Tales of demons and parasitic entities have haunted folklore for centuries. In science fiction, these myths shapeshift into stories of alien parasites, Legion-like AI, and cosmic horrors beyond our comprehension. What makes these concepts so compelling? They’re rooted both in modern horror and mythology, and continue to live on even in tales of space exploration. Let’s take a look!
The Paranormal Folklore of Demons
In the famous (or infamous) story of the haunted doll Annabelle, when paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren first visited the two women and their curious Raggedy Ann doll, they claimed they knew immediately what they were dealing with: a demonic attachment.
The demon, they said, was only pretending to be the spirit of a young girl attached to the doll, but in reality it was attempting to be welcomed and accepted into their lives, after which it planned to possess one of them. The Warrens referred to this process as “Invitation, Obsession, Infestation, Oppression, and Possession.” This story was told loosely in 2014’s Annabelle:
At their most basic, demons are malevolent supernatural entities. The word “demon” itself dates back to Ancient Greece and the word “daimon,” which described lesser deities or spirits, usually ones that personified concepts. These were not viewed in the negative light that our modern conception of demons casts them in.
Later, such as in the New Testament, demons would take on the devilish form we’re more used to seeing. Matthew 8:28-34:
“‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?'”
– Matthew 8:29
The most famous of demonic activity in fiction is probably from 1973’s The Exorcist (based on the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty), in which the demon Pazuzu possesses a young girl named Regan, leading to a confrontation between the demon and a duo of priests.
The alleged characteristics demons include strange noises and mysterious shadows, grotesque smells and nightmares, all leading to their ultimate goal of possession. Oujia boards also play a major role in the folklore of demons, as seen in reports of the alleged demon Zozo. According to folklore, this fiend seemingly enjoys pretending to be familiar spirits contacting users of the Ouija board. But sooner or later, the Ouija Demon reveals itself as the malevolent force it is, causing havoc in the lives of anyone who dares to test it.
All of these myths inspire scifi, where demons become aliens or technologies run amok.
Demons Of SciFi: Parasitic and Malevolent Entities
Demons have appeared many times in science fiction, both in their purely paranormal forms, and as alien analogues, such as robotic hiveminds and extradimensional parasitic entities. Here are a few examples!
Event Horizon
In 1997’s Event Horizon, an experimental gravity drive causes the titular ship to temporarily enter another dimension “of pure chaos.” Its ill-fated crew leaves a message on a grotesque recording: “Libera te tutemet ex inferis” or “Save yourself from hell.”
“We’re leaving.”
– Captain Miller
Event Horizon shows how hell can be reached even in a futuristic world of warp drives and space exploration. It’s a scifi framing of someone unleashing hell, with the gravity drive acting as a conduit, not unlike a Ouija board or a strange ritual. It’s an experimental technology that, like its more down-to-earth folklore predecessors, enables demonic forces.
Doctor Who
In the episode “Turn Left,” it’s revealed that The Doctor’s companion, Donna Noble, has had “something on her back” – a parasitic entity in the form of an alien beetle that can manipulate events in her life. This mimics some of the old folklore surrounding demons, such as how they can not just possess, but feed on energy and manipulate those they’re attached to.
Robert A. Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters
Perhaps an inspiration for Doctor Who‘s back beetle, The Puppet Masters features slug-like aliens that invade Earth and attach themselves to the backs of humans. This allows them to control their nervous systems and essentially turn people into puppets. Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction back in 1951, the story captures the political paranoia of 1950s America, just as Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers would only a few years later.
The Thing
Similarly, the shapeshifting parasitic nature of 1982’s The Thing (based on John W. Campbell’s novella Who Goes There?) strongly evokes the lore of demonic deception, like the legends surrounding Zozo. The Thing jumps from host to host, perfectly mimicking various lifeforms, including people.
The Thing spreads through contact, sowing paranoia throughout the isolated Antarctica research station. And only when threatened will it show itself, as seen in the above clip. Like the priests of The Exorcist attempting to cast out a demon with a Bible or a cross, MacReady uses a heated piece of wire and blood samples.
Star Trek’s The Borg, Halo’s Flood, and Mass Effect’s Legion
As described in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, Legion was a group of demons possessing a single man. They identified themselves as such, stating “My name is Legion, for we are many.” The word “legion” itself comes from the latin word “legio,” which basically means a large body of troops or soldiers, specifically units in the Roman army, which would have consisted of up to 6,000.
In 2010’s Mass Effect 2, EDI, the artificial intelligence aboard The Normandy SR-2, gives that same name, Legion, to Geth Platform 2A93. This was a singular robot representative of an AI hive mind known as the geth.
In this case, the game directly references the demon Legion from the Gospels:
“We are geth.”
– Legion
Both Star Trek and Halo feature alien beings you might also consider “Legion.” The Borg is a cybernetic hive mind bent on absorbing all life throughout the cosmos into their shared consciousness. They use nanoprobes to get the job done, converting people into ghastly caricatures of their former selves, and operate aboard gigantic cubed ships known as Borg Cubes. The method, including the loss of autonomy and sense of self, echoes the folklore of demonic possession.
Similarly, in Halo, the Flood (also referred to as The Parasite) spreads across the galaxy as spores infecting organisms, assimilating them into their collective, which includes a hive mind known in the game as The Gravemind.
Of course, the most famous parasite in SciFi isn’t much of a demon. Heck, it might be worse!
Demons…In Space!
As you can see, despite their often high-tech settings, even sometimes far away from Earth, many scifi stories find their roots in old folklore and mythology.
Science fiction, with its spaceships, AI, and warp drives, doesn’t erase our primal myths. It reimagines them. The demons of folklore, once conjured by rituals or Ouija boards, now emerge through wormholes and warp drives. Parasites like the beetle in Doctor Who or the assimilating hive mind of Star Trek’s The Borg similarly reframe possession and corruption as alien threats, showing that our primal fears continue even in the stars. These stories remind us that technology rarely closes doors, but we might not always like what we find in the new ones that open.
Know of any other demons or hellish experiences in scifi? Let me know on X, or explore a few of my other articles on demons, haunted toasters, and ghostly legends:
