White-eyed demons were a very powerful group of demons, known for being among the oldest and strongest demons in all of Hell together with Cain and the four Princes of Hell. They represented the highest demon authority in Hell, with Lilith being one of five demons, the other four being the Princes of Hell, having rightful claim to the throne.[2] They were of such strength that while they could not kill angels with their own power, they could overpower them with ease.[3] They instilled great panic in other demons as almost all other demons were terrified of them.
History
After Lucifer was corrupted by the Mark of Cain,[4] his hatred of humanity grew, leading him to torture Lilith until she was transformed into the first demon. Lucifer and Lilith were then banished deep into hell for their deeds and Lilith was also made into 66th seal of over 600 seals. It is unknown how and when exactly Alastair was created who would later become the grand torturer of hell.[3] However, it is known that Alastair was among the very first and oldest demons,[1] antedating Ruby's creation,[5] he has had enough age and experience, as he had knowledge of the Enochian sigils and Latin spells, which enabled him to trap and kill reapers, and even overpower angels.
White-Eyed demons played a key role in preparing Lucifer's release. Lilith's death was the final step in releasing Lucifer from his cage. Azazel sought out Lucifer, who told him Lilith knew how to break the seals and release him from the cage.[6] Azazel then spent decades working on freeing Lilith from hell. Dean eventually killed Azazel with the Colt.[7]
Alastair was given the task of convincing John Winchester to torture other souls in hell, which would have been the First Seal. However, John was too resilient and Alastair was unable to achieve his goal.[8] John later escaped from hell.[9] Lilith established herself as the new leader of hell. She viewed Sam Winchester as a potential rival, and therefore ordered his execution. Roughly one year after she escaped hell, Lilith met the Winchesters to take Dean's soul to Hell after he was killed by hellhounds. Afterwards, she tried to kill Sam as well by blasting him with a white light. They were both surprised when it had no effect on Sam. She was then forced to flee before Sam could stab her with the Demon Killing Knife.[10]
While Alastair tortured Dean in hell, with the intention of him taking his father's place as the First Seal, Sam sought revenge on Lilith. He became committed to killing her, not knowing that her death was the final seal. Sam was aided by Ruby, who was working for Lilith, unbeknownst to him. Lilith avoided Sam, knowing her powers could not affect him as he was Lucifer's vessel. Alastair eventually got Dean to agree to torture other souls in Hell, thus breaking the First Seal and allowing Lilith to break the others.[3][11]
In 2019, God resurrected Lilith as part of his plans to bring the Winchesters to a dark end.[12] Lilith revealed that she allowed the Winchesters to win during their previous confrontation. However, Lilith's resurrection proves to be short-lived as she is killed by Michael shortly thereafter.[13]
Characteristics
White-eyed demons were terrifyingly powerful and they rank at the highest in the hierarchy of Hell, just under Lucifer himself and the Princes of Hell, with the exception of Lilith, as she was Lucifer's first and ranked as the highest in Hell's hierarchy. They inflicted fear in their subordinates as almost all demons were well aware of their power. White-Eyed demons were even capable of holding their own against regular angels.[3] So far, the only known demons of this type are Lilith and Alastair.[6]
Both Lilith and Alastair were well known for their cruelty, torturing their enemies and victims before killing them.[10] Especially Alastair had an affinity for torture, he was basically the grand-torturer of hell, researching new ways to torture deceased humans and increase their pain. Alastair even preferred to reside in Hell, as it's more suited as a place to research on torture.[3] While Azazel set up and prepared everything for Lucifer's rise, it was mainly on Lilith to execute it by breaking the seals, however, she had not such a religious connection to Lucifer like Alastair. As Lilith learned that she would eventually die shortly before Lucifer's rise, she tried to make a deal with Sam, letting "Lucifer rot in his cage" in exchange for Sam's and Dean's lives.[14]
Physical Appearance
It is unknown how a white-eyed demon's true form looked like; however, as they walked the Earth, they manifested as a cloud of black smoke.[14] As they possessed human vessels, it came to no noticeable change besides that their eye color changed to white.[3][10] Shortly before Dean's soul was supposed to go to Hell, he was able to see Lilith's true face and describes it as horrible.[10]
Powers and Abilities
White-eyed Demons were some of the oldest demons and thus among the most powerful to appear in the series. Lilith, as well as Alastair, were rather unafraid as they faced regular angels, Castiel was unable to smite Alastair and could not withstand him.[8] Despite their superiority against regular angels, they knew how tremendously powerful archangels are and preferred to flee when confronted by one of them since they wouldn't stand a chance against them.[14] The First White-eyed Demon Lilith was so powerful that she could create a trumpet that could absorb ghosts and demons. After her resurrection, she revealed that she allowed Sam to kill her. Without that limitation during her return, she was able to display more powers and invulnerabilities.[12][15][16][17]
- Biokinesis – Alastair directed a psychic attack on Sam and Dean simultaneously by raising his hand at them; causing them to grip their chests and fall down, implying that he was attacking their hearts or lungs.[3] With just a flick of her fingers, Lilith was able to cause cuts to appear on Dean's body.[12]
- Demonic Possession – White-eyed Demons can possess humans as vessels voluntarily or involuntarily, which allows them to manifest on Earth. Unlike most other demons, who usually enter and exit humans' bodies in a rush of black smoke as the humans scream, white-eyed Demons apparently can also do this without humans noticing as Lilith was able to leave her first vessel without the latter's mother noticing.[10]
- Telekinesis – White-eyed Demons had the ability to move objects with their mind. Lilith broke a grown man's neck with a flick of her fingers without touching it, and later used telekinesis to fling Sam and Dean across the room, holding Sam immobilized to a wall at the same time she did the same to Dean to a table.[10] Alastair used hand gestures to drag and throw people over large distances without physically touching them. During his first appearance, he also blasted apart a door without noticeable use of gestures.[3][11]
- Demonic White Light – Although only demonstrated by Lilith, by raising their hands, white-eyed Demons can generate blast rays of blinding white light usually from their vessel's palms which apparently destroys anything they want. For example, Lilith blew apart an entire police station without killing the people inside[18] and later performed the reverse by concentrating it solely on Sam so that it did not affect the house she was in at the time.[10] After her resurrection, Lilith displayed this power again, though she used it more as a concussive blast which was capable of throwing and knocking Sam unconscious.[12]
- Localization – White-eyed Demons can localize any human that is not protected by hex-bags. Shortly after Sam destroyed his and Dean's hex bags, Lilith appeared.[14]
- Immunity – White-eyed Demons couldn't be killed by a smiting from regular-level angels, showed immunity to iron and were able to enter and walk on hallowed ground. Furthermore, they were not vulnerable to holy water. Alastair was also extremely resistant to Ruby's Knife as it only caused him mild pain rather than the agony most Demons feel, and it was not deadly to him when he stabbed in the stomach and upper chest. Lilith proved to be the most resilient to Sam's demonic powers of all the demons he used it on, when he was at the peak of his power and Lilith's powers prove to be useless against him. After he had grown strong enough to incapacitate and kill Alastair with them, his powers merely stirred Lilith's hair. When he finally succeeded, it required (in addition to all the blood he already had) all the blood of one demon, more blood from another, immense effort from him, and Lilith intentionally provoking him to anger, nearly transforming him into a monster in the process. The effort of killing Lilith also exhausted Sam's powers completely.[3][8][14][19]
- Super Strength – As the first demons, white-eyed Demons are incredibly strong, more so than humans, ghosts, monsters, reapers, demons and even regular angels. While they can't kill angels using their own power, they can overpower them. Even while possessing the body of a little girl, Lilith slaughtered grown men with her bare hands.[10] When Lilith got involved in a physical struggle with Sam, she quickly overpowered him, although he had the more advantageous position (she was lying down beneath him) and weight (his body was much larger and muscular than her vessel).[14] Alastair lifted and strangled Dean with one hand without any signs of strain. He also lifted Castiel and placed him on a hook while they were both in vessels despite being weakened by hours of torture and just being stabbed with the demon-killing knife. Even without a vessel, he was strong enough to overpower and capture a reaper.[8][20]
- Invulnerability – White-eyed Demons cannot be harmed or killed by conventional means. Alastair withstood would-be fatal injuries such as numerous stabbings and prolonged torture with little reaction.[8]
- Flight – In their disembodied smoke state, they were able to fly.[14]
