I recently realized while watching the trailer for a horror movie (The Devil's Hand) that whenever the plot of a story revolves around a demonic curse or malediction, a woman is involved. We all know that famous trope that was used in The Exorcist: a young, teenage girl (possibly a virgin) turns out to be the devil's messenger or the devil in disguise. It's never a middle-aged man.

Apart from the fact that teen girls/young women attract a large mainstream audience for popular entertainment, do you have any ideas why young women in horror movies are so often associated with the devil? My guess is that more or less subconsciously, scenarists are inspired by ancient historical beliefs that linked women with evil forces (see: Salem witch trials in the 17th century for example). Nowadays, in a lot of cultures, women are often seen as impure during their periods and menstrual blood is believed to be cursed in some countries (also, wasn't menstruation referred to as The Curse at some point in history?).

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on that, I think it's an interesting subject to dwell on. If anyone has done any extended research on the topic, I'd be interested in reading it!