Also Known As: Toby, Tobi, The Demon, Asmodeus
First Appearance: Paranormal Activity (2007)
Most Iconic Form: An unseen demonic presence haunting homes through cameras, shadows, possession and violent poltergeist activity
Kill Count: Multiple across the series
Tier: Second Class Tier
Toby is the demonic force at the centre of the Paranormal Activity franchise, an unseen presence whose influence stretches across decades. First introduced as the invisible entity haunting Katie and Micah, Toby is later revealed to have been attached to Katie’s family since childhood, tied to a witch coven known as the Midwives and a bargain involving the first male child born into the family line.
Unlike traditional demons who appear in full monstrous form, Toby is most frightening because he is often barely seen. His presence is felt through footsteps, moving doors, strange shadows, dragged bodies, possession, and the quiet dread of home video footage capturing something that should not be there. The name “Toby” is given to him by young Kristi in Paranormal Activity 3, while later franchise mythology identifies him with Asmodeus.
Film Appearances
Paranormal Activity (2007)
In the first film, Toby haunts Katie and Micah’s home, growing stronger as Micah mocks and provokes him. What begins with minor disturbances soon escalates into footsteps, burning Ouija board messages, demonic footprints, possession, and violent attacks. By the end, Katie is fully under Toby’s influence, Micah is killed, and Katie disappears.
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
The sequel expands the mythology by focusing on Kristi, Daniel, and their infant son Hunter. It is revealed that Hunter is the first male born into the family line in generations, making him central to the demonic bargain. After Daniel transfers the curse to Katie, Toby possesses her, leading to the murders of Daniel and Kristi and the kidnapping of Hunter.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
The third film shows Toby’s earliest known connection to Katie and Kristi in 1988. Kristi treats him as an imaginary friend, but his behaviour quickly turns possessive and violent. Toby plays games, hides in crawlspaces, attacks the family, and ultimately helps bring the girls to their grandmother Lois and the Midwives, where the ritualistic family curse is cemented.
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Set years later, Toby’s influence surrounds Wyatt, who is revealed to be Hunter under a new identity. The demon and the coven push him toward possession, while Katie returns as a corrupted servant of the same force. This entry shows Toby’s long game, turning childhood innocence into a vessel for something ancient and malevolent.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
This entry broadens Toby’s mythology beyond Katie and Kristi’s family, revealing a wider cult network known as the Midwives. Young men are marked, groomed, and possessed as part of a larger demonic plan. Through Jesse’s possession and the final time bending return to Katie and Micah’s house, the film connects Toby’s influence across families, timelines, and rituals.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Here, Toby becomes more visible than ever through a special camera that can detect spiritual forces. The film reveals his desire to gain a physical body, using Leila and a doorway connected to the earlier events involving Katie and Kristi. By the finale, Toby manifests in a more physical form, completing a major step in his long running plan.
Character and Legacy
Toby is one of modern horror’s most recognisable unseen antagonists. His power lies in escalation. A door moving slightly, a shadow crossing a room, or a figure standing over a bed becomes terrifying because the audience is forced to stare into empty space and wait for proof that something is there.
The franchise’s found footage style made Toby feel invasive and intimate. He does not haunt castles or gothic ruins. He invades bedrooms, nurseries, kitchens, and suburban homes. That domestic realism helped make Paranormal Activity a global phenomenon and turned Toby into a defining supernatural villain of twenty first century horror.
His mythology grew more complex across the sequels, involving witches, bloodlines, possession, time loops, portals, and demonic bargains. Yet the core fear remained simple: something unseen is in the house, and it wants control.
League Placement
Toby belongs in the Second Class Tier. He may not have a consistent physical form like many iconic slashers, but his influence across an entire franchise, his evolving mythology, and his ability to terrify without ever fully revealing himself make him one of the most effective supernatural killers of the modern era.