- Teleportation – As the oldest demons, White-eyed Demons can instantaneously disappear and reappear anywhere from one place to another instantly at will, including travel between Hell and Earth.[3][14]
- Immortality – White-eyed Demons had the potential to live forever. Lilith was the very first and eldest demon, predating all other demons to come.[19] Lilith was tens of thousands of years old. Although his exact age was not revealed, Alastair considered Ruby, who was over seven hundred years old, to be a young demon.[3]
- Astral Perception – White-eyed Demons could perceive beings that are invisible to humans such as ghosts, demons and reapers.[20]
- Super Stamina – White-eyed Demons didn't require food, sleep, water or air to sustain themselves. They had an incredibly high pain threshold, withstanding hours of extreme torture from Castiel, Uriel, and later Dean (his own pupil in torturing) without giving up any information. When he got free, he showed no signs of weakness or exhaustion despite multiple injuries to his vessel.[8]
- Thermokinesis – White-eyed Demons could emit extreme heat through their host's body. Lilith could control the intensity of this power. In one instance she was able to scald Sam's lips as she forcefully kissed him and in another instance, she was able to burn through a Devil's Trap by merely touching it.[10][14] After her resurrection, Lilith completely melted the Equalizer in mere seconds.[12]
- Spell Casting – As white-eyed demons were among the first demons in existence, they knew a wide variety of spells. Lilith used spells and rituals to break the 66 Seals, Alastair even knew an exorcism that worked on angels.[8]
- Regeneration - Lilith was able to heal her vessel from the injuries she suffered when impaled on deer antlers. She also healed the bullet wound in her head after forcefully ejecting the devil's trap bullet she was shot with.[12] Alastair was able to regenerate the wound after Sam and Castiel stabbed him with the demon-killing knife.[3][11]
- Sedation - Lilith was able to cause Dean to fall asleep.
- Terrakinesis - When removing the devil's trap bullet from her forehead, Lilith caused the ground to shake.[12]
- Torturing – Both Lilith and Alastair were especially skilled torturers. Alastair was the chief torturer of Hell and even managed to break Dean Winchester, as he agreed to torture others.[3][10] Alastair preferred Hell over earth, due to Hell being more suited for his studies and because he describes earth as an arctic craphole. After Lilith destroyed the police station she kept every occupant alive for another 45 minutes to torture them, she skinned Nancy Fitzgerald, while Nancy was still alive and forced everybody to watch.[21] In No Rest for the Wicked Lilith tormented the Freemont family holding them hostage in their house, forcing them to fullfil every demand she had, and inflicting psychological torture, fear, and stress, without even letting them live in the usual way they normally do, while she possessed their daughter. Two demons under torture stated that the torture which the Winchesters could devise would be a fly bite in comparison to Lilith's menthods and feared what Lilith could do, when the Winchesters tried to get information. Ruby stated that if Sam and Dean had faced Lilith she would "peel the meat from their pretty pretty faces."[22]
Weaknesses
White-eyed Demons are among the first and most durable demons to ever to exist, and, as such, were immune to most of the common demonic weaknesses. They do however had some weaknesses though.
Harming, Misleading or Trapping
- Holy water - Holy water caused pain to Alastair, but he was highly resistant to it and it did not cause him any scars like common demons and did not seem to be permanent.[8] Lilith however was stated to be immune to holy water, due to being the first demon.[23]
- Salt - Salt caused pain to Alastair, but, like holy water, he proved to be resistant to the harmful effects of salt in his throat.[8]
- Hex Bag - White-eyed demons couldn't locate someone if they are concealed by hex bags.[14]
- Host of Heaven - Multiple angels acting collectively captured Alastair.[20]
- Devil's Traps - A white-eyed demon can be trapped in a Devil's Trap. Lilith was careful near one Sam made and destroyed it. In the case of Alastair, an old-Enochian devil's trap was used, to ensure that not even he could overpower it.
- Devil's trap bullets - Lilith was briefly contained by a Devil's trap bullet.
- Demon-Killing Knife - A white-eyed demon can be harmed by this knife. Alastair proved to be durable to the knife, but Lilith was afraid of it before she was revived. However, after she was resurrected, Lilith showed only a strong aversion to the knife and was not afraid that it would kill her.
- Angel Blades (possibly) - On one occasion, Dean was going to try to attack Lilith with an Angel Blade, however it is unknown if it would have harmed her since she prevented the attack.
- White Light - When Anna Milton regained her grace, the light emenating from her true form obliterated Alastair's first vessel, though the demon himself was not harmed.
