Demons are intangible, invisible supernatural entities capable of taking over either living things or corpses. Once this takeover occurs, a physical transformation overcomes the victim rapidly. This new form varies wildly, each with it's own unique powers, strengths, and weaknesses. Demons without a host are commonly referred to as ghosts. The most common type of demon is the
zombie, a shambling corpse bent on the destruction of the living. Demons that take over living victims are much more varied, most commonly taking the form of an inhuman monster, but a few varieties are able to pass for human.
The Weaknesses of Demons
All demons, despite their variety, hold a few common weaknesses with no known exception. A crystalline black growth, about the size of an American dime, marks that a person is actually a demon. Destroying the structure frees the host. Besides that, religious iconography is capable of keeping stronger demons at bay or outright harming lesser demons. Holy water burns the skin of demons that retain human flesh. Destroying the heart of the host kills the demon, though the transformation always moves the location of the heart. No other injury caused with normal implements such as bullets or knives are capable of destroying a demon or stopping the host. Specific varieties of demon have their own weaknesses, though not all of these are recorded. Zombies, for instance, are extremely flammable. Lupomorphs have an extreme allergy to silver, and hemophages cannot cross running water. Of course, destroying the host entirely destroys the demon, though if the heart manages to survive, the demon will simply find another host. There is also the danger that a demon will abandon it's host just before the moment of death occurs, forcing the would-be demon slayer to be a murderer instead.
The Weaknesses of Ghosts
Ghosts, or demons without a host, have more weaknesses than physically manifested demons. They cannot pass through walls or fences or anything designed to keep someone out (or in). They cannot pass an entryway lined with salt. They are banished by the exorcism practices of many faiths. They cannot possess a holy person of any faith such as a priest, but they can possess the non-ordained faithful. In the few moments before transformation, they can be banished by exorcism. Fire seems to temporarily destroy ghosts, though they will re-form. Ghosts always appear in photographs, but not on video cameras. There is no way to distinguish between the types of demons while they are in ghost form, but some kinds of demons have additional specific weaknesses in the form of a ghost. For instance, hemophage ghosts still cannot cross over water, and their senses seem to be limited as ghosts- hemophage ghosts can be warded off by blue paint on occasion. It is believed that bright light can disperse ghosts, but this has not been proven definitively.
Human-Demon Hybrids
There are a few varieties of creatures that are half-demon. The most common are called ghouls, and are the result of demons mating with humans. Ghouls are weaker than demons, but generally more intelligent and are capable of passing as human for extended periods. They must consume the flesh of humans semi-regularly in order to avoid zombification, which is the process by which a starved ghoul loses it's ability to reason until it is nothing more than a dry flesh-bag of murderous instinct.
There are also Daemons, cloned hybrids that almost never survive past the first few years. Daemons have supernatural abilities and often but not always are obviously inhuman in some way. They do not have to consume human flesh as ghouls do, there is no risk of zombification. However, they do behave generally differently than humans or demons, developing from a young age strange obsessive behaviors. They are psychologically inclined to commit a specific act of violence, be it physical or emotional.
The final sort of hybrid are the result of a powerful demon taking a willing host. This is understandably rare, but the resulting creature is capable of changing between human and demon form at will. This allows them to flawlessly hide in survivor colonies in their human form and cause as much damage as possible. The few recorded cases of these beings describe the demon forms as much larger and more powerful than normal demons, often with incredibly destructive powers. These hybrids are commonly called Nephilim.
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