Lilith is a mystery. There are varying accounts of who or what Lilith is, including references to her in the Talmud as a demon. Some traditions hold that Lilith was the first wife of Adam. And some lore, of course, tells of Lilith as being a vampire.
There’s a lot of contradicting information out there. Some claim that Lilith is referred to in the Bible, in Isaiah 34:14, but the translation has changed to “screech owl” or just “owl” over time. Some legends place Lilith as the first wife of Adam. She didn’t wanted to be dominated by him sexually, and was able through magic to turn herself into a bird, sometimes specifically into an owl. And then she flew away to the Red Sea. Personally, that’s my favorite story of Lilith. Perhaps this story was thought to give women too much power, and so later, patriarchal traditions painted her as an evil demon who ate children. In some of the religious lore, it was Lilith who lured Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.
But indeed there are legends of Lilith as some sort of night demon, and sometimes as a vampire, the first vampire. She has been referred to as a “storm demon,” and she has also been described as a beautiful woman with the feet of an owl.
She is associated with the night, and has magical abilities (like that of turning herself into an owl). In some lore she would suck the blood of children or infants. And in some legends she has been said to spread disease and sickness to infants. Infants seem to be her victim of choice in most of the stories. In some legends she cannot have children of her own, which is perhaps why she wants to hurt the infants of others.
Hey! I loved the article and I have some of my own to add. I’m Jewish, and Lilith is kinda like our version of the boogyman. She flew out of Eden when she would not do the missionary position with Adam. She was just as intelligent as him, just as independent, and believed she was just as equal, so she refused to be bottom all the time. We believe that she spoke the true, real name of G-d and grew wings and flew to the Red Sea. She would have sex with demons and give birth to hundreds of demons a day. G-d was upset by her doing, and sent two angels to kill all her spawn. When they did, she cursed G-d and said she would spend the rest of her life killing his. There are many superstitions that surround her, and til this day, some won’t speak the name of their newborn until the child is born and there has been a ceremony involving amulets and the child’s crib to coax her away. It’s pretty cool, but not everyone does it. It’s quite rare actually!