# Edimmu

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{{short description|Type of demon in Sumerian religion}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2024}}
{{Mesopotamian myth|expanded=5}}

The '''edimmu''', read incorrectly sometimes as '''ekimmu''',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=koLbpa-tk_oC |title=The Religion Of Babylonia And Assyria |first=Theophilus G. |last=Pinches |author-link=Theophilus G. Pinches |publisher=[Kessinger Publishing](/source/Kessinger_Publishing) |date=2004 |page=56 |isbn=978-1419180279}}</ref> were a type of [utukku](/source/utukku) in the [Mesopotamian religion](/source/Mesopotamian_religion) of [Sumer](/source/Sumer), [Akkad](/source/Akkad_(city)), [Assyria](/source/Assyria) and [Babylonia](/source/Babylonia),  similar in nature to the [preta](/source/preta) of the [Hindu](/source/Hindu) religions or the [jiangshi](/source/jiangshi) of Chinese mythology.  They were envisioned as the [ghost](/source/ghost)s of those who were not buried properly.  They were considered [vengeful](/source/vengeful_ghost) toward the living and might [possess](/source/demon_possession) people if they did not respect certain [taboo](/source/taboo)s, such as the prohibition against eating [ox](/source/ox) meat.  They were thought to cause disease and inspire criminal behavior in the living, but could sometimes be appeased by funeral repasts or libations.  The edimmu were also thought to be completely or nearly incorporeal, "wind" spirits that sucked the life out of the susceptible and the sleeping (most commonly the young).

== In modern fiction ==
===Games===
* The magazine ''[Dragon](/source/Dragon_(magazine))'' #25 (May 1979) includes ''ekimmu'' in an article which describes them as a [form of a vampire](/source/Vampire_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)) and give stats for them to use for ''[Dungeons & Dragons](/source/Dungeons_%26_Dragons)''. They are described as being able to stay invisible, even while they are attacking.
* The 1990 role-playing game "[Night Life](/source/Nightlife_(role-playing_game))" offers Ekimmu as an NPC Race (and an optional selection for the player character's undead race selection at the start of the game). They are described as being created "when someone vows to look after the grave of the deceased and then fails to."
* The ''ekimmas'' are a species of [vampire](/source/vampire)s in the 2015 game ''[The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt](/source/The_Witcher_3%3A_The_Wild_Hunt)''. They are depicted as large bat-like bipedal creatures that can turn partially invisible and haunt dungeons and ruins.
* Edimmus are monsters featured in the videogame [RuneScape](/source/RuneScape).

===Graphic novel===

* In [Hellblazer](/source/Hellblazer) volume 22, [Constantine](/source/John_Constantine) is given the skin of a 200-year old ekimmu  by another ekimmu named Julian who has taken on the appearance of a pre-teen British schoolgirl. He heats it up and makes a salve to rub on the scabs of a skin condition he gets because of something which happened in Liverpool. It is said to be similar to an opiate and helps the pain.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Ghosts
Category:Mesopotamian demons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edimmu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edimmu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edimmu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.