Incubus

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A spirit described through deceptive sexual experience during sleep.

In the book. Compare Lemures and Phantasmata, which classify spirits through an element or a dwelling place.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 28; facsimile PDF page 356.

Historical Definition

Incubus is a nocturnal spirit that deceives women in their sleep, as though it were coupling with them.

Meaning

The compiler includes an experience of apparent bodily intercourse within his vocabulary of spirits. His wording makes deception essential: the sleeping woman experiences the encounter as though coupling were taking place. The definition does not explain how the appearance is produced or make the spirit an ordinary human visitor.

Use in the Book

Compare Lemures and Phantasmata, which classify spirits through an element or a dwelling place. Incubus is instead identified by its nocturnal action and relation to a sleeper. These are different principles of classification within the same book.

Places to Read

Lemures. Aerial spirits with a reported identification as the human dead.

Phantasmata. Spirits identified through secluded or obscure dwellings.

In This Edition

The conditional phrase “as though” is retained. Replacing it with an unqualified report of intercourse would remove the distinction the historical definition makes between experience and the action attributed to it.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 28; facsimile PDF page 356 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 356, Incubus

See also. Lemures; Phantasmata