Vengeance demons are a group of beings that appear in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They are immortals who travel the world exacting vengeance on behalf of victims, such as scorned men, women or neglected children. Some of them, according to Halfrek in the episode "Older and Far Away", prefer to be called justice demons, which carries less stigma than 'vengeance'; the term "vengeance demon" itself was first used in "Pangs". Their typical method is to encourage a wronged person to vent spleen about those who have hurt them. The moment the object of the demon's attention expresses their preferred method of punishment in the form of a wish, the vengeance demon can cause his or her wish to come true, whether it requires gruesome dismemberment or even the creation of a new alternate universe (as in "The Wish

The Wish (Buffy episode)

"The Wish" is the ninth episode of season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :Following Xander and Willow's kiss in "Lovers Walk", Oz has called a time-out on his relationship with Willow and Cordelia is decidedly avoiding any contact with Xander. Cordelia returns to school only to be...

").

Two vengeance demons have appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anyanka

Anya Jenkins

Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...

 (also known as Anya) and Halfrek

Halfrek

Halfrek or Hallie is a recurring fictional character on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She appears as a vengeance demon in seasons 6 and 7, and has previously appeared as Cecily in season 5. She is played by actress Kali Rocha....

 (sometimes called Hallie). Anya, the more prominent of the two, specializes in punishing men who have scorned women. She loses her powers and became human, eventually falling in love with Xander Harris

Xander Harris

Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...

 and becoming a member of the Scooby Gang. Halfrek's principal concern appears to be children abandoned by their families. She has appeared periodically, often to encourage Anya back into her demonic ways.

The vengeance demons are led by a male demon, D'Hoffryn

D'Hoffryn

D'Hoffryn is a fictional character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Andy Umberger. He is a powerful entity high in the demonic hierarchy. He's the master of the vengeance demons, a cabal which includes humans who are "elevated" to demonic status and endowed with mystical powers enabling them...

. D'Hoffryn appears to human women who have exacted notable revenge on their loved ones, and transforming them into demons. In a flashback in "Selfless" D'Hoffryn recruits of Anyanka, and in "Something Blue" he fails to recruit Willow Rosenberg

Willow Rosenberg

Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...

.

Marti Noxon

Marti Noxon

Martha Mills "Marti" Noxon is an American television and film writer first known for writing and producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Production :...

, who introduced vengeance demons to the Buffyverse

Buffyverse

The Buffyverse, also known as the Whedonverse or Slayerverse , is the shared fictional universe in which the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are set. This term, originally coined by fans of the TV series, has since been used in the titles of published works, and adopted by Joss...

 in the season three episode "The Wish

The Wish (Buffy episode)

"The Wish" is the ninth episode of season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :Following Xander and Willow's kiss in "Lovers Walk", Oz has called a time-out on his relationship with Willow and Cordelia is decidedly avoiding any contact with Xander. Cordelia returns to school only to be...

", has revealed that she was inspired by a discussion of goddesses in the Introduction to Feminisms course taught by Bettina Aptheker

Bettina Aptheker

Bettina Fay Aptheker is an American activist, author, feminist, and professor.-Early years and education:Aptheker was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina to the first cousins Fay Philippa Aptheker and Herbert Aptheker, a radical activist and Marxist historian. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York....

 at the University of California, Santa Cruz

University of California, Santa Cruz

The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...

.

Despite the severity of the vengeance they inflict, vengeance demons are comically portrayed as white-collar workers. Throwaway comments by Anya, Halfrek, D'Hoffryn all suggest an office-like setting, where demons relate their stories of vengeance and gossip to each other. At one point, Anya is required to file a flightplan before teleporting

Teleportation

Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...

.

Overall, vengeance demons appear similar to the classic depictions of genie

Genie

Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...

s, as they obey the exact wording of a wish but do not give the wisher what they want. For example, Cordelia Chase

Cordelia Chase

Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...

's wish to Anyanka that Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...

 had never come to Sunnydale results in an alternate history where the Order of Aurelius

Order of Aurelius

The Order of Aurelius is a fictional cult of vampires, seen primarily in the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the first episodes of the show's second season.-The select, the elite:...

, a centuries-old vampire cult, rules the town with an iron fist ("The Wish

The Wish (Buffy episode)

"The Wish" is the ninth episode of season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot synopsis :Following Xander and Willow's kiss in "Lovers Walk", Oz has called a time-out on his relationship with Willow and Cordelia is decidedly avoiding any contact with Xander. Cordelia returns to school only to be...

"), while Dawn Summers

Dawn Summers

Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...

's wish to Halfrek that nobody would leave her causes the guests at Buffy's 21st birthday party, as well as anyone else who enters the Summers residence

Summers Residence

The Summers Residence, located at 1630 Revello Drive in the fictional city of Sunnydale, California, is the home of Buffy Summers and her family in the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- History :...

, to be trapped inside ("Older and Far Away").

External links

• Vengeance Demons (Buffy Trivia Guide)