Originally Posted by terraphantm

That could work. Take a look at what Fi has to say about Demise





So he apparently appears differently every time period, and perhaps even to people themselves. That fits with being spirits without a physical form - they simply manifest as whatever is feared by the onlooker.

Also I don't personally believe the Zelda creators are trying to get too deep with regards to the nature of western vs eastern demons. The Zelda series as a whole has been influenced by all sorts of cultures. They very well could have taken bits and pieces from different schools of thought on demons, and made their own variant.