Evil Genies



"As you wish."

- The Djinn granting wishes to his unsuspecting victims.

Evil Genies are a common archetype of fiction, especially fantasy and horror - though versions of them exist in almost any genre you can think of: an evil genie is an individual who can grant the wishes of others (whether by magic or by wealth/power) but almost always ensures the wish turns out bad for their victim.

They are not the same as a literal genie, who will grant a wish to the exact specification - whether good or bad - an Evil Genie will normally deliberately try and make the outcome as horrible as possible, for example: A man wishes to be left alone, a Literal Genie may transport him to a remote island or desert - away from others with little chance of being found: an Evil Genie would take the wish to a more extreme measure such as transporting the man into the depths of space, allowing him to be alone while drifting haplessly in the void or alternatively leaving him as the sole survivor of an apocalyptic disaster, again leaving him alone in a barren world.

Examples of Evil Genies

 * The Devil: many countless tales abound of Satan tempting people and giving them their hearts desires for a terrible price. He even tried (and failed) to tempt Jesus by offering him the entire world in exchange for worship.
 * Genie Jafar (Aladdin): Upon gaining genie-level powers, Jafar could not kill - however he could grant wishes and made certain they were as unpleasant as possible for those who dared ask him for them.
 * Djinn (Wishmaster): The whole character of the Djinn is about tricking mortals into asking for wishes so he can corrupt and twist them in gruesome ways.
 * Puck (Gargoyles): Normally a trickster by nature, Puck ventured into this archetype once when he twisted Demona's wish to be immune to sunlight - via turning her into a human by day (the one thing she hated more than anything else).
 * Lubdan (Leprechaun): Ventured into this archetype when he was forced to grant 3 wishes to someone who stole his gold - it did not turn out well for them.