Daemon

Daemons are a class of immortal ethereal beings that are quasi-physical. They're in a liminal space between the Otherworld and human reality. Lacking flesh and the ability to consume matter, they instead feast on the spiritual emanations put off by the suffering of human souls. These dark spirits are the fundamental cause of much, if not all, mental illness suffered by human beings.

Varieties

Although all daemons are in a certain sense vampiric, this by no means that they are alike in their method of feeding. There are as many types of daemons as there are mental illnesses and those daemons differ in their temperament as much as a manic does from a non-verbal autistic. For example, a melancholic sadist daemon is a solitary creature, slowly whispering poison into the ear of a vulnerable girl until she cuts herself differs from the rowdy swarms of schizophrenic daemons infesting a young man, shouting abuse at him until he loses touch with reality and sinks into an existence defined by suffering.

Associations with Cults

Although many deny their existence, some of the gnostic mystery cults hidden in the shadowy underworld are rumored to be headed by powerful Archdaemons, who have managed to organize people much like a shepherd organizes his flock of sheep, subsisting off the suffering of the many poor souls who have fallen under their sway.