FAMILIAR

in Western demonology, small animal or imp kept as a witch's attendant, given to her by the devil or inherited from another witch. The familiar was a low-ranking demon that assumed any animal shape, such as a toad, dog, insect, or black cat. Sometimes the familiar was described as a grotesque creature of fantasy, an amalgam of several creatures. The familiar was believed to subsist by sucking blood from a witch's fingers or other protuberances on her body such as a mole or a wart. During the European witchcraft trials of the 15th17th century a suspected witch was searched for the teats by which she fed her familiar, and these, like the devil's brand marks, were considered sure signs of her guilt.