When magic and mortals mix in myths and legends, it usually doesn’t end well for the humans. I’m not quite sure if the cambion proves this or is an exception. The humans commingling with the demons that create the cambion definitely get a raw deal though the offspring has the best of worlds, otherworldly power and human roots and emotions.

The cambion is one of the many versions of human and supernatural offspring, this one resulting from the union of humans with incubuses or succubi. Since I don’t play the right video games, the cambion isn’t very well known to me. I decided to look into the lore surrounding this creature since TJ Rose featured a version in their novel Bite Marks and Broken Hearts.

The Birth of Cambions

The word “cambion” itself tells a story of transformation and substitution. Originally derived from the Latin cambiare meaning “to exchange,” it first described changelings in eerie tales of fae or demons stealing human babies and leaving their own offspring behind. Parents would wake to find their child somehow… different. Heavier. Colder. Silent.

Cambions came to represent the product of unholy unions between demons and humans, most commonly the offspring of seductive succubi or charming incubi who’ve ensnared human lovers. These babies are insatiable for milk and show no signs of breath or a pulse.

The witch-hunting manual Malleus Maleficarum (1486) offered a complex explanation for cambion conception. Being unnatural beings, demons can’t naturally conceive. A succubus first sleeps with a human man and collects his sperm. She gives it to an incubus to strengthen and corrupt. Then an incubus can sleep with and impregnate a human woman. I would have accepted “magic” as an acceptable answer for how cambions are conceived, but sure, this game of sexual telephone works too.

Throughout European folklore, these beings embodied parental anxieties about unhealthy or unusual children, a huge concern in times when infant mortality rates were devastatingly high. That’s actually relatable. A supernatural explanation for an ailing child provides some answer for sicknesses and misfortune that are otherwise beyond understanding.

Some of the lore I looked at seemed cringe-y when talking about how the joining of demon and human, basically two ‘unalike’ things, was so wrong and unnatural. It gave me the sense I’d be considered one of those wrong affronts to the natural order as a mixed person. Maybe I’ll have to look out more for cambions in the future. I’ve always had a fondness for changelings, humans who are more than they seem.

The cambion seems much more at home in fantasy contexts like dungeons and dragons and video games. History usually isn’t kind to those thought different.

Recognizing a Cambion

Medieval texts describe cambion infants as unnaturally heavy, requiring multiple people to lift them despite appearing normal-sized. They’re cold to the touch, their skin never quite reaching human warmth, and they may not cry or make sounds for the first few years of life.

Around age seven, physical markers often appear: eyes that flash red or yellow in certain light, small horns that sprout from their temples, vestigial wings, or tails that they quickly learn to hide.

While generally alluring, they carry a faint sulfuric scent that can be a turn-off. Some emit a barely perceptible humming sound that seems to resonate in listeners’ bones. Their voices and gazes develop a quality that makes people lean in closer, hang on every word, and struggle to shake off their influence long after the conversation ends.

The Cambion Personality

Medieval sources painted cambions as inherently cunning and malevolent, but modern interpretations offer versions that are influenced by both sides of themselves instead of just demonic wickedness.

Their interactions with humans often center around charm and seduction. Not necessarily sexual, but an almost magnetic pull that makes others want to trust them, confide in them, follow them. They are suited to leading cults or working as spies and assassins.

Powers and Abilities

The powers that cambions inherit vary depending on their demonic parent, but most possess an innate charm that goes beyond mere charisma, almost a supernatural compulsion that makes humans more susceptible to suggestion.

Many cambions possess telepathic abilities, allowing them to read surface thoughts or plant ideas in others’ minds. Minor teleportation, often called shadow stepping, lets them move short distances through darkness. Their physical strength typically exceeds human limits, and they show remarkable resistance to fire and heat.

Some cambions can alter their appearance slightly, enough to enhance their natural attractiveness or hide their more demonic features.

Part of the reason I wanted to start learning more about different myths, legends, and monsters and species that show up in paranormal and fantasy stories is to use them as inspiration and write little scenes I could also post. I’m still working on that part. Shadow stepping intrigued me, but I have to keep practicing when it comes to only writing a scene and not getting carried away.

Weaknessess

Cambions remain vulnerable to holy relics, blessed weapons, and exorcism rituals. Iron burns their skin and weakens their abilities. The “Seven-Year Pulse”—a period of supernatural weakness that lasts until they reach age seven—leaves young cambions particularly defenseless.

Notable Cambions

• Raven from Teen Titans and the DC Universe
• Hellboy from Dark Horse Comics
• Merlin, legendary wizard

Apparently, Merlin’s wizard powers could be thanks to his demonic parentage. All of these examples involve a human woman and an incubus as the parents.

The Cambion’s Potential

Where mortal and demon blood mingle, the cambion has all the narrative power in the world. Some fight against their darker nature, desperately seeking connection and love to anchor them to their humanity. Others embrace the power coursing through their veins, using their supernatural charm and abilities to manipulate and seduce. And then there are those caught somewhere in between, struggling with an identity that doesn’t quite fit in either world. Whether a cambion leads to seduction or salvation depends on the author telling the story.