A family in Saudi Arabia is taking a "genie" to court, accusing it of theft and harassment, reports say

They accuse the spirit of threatening them, throwing stones and stealing mobile phones, Al Watan newspaper said. The family have lived in the same house near the city of Medina for 15 years but say they only recently became aware of the spirit. They have now moved out. A local court is investigating. In Islamic theology, genies are spirits that can harass or possess humans. A local court says it is trying to verify the truthfulness of the claims "despite the difficulty" of doing so. Genies, or jinn, in Islamic theology can be very sinister. They are believed to be normally invisible but with the ability to assume human or animal form, and are often said to be motivated by revenge or jealousy. There is a lingering belief in genies in the Muslim world that predates Islam.