Genies or djinns are supernatural creatures from pre-Islamic and Islamic mythology. [1] [2] [3] They are associated with shapeshifting, possession and madness. [1] [2] In later Western popular representation, they became associated with wish-granting [1] [3] and often live in magic lamps or bottles. [2] [3] They appear in One Thousand and One Nights and its adaptations, among other stories. [1] [4] The wish-granting djinns from One Thousand and One Nights, however, are the divs of Persian origin, not the Arabian djinns. [5]
Djinn is the original term. Genie was first used in the 1704 French translation of One Thousand and One Nights by Antoine Galland and is mostly associated with wish-granting djinns. The terms Ifrit and marid typically refer to evil djinns. [1]
Among the earliest depictions in fiction are the tales collated in One Thousand and One Nights. Following its translation into European languages in the early 18th century, djinns or genies started appearing in Western literature. These Western portrayals were often influenced by Orientalism. In the 20th century, djinns started appearing in film and television. The 1964 film The Brass Bottle and the 1965–1970 television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie it inspired represented a turning point in genies being portrayed more comedically. [1]
Genies have been depicted in different ways depending on time and location. [1] A central trait is that of shapeshifting. [1] [2] In Western portrayals in particular, they grant wishes, sometimes corrupting the wishes by interpreting them overly literally. [1] [3] They are often depicted as living or being trapped in various types of containers such as lamps, bottles, or jars. [1] [2] [3] They are variously portrayed as good or evil. [2]
Djinns and genies have appeared in diverse genres including comedy, horror, and musicals. [1] [4] The mid-10th century story The Case of the Animals versus Man uses a djinn for political allegory. [1] Djinns are depicted in the frame story of One Thousand and One Nights as well as several of the tales within, including "The Fisherman and the Jinni" where a fisher finds a djinn in a jar and forces it to help him and "The Second Kalandar's Tale" where a djinn kidnaps a newlywed woman. [1] The tale of Aladdin, which was not originally included in One Thousand and One Nights, is a famous story of genies being helpful that has been adapted numerous times including as the 1961 film The Wonders of Aladdin and the 1992 animated film Aladdin . [1] [3] [4] The 1879 poem "The Khan's Devil" by John Greenleaf Whittier uses an evil genie as a symbolic representation of alcoholism. [1] Fantasy stories of wish fulfillment occasionally depict the release of djinns sealed away long ago, as in the 1883 short story "Containing Mrs Shelmire's Djinn" by Max Adeler and the 1945 novel Miss Carter and the Ifrit by Susan Alice Kerby. [6]
Films adapting or inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, such as the 1940 film The Thief of Bagdad , frequently feature genies. [4] Genies also appear in stories set in the present, including the 1945 film Where Do We Go from Here? where an inept genie repeatedly fails to fulfil wishes, the 1900 novel The Brass Bottle by Thomas Anstey Guthrie and its multiple adaptations, and the 1963 The Twilight Zone episode "I Dream of Genie" where a man wishes to become a genie. [1] [3] [4] Comedic portrayals of genies, popularized in the 1960s, later appeared in the 1996 film Kazaam where a genie lives in a boombox and the aforementioned 1992 film Aladdin. [1] Malevolent djinns appear in the 1987 film The Outing and several computer games. [1] [4] The 1997 film Wishmaster depicts a malevolent djinn and outright rejects the comedic portrayals in I Dream of Jeannie and the 1992 version of Aladdin. [1] [7]
Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series that begins with the 2003 novel Ill Wind depicts a human being resurrected as a djinn. [6] In the Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud, beginning with the 2003 novel The Amulet of Samarkand , a djinn has a human apprentice. [6] The 2008 novel The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak portrays two djinns—one good and one evil. [1] In the 2013 science fiction novel HWJN by Ibraheem Abbas and Yasser Bahjatt, djinns reside in a parallel dimension, and one of them has a romantic relationship with a human. [8] [9]
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English-language edition, which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment.
Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the 6 April 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Ancalagon, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.
Aladdin is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with One Thousand and One Nights, despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.
Ifrit, also spelled as efreet, afrit, and afreet, plural عفاريت ʿafārīt), is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. The ʿafārīt are often associated with the underworld and identified with the spirits of the dead, and have been compared to evil geniī loci in European culture. In Quran, hadith, and Mi'raj narrations the term is always followed by the phrase "among the jinn". In later folklore, they developed into independent entities, identified as powerful demons or spirits of the dead who sometimes inhabit desolate places such as ruins and temples. Their true habitat is the Jahannam or underworld.
