Jinn

By Deane Barker •

This is the Arabic word for “genie,” but is used to refer to a large category of supernatural creatures.

It seems to be used more often in a negative context. From Wikipedia:

Jinn are often mentioned together with devils. Both devils and jinn feature in folklore and are held responsible for misfortune, possession and diseases.

(I feel like genies in American fiction are more often benevolent?)

Why I Looked It Up

I remembered the word from a subplot in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, where a jinn was something to be feared.

I found it again in Cutting for Stone. A nursing student is sent to fetch a physician in an emergency situation:

She ran as if jinn were chasing her…

Links from this – American Gods December 31, 2015
A wonderful book – some cross between a road trip buddy movie and a psychedelic drug experience. I’ll try not to spoil anything, but the basic premise is that when immigrants came to America, they brought their gods and superstitions with them. Norse gods, and Pagan gods, and elves and leprechauns...
Links from this – Cutting for Stone September 21, 2021
Absolutely stunning novel. I had heard of the book for years. My mother was born in Ethiopia in the 1940s (my grandparents were missionaries from New Zealand), and several people had told me that the story in the novel resembled my mother’s experience there as a child. The book was purchased for me...