Genie sued by Saudi family

Forget Aladdin’s friendly blue sidekick–a Saudi family has actually sued a genie for theft and harassment. After living in the same house for 15 years, the family recently became aware of the intruder:

The lawsuit filed in Shariah court accuses the genie of leaving them threatening voicemails, stealing their cell phones and hurling rocks at them when they leave their house at night, said Al-Watan newspaper.

An investigation was under way, local court officials said.

"We have to verify the truthfulness of this case despite the difficulty of doing so," Sheikh Amr Al Salmi, the head of the court, told Al-Watan. "What makes this case and complaint more interesting is that it wasn’t filed by just one person. Every member of the family is part of this case."

…"We began hearing strange noises," the head of the family, who requested anonymity, told Al-Watan. "In the beginning we didn’t take it seriously, but after that, stranger things started happening and the children got really scared when the genie began throwing stones.""

In Islamic theology, genies or ‘jinns‘ can be invisible or take human or animal form, and are often motivated by revenge or jealousy. I’m envious of the investigators of this case, as I’d like to play ghostbuster myself, although I’m not clear on where I would slap a pair of cuffs.