – This demon appeared as half a man. The rest was lost in shadowy robes or simply missing. It's not clear which half was present.
Sut – Sut is another demon who inspired lies. He is specified as inspiring 'clever' lies. I think its safe to say that someone else inspires politicians.
Taghut – Demon named in the Koran. This is also the name of the paint ball supply store in town. Weird.
Uphir – This demon had knowledge of medicines that he learned from digging up corpses and studying them. Evil magicians/doctors learned from him.
Urian – A devil who ruled Mid-Eastern sorceresses and mated with them.
Valafar – This demon guided criminals
Waswas – From the Koran, Waswas was "The Whisperer" who whispered temptations into people's ears.
Xaphan – This was the demon in charge of keeping the fire of hell alight, Xaphan once threatened to set heaven on fire.
Xezbeth – Yet another devil of lies. How many does it take? They should all get together and have a fight. Trouble is, they'd all claim they'd won.
Zagam – This demon was a forger of money. He had the head of a bull, bat wings and ate human flesh.
Zepar – This sicko inspired pedophiles.
What I love are the names. I see no reason a writer should limit himself to these or other real demons and devils. As long as you've got the name, you've got power. Just making up cool sounding demon names is fun. Xixbur, Ylunvar, Baksalk. People should name their kids like this.
"Xvisnl, get in this house this second! It's time for you to eat the dog."
Now get out there and write.
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