Demons, or daemons, can be found in religions, occultism, literature, works of fiction, and folklore in many crevices of the wor’d and history. The word demon derives from the Greek word, “Daimon,” meaning “intelligent." As a common ground, demons are known as harsh malevolent beings that occupy our world. Their appearance differs with each culture, and for the most part are believed to be spirits with no solid form in our world, but the ability to possess humans and influence others emotions.
In Christianity, demons are angels that rebelled against God under their leader, Lucifer—or Satan—and were punished by God and banished, or really, thrown down to Hell. They are believed to be fallen angels in many cases (though in some cases fallen angels differ from demons), and have become thoroughly evil because of their spite towards God and his creations.
In other religions such as the Ancient Near East and the Abrahamic traditions, demons are considered unclean spirits of deceased human beings or some other unknown type of spirit. In the western beliefs during the time of the Renaissance and modern day life, demons are/were believed to be a spiritual entity that could be summoned in various ways, usually through a summoning circle (not to be confused with a pentacle/pentagram in Paganism).
In modern horror flicks, they are believed to be a combination of, or one of the above, and sometimes thought to grow stronger by feeding off of negative energy.
