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A cacodemon (or cacodaemon) is an evil spirit or demon. The opposite of a cacodemon is an 'agathodemon' or 'eudemon', a good spirit or angel. Cacodemon comes from the Greek kakodaimon meaning "bad demon".
In psychology, cacodemonia (or cacodemonomania) is insanity where the patient believes they are possessed by an evil spirit.
The first known occurrence of the word cacodemon is from the 16th century, it possibly originated around the creation of the Enochian constructed language.
In games
A Cacodemon menaces the player in Doom. In the first edition of the fantasy role-playing game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, "Cacodemon" is a seventh level wizard spell. It was used to summon a type IV, V, or VI demon into the game world. The spell was revised in the second edition of the game editions and eventually phased out in the third edition in favor of a more comprehensive creature-summoning spell.
Cacodemons are also an enemy in the Doom series of computer games. It is a floating large red ball with one eye that shoots fireballs from its mouth. The Cacodemon's design was inspired by the beholder and the astral dreadnought from Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, the artwork has been discovered to be a replication of an illustration of an astral dreadnoughtfrom a D&D book. The history of the Cacodemon has also attracted much attention in the Doom community. In fact, a plush Cacodemon known as Hissy exists, created by a member known as Chrozoron. This particular Cacodemon has been sent on a world tour to several Doom players, and is a cult icon in their community.
Cacodemons are also found in the third installation of the Doom series, Doom 3. They fill essentially the same role as in the earlier games; they again fly about and fire bolts of unholy energy at the player. However, in Doom 3 Cacodemons are possessed of much wider mouths and a row of several small glowing eyes, wheras the earlier versions had only one large eye.
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