Yes, Spectrophilia, Aka Ghost Sex, Is A Thing

Last night, I slept with my window open and in the middle of the night, I felt a presence—a cool, gentle touch that moved delicately up my leg toward my thigh. Was it happening? Was I about to experience ghost sex? In fact, no: I had forgotten the window was open and the sensation was an above-average sized mosquito. I killed it, and it was gross. For now, I would not have an encounter with a horny apparition.

The Entity is a 1982 film based on the 1974 case of Doris Bither, a woman who claimed to have been repeatedly sexually assaulted by an invisible entity, and who was observed by doctoral students at the University of California, Los Angeles.

While getting the bug guts off my hand, I considered: maybe we’ve been sleeping on the concept of ghost sex, or spectrophilia, as the academics call it. After yesterday’s headlines about Amethyst Realm, a British woman who is now engaged to a spirit, I considered what it might be to lie next to a ghost, and no, I’m not referencing my last relationship (hey-o). I’m talking a real ghost. How common is ghost sex really? How many people are out there getting that ghost dick?

Spectrophilia goes much deeper than I originally thought. There’s a whole vocabulary: incubus (not the band) is the male form of a demon or spirit who tries to impregnate a woman with his ghost sperm. Succubus (not the easy-to-care-for plant) is a woman spirit who is just out here trying to get pregnant by a human man. And then there’s Amethyst, who has a real connection and once fucked her ghost boyfriend in an airplane bathroom. Good for her… read more >