As your question suggests, “hereditary spirits” are supposedly “evil spirits that are passed down (transferred) from one relative to another.” There is a present-day movie called “Hereditary” that is based on this belief that if a person who is possessed of a demon passes away that demon may then possess their children, grandchildren, or some other relative. In other words, the “evil spirit passes on from one generation to another.” There is no evidence of this in the Bible; in fact, the opposite is true. I would encourage you to read the following examples of demon possession in the New Testament and you will see that in each case ONE FAMILY MEMBER was possessed and there is no mention of it being inherited by another family member: 1) A son with a “mute spirit” in Mark 9:14-29; 2) A man with an “unclean spirit” in Mark 5:1-20; and 3) A woman with a “spirit of divination” in Acts 16:16-18.

Having said that, there is something evil that is passed on from every parent to their children. It started with Adam and Eve and it continues to this day. I’m speaking of SIN! The moment Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden they acquired a SIN NATURE and when they had children this sin nature was passed on to them. We see this truth in Romans 5:12 & 19a, “Therefore, just as through one man SIN entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death SPREAD TO ALL MEN, because all sinned…For…by one man’s disobedience MANY WERE MADE SINNERS.” In Genesis 5:3 we read, “And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and BEGOT A SON IN HIS OWN LIKENESS, after his image, and named him Seth.” The words “in his own likeness” may refer to “physical qualities” but it most definitely includes the fact that Seth was now, LIKE ADAM, a “sinner with a sin nature.” It is striking that throughout this chapter we read of the birth of many sons but in each case, it says, “and he died.” Because he was BORN IN SIN, he had to die! Later, in Psalm 51:4, King David admitted, “Behold, I was brought forth IN INIQUITY, and IN SIN my mother conceived me.” David was well aware of this sinful nature and how it gave him the desire to “commit sin” in his life (in this Psalm he was confessing his sins to God). The apostle Paul also referred to this sin nature in Romans chapter 7. After admitting that he was in bondage to certain sins he said, “But now, it is no longer I who do it, but SIN that dwells in me. For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do. But the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but SIN THAT DWELLS IN ME” (verses 17-20).

Because we have all “inherited a SINFUL NATURE,” we all have a propensity towards certain sins. Some people believe if one had an alcoholic parent, they may have “inherited alcoholism” from them, but the truth is they inherited a sin nature from their parent and may indeed have a “natural tendency” towards drinking alcohol because of being exposed to this sinful lifestyle. The same may hold true for “demon-possession,” for if one’s parent (or parents) were involved in the occult and became possessed of an “unclean spirit,” their children, who inherited the sin nature from them, may also become involved in the occult which could lead to them being demon-possessed. But this is not a foregone conclusion, for there are many children who do NOT engage in the same sinful lifestyle as their parents (though they are sinners and do have a “natural tendency” towards other sins).

So, there is no evidence in the Bible of inheriting an evil spirit but we have inherited a sinful nature from our parents (see also John 3:6a). Because of our being “born in sin” we will also “practice sin” (see Romans 3:23). The only REMEDY for this is being “born again” through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to read John 3:1-16 to learn about this New Birth and then read John 8:31-36 to see how Christ can “set the believer free from practicing sin.”  (470.1)  (DO)