Banishing and Killing
- Primordial Entities - Lilith was terrified of God and thus followed his instructions to destroy The Equalizer.[13]
- Archangels - Lilith once fled in fear of Raphael, and both Lilith and Alastair were subservient to Lucifer and were his creations, in another occasion, when annoyed by Lilith, Michael effortlessly smote her.
- Special Children - White-eyed demons are vulnerable to a special child's powers and they can be killed by one, although Lilith stated that she allowed Sam to kill her.
Known White-eyed Demons
Appearances
- Season 2
- All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2 (smoke form)
- Season 3
- The Magnificent Seven (Lilith, referenced only)
- Malleus Maleficarum (Lilith, referenced only)
- Jus In Bello (Lilith, first appearance)
- Time Is On My Side (Lilith, mentioned only)
- No Rest for the Wicked (Lilith)
- Season 4
- Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Metamorphosis (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Yellow Fever (Lilith, as a hallucination)
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (Alastair, first appearance; Lilith, mentioned only)
- Heaven and Hell (Alastair)
- Criss Angel Is A Douchebag (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Death Takes A Holiday (Alastair)
- On The Head Of A Pin (Alastair; Lilith, mentioned only)
- The Monster at the End of This Book (Lilith)
- When The Levee Breaks (Alastair, as a hallucination; Lilith, mentioned only)
- Lucifer Rising (Lilith; Alastair, mentioned only)
- Season 5
- Sympathy for the Devil (Lilith, corpse)
- The Real Ghostbusters (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Sam, Interrupted (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Season 6
- Caged Heat (Alastair, mentioned only)
- The Man Who Would Be King (Lilith and Alastair, mentioned only)
- Season 7
- Season 8
- Season 12
- Stuck in the Middle (With You) (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Season 15
- Back and to the Future (Alastair, mentioned only)
- The Rupture (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Proverbs 17:3 (Lilith)
- Golden Time (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Last Call (Lilith, mentioned only)
- Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven (Lilith)
- Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting (non-canon, mentioned only)
Trivia
- As mentioned in The Essential Supernatural, white-eyed demons are the chiefs of the demon staff. The same book also suggests once or twice that the white-eyed demons are the first class of demons and that Alastair is the second white-eyed demon.
- White-eyed demons like Lilith and Alastair differ from other higher demon classes in that they are unnamed ancient and powerful demons that are not Princes and/or Knights of Hell.
- Lilith was the first white-eyed demon introduced, sharing her eye color with Alastair. She was also the first female Big Bad.
- Two more unknown white-eyed demons were mentioned in Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting. However, the book is non-canon.
- Both of the two known white-eyed demons, Alastair and Lilith were killed by Sam Winchester.
- In real Judeo-Christian demon lore, it's more common for demons to manifest white eyes than black eyes when they reveal themselves from their host. According to lore, demons can't look upon the sacred, which then causes the possesser's eyes to roll back when any holy relics are present in front of a demon and reveals their true demonic nature. Unlike the average demon, High-rank demons are believed to possess black or glowing eyes instead of white eyes like in Supernatural.
- Both of the known white-eyed demons were Hell's Torturers and Alastair was the Grand Torturer of Hell.
- This class of demons has the least number of known members at two, compared to a total of four members of the Princes of Hell and three named Knights of Hell, excluding known but unseen Knights killed by Cain.
- Both known white-eyed demons seem to have a preference for possessing blue-eyed humans. Out of seven on-screen hosts between the two demons, there was only one host who did not have blue eyes - Ruby's green-eyed blonde vessel, whom Lilith briefly possessed but notably did not herself choose as a host, having only possessed her in order to pose as Ruby.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Essential Supernatural
- ↑ Stuck in the Middle (With You)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Heaven and Hell
- ↑ Brother's Keeper
- ↑ Heaven and Hell
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Swan Song
- ↑ All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 On The Head Of A Pin
- ↑ All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 No Rest for the Wicked
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 I Know What You Did Last Summer
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Proverbs 17:3
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 The Monster at the End of This Book
- ↑ As Time Goes By
- ↑ First Born
- ↑ The Rupture
- ↑ Jus In Bello
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lucifer Rising
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Death Takes A Holiday
- ↑ Jus In Bello
- ↑ Lucifer Rising
- ↑ No Rest for the Wicked