Stellar Devil


 * Not to be confused with the Space-devils.

Stellar Devils are a mysterious species of predators, at least one of which inhabited a red comet that passed close to Earth in 1369, when it was visible in the night sky of the French province of Averoigne for several weeks. Before that, they had been present on Earth at the time of the founding of Atlantis.

Biology
In their natural form, Stellar Devils are invisible and intangible, incapable of interacting with Earth creatures. However, they can manifest themselves on Earth by inhabiting the body of a Human being, each night taking over the host's body and transforming it into a strange predatory creature. The host retains no memory of these transformations and isn't aware of what's happening.

In the transformed state, they become serpentine beasts, with black skin that emits a color-changing luminescence. The head is flat and snake-like, with small lidless red eyes set close together, and no sign of a nose or ears. The mouth is filled with sharp serrated teeth. The number of limbs is unknown, but they seem to undulate as they move. The creatures slither around swiftly and make no sound whatsoever, allowing them to easily ambush prey. Despite being the size of a man, they can cling to vertical stone walls like a spider.

On Earth, they have been observed to prey on stags, wolves, horses, oxes, and principally Humans, indiscriminately tearing apart men, women and children to rip open their backbones and feed on their spinal marrow. While they can also scavenge for dead bodies, they prefer to go after live prey.

Appearances

 * "The Beast of Averoigne", by Clark Ashton Smith (1933)