Demon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
| Attributes | |
|---|---|
| Kind | Demonic/Humanoid |
| First appearance | "Welcome to the Hellmouth" |
| Creator | Joss Whedon |
In the fictional Buffyverse established by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, a Demon is a kind of nonhuman life form separate from the animal kingdom.
The definition raises complex issues. Roughly speaking, the series uses demon to describe any creature that is not a god, robot, unmodified human, or standard terrestrial animal. Thus, the category ''demon'' includes independent self-reproducing species, former humans that have been parasitically possessed via mystical or pseudo-biological processes, non-sentient species from adjacent dimensions, life forms that have been created or modified to serve some specific purpose, self-modifying individuals of indeterminate origin, and the hybrid offspring of any or all of the above.
Many demon species are native to Earth. Many more had their origin in other dimensions. Long before mankind made its appearance, Earth was dominated by purebred demons, the most powerful of whom are known as Old Ones. Though individual Old Ones constantly made war with one another, rising and falling in power within the group, the overall dominance of the Old Ones was absolute. Over time, however, they gradually lost their hold on this reality. Some individuals, such as Illyria, were ''killed'', but did not "die" in the human sense; many such demons were confined in the Deeper Well, a hole running through the center of the world. They continued to be feared for their ability to cheat death. Others escaped to other dimensions, and became unable or unwilling to return to Earth in their true forms. Among these were the cabal known as the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart. Demons are not affected by Sunlight or other ways of killing Vampires. Many Demons have a distinct method of killing and are only killed in a certain way.
Though Earth was now under the rule of humanity, the Old Ones had left behind many descendants and former servitors. These demons, far smaller and less powerful than the Old Ones, were usually the product of crossbreeding with humans and other mortal animals. Many of these hybrid species retained some ability to crossbreed with humans and each other.
Demonic reproduction is thus a diverse and complex subject. Some species, including vampires, Wraithers, and Werewolves, reproduce by infecting humans and then inhabiting and using their bodies. Others, such as Haxil Beasts and Skilosh demons, infect humans in order to use their bodies to gestate their young. Some demon species reproduce via sexual intercourse. Some indeterminate number of these species, for instance, Brachen and Ano-Movic demons, are cross-fertile with humans. Some demon species reproduce via asexual methods, such as budding. Still, other sorts appear to have been created or manufactured by some other entity (magician, Old One, Power), and do not reproduce on their own.
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