Unbidden

Nothing is ever good enough, so why even bother? And why should anyone else think they're any better than me? They need to face reality; I'll tell 'em.

Spirits of destructive negativity, the Unbidden are among the most unpleasant things a metaphysical wanderer can encounter. Also known as brain-goblins or head weasels, Unbidden often assume the shape of thoughts of emotional pattern as much as the physical. They embody the negative toxicity that men so easily fall into, the line of thinking that leads into a self-perpetuating loop of despair. The most insidious part about the unbidden is how easily their behavior becomes rationalized. Self-deprecation becomes a way for people to embody and assure themselves of their intellectual superiority, even as they drown themselves in darkness.

Creatures of Dark Thoughts

The Unbidden are born out of humanity's own self-destructive urges. While not as destructive as spirits of war, blood and other conflicts, the Unbidden are a more insidious, lingering threat. While creative types are more readily possessed by the attention of the Unbidden, no one is safe. Victims include kings and emperors, lead down vicious roads by a nagging voice in their heads that puts them down at every turn.
Unbidden take numerous shapes but for most people, they are unseen - a voice in their head that just won't go away or the oppressive feeling of empathy or why bother-ness. When spotted with those with the means to do so, Unbidden usually look like clouds of coherent darkness without a center - nothing to grapple, nothing to fight.
The Unbidden are spontaneously generated throughout the world, every day. They fade away when their host has either died or broken out of their loop, and spreads as their possessed victim goes online or in person to complain and drain everyone near them of their energies. Negativity spreads like a plague with the Unbidden, and more of them are birthed from its victims.
The Unbidden are natural enemies of Sparks, creative energy spirits. These two often compete for the same person's attention and mind, but without ever directly fighting. For the victim, the experience can be deeply unsettling as they swing from unbridled energy to the deepest despair, sometimes in the same day.
It isn't known where the Unbidden lurk when they are not among humanity. Some believe that there is a demi-realm somewhere in the world of concentrated darkness and of negativity. Destructive thoughts and psychic vampirism follow the Unbidden; their home must be worse in turn.
Thanks to the internet, both sparks and Unbidden have gained new, unprecedented reach. A single thought can spread like a virus across the web, for good or bad. The unbidden have made their presence known more and more in recent years, infecting twitter feeds and news article across the world, extolling everyone to simple surrender. Nothing would be easier than to simply give up and never try again, to leave everything and just indulge in easy, shallow pleasures.

Magic and Unbidden

The Unbidden often come in response to magic; as one of the most creative things a person can do, the occult opens the door wide for all manner of entities to commune. Mistakes, greed or entering pacts with a poor mindset are the most common ways of attracting an Unbidden and it is from this tendency to arrive when least desired that they draw their name.
There are few ways to exorcise an Unbidden that truly work. They have no weakness that man have yet devised, suffering from neither crucified nor circles of Salt. The Unbidden go where they please and ruin everyone's day where-ever they want.