Wishmaster is a 1997 American dark fantasy horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman. The film was executive produced by Wes Craven, and is the only film of the Wishmaster series with his name attached. Its plot concerns a djinn, a wish-granting, evil genie who is released from a jewel and seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow djinn to inhabit and enslave the Earth.
Arabic epic literature encompasses epic poetry and epic fantasy in Arabic literature. Virtually all societies have developed folk tales encompassing tales of heroes. Although many of these are legends, many are based on real events and historical figures.
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthurian, Celtic, or Dark Ages could just as easily be placed in historical fantasy. Stories fitting this classification generally take place prior to the 20th century.
A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.
The three wishes joke is a joke format in which a character is given three wishes by a supernatural being, and fails to make the best use of them. Common scenarios include releasing a genie from a lamp, catching and agreeing to release a mermaid or magical fish, or crossing paths with the devil. The first two wishes go as expected, with the third wish being misinterpreted, or granted in an unexpected fashion that doesn't reflect the intent of the wish. Alternatively, the wishes are split between three people, with the last person's wish inadvertently or intentionally thwarting or undoing the wishes of the other characters. An example of the three wishes joke runs as follows:
Three men are stranded on a desert island, when a bottle washes up on the shore. When they uncork the bottle, a genie appears and offers three wishes. The first wishes to be taken to Paris. The genie snaps his fingers, and the man suddenly finds himself standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. The second man wishes that he were in Hollywood, and with a snap of the genie's fingers, he finds himself on a Tinseltown movie set. The third man, now alone on the island, looks around and says, "I wish my friends were back."
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.
Children of the Lamp is a series of contemporary fantasy novels written by the British author P. B. Kerr. It tells the story of twins John and Philippa as they discover how to act in the world of djinn.
A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of every country where rings are worn. Some magic rings can endow the wearer with a variety of abilities including invisibility and immortality. Others can grant wishes or spells such as neverending love and happiness. Sometimes, magic rings can be cursed, as in the mythical ring that was recovered by Sigurð from the hoard of the worm Fáfnir in Norse mythology or the fictional ring that features in The Lord of the Rings. More often, however, they are featured as forces for good, or as a neutral tool whose value is dependent upon the wearer.
The Loch Ness Monster is a creature from folklore that has appeared in popular culture in various genres since at least 1934. It is most often depicted as a relict dinosaur or similar, but other explanations for its existence such as being a shapeshifter or from outer space also appear. It is only occasionally portrayed as threatening, despite its name.
Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning, though the idea of a distinct genre, in the modern sense, is less than two centuries old.
"What Is and What Should Never Be" is the twentieth episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural's second season. It was first broadcast on May 3, 2007 on The CW. The narrative follows series protagonist Dean Winchester who finds himself in an alternate reality after a confrontation with a djinn [sic]. The creature appears to have fulfilled Dean's greatest wish: that his mother had not been killed when he was a child. Dean is happy in the new world until it becomes apparent that his previous work as a hunter of supernatural creatures has been undone. At this point, he rejects the alternate reality, and attempts to find a method to bring himself back.
Immortality is a common theme in fiction. The concept has been depicted since the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known work of fiction. Originally appearing in the domain of mythology, it has later become a recurring element in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. For most of literary history, the dominant perspective has been that the desire for immortality is misguided, albeit strong; among the posited drawbacks are ennui, loneliness, and social stagnation. This view was challenged in the 20th century by writers such as George Bernard Shaw and Roger Zelazny. Immortality is commonly obtained either from supernatural entities or objects such as the Fountain of Youth or through biological or technological means such as brain transplants.
Slaves of Sleep is a science fantasy novel by American writer L. Ron Hubbard. It was first published in book form in 1948 by Shasta Publishers; the novel originally appeared in a July 1939 issue of pulp fantasy fiction magazine Unknown. The novel presents a story in which a man travels to a parallel universe ruled by Ifrits. The protagonist takes on the identity of a human in this dimension, and becomes involved in the politics of Ifrits in this fictional "Arabian Nights" world.
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction which involves themes of the supernatural, magic, and imaginary worlds and creatures.
1001 Arabian Nights is a 1959 American animated comedy film produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Released to theaters on December 1, 1959, the film is a loose adaptation of the Arab folktale of "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights, albeit with the addition of UPA's star cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, to the story as Aladdin's uncle, "Abdul Azziz Magoo". It is the first animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures.
Those acknowledged by the Arabs differed from those of the Persians. The genii of "The Arabian Nights" were the divs of Indian legends adapted by the Persians to their romances.