To possess or haunt (to attach to a person or place, as a spirit). Figuratively, to cling like an obsession; commonly used as ～に憑く.
古い家には幽霊が憑いていると言われている。
People say the old house is haunted.
彼は勝利への執着が憑くようにプレッシャーを感じている。
He feels pressured as if an obsession with victory has possessed him.
その噂は彼女に憑いたかのように消えなかった。
The rumor clung to her as if it had possessed her; it did not go away.