 A field study (Charles Stewart, 1985) finds that "empousa" is a term that is rarely used in oral tradition, compared to other terms such as "gello" which has a similar meaning.According to Robert Graves, Empusa was a demigoddess, the beautiful daughter of the goddess Hecate and the spirit Mormo.She feasted on blood by seducing young men as they slept (see sleep paralysis), before drinking their blood and eating their flesh.