A narrator (Angus Scrimm) explains that when "God breathed life into the universeâ¦the light gave birth to Angelsâ¦the earth gave birth to man..the fire gave birth to the djinn, creatures condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds." If a person wakes a djinn, that person will receive three wishes but the third wish will free legions of djinn on Earth. In 1127, the djinn (Andrew Divoff) asks a Persian emperor to make his second wish. When the emperor wishes to see wonders, the djinn uses his powers to torture and mutilate people in the palace. The emperor is horrified, but the djinn tells him to use his third wish to set things right. Before the emperor can make his third wish, Zoroaster (Ari Barak), a sorcerer, explains the consequences of the third wish and reveals a fire opal, which pulls the djinn inside and traps him.In present day America, Raymond Beaumont (Robert Englund) supervises workers lowering a box containing an antique statue of Ahura Mazda onto a ship. The worker (Joseph Pilato) who is operating the crane is drunk and drops the box, killing Beaumont's assistant (Ted Raimi) and destroying the statue. A dockworker steals the fire opal from the rubble and pawns it. Eventually the jewel reaches Regal Auctioneers, where Nick Merritt (Chris Lemmon) instructs appraiser Alexandra "Alex" Amberson (Tammy Lauren) to examine it, which wakes the djinn. Alex sees something inside the jewel and leaves it with her close friend and colleague, Josh Aickman (Tony Crane), to analyze. As he is collecting data, the gem explodes, destroying the lab and releasing the djinn. Josh is killed, upon his wish for relief from his physical pain.Alex tracks the gem to the statue which she tracks to Beaumont, who sends Alex to visit Wendy Derleth (Jenny O'Hara), a folklore professor, who explains the history of the gem and the djinn. Later, Alex learns that the djinn needs to power the gem with human souls and then grant her three wishes before he can open the gateway to release the djinn on Earth. Meanwhile, the djinn takes the form of a dead man and uses the name Nathaniel Demerest. He grants wishes in exchange for souls while he searches for Alex. Each time the djinn grants a wish, Alex sees troubling visions. She consults Derleth, but realizes that she is talking to the djinn, who has killed Derleth and taken her form. The djinn confronts Alex and offers her three wishes, as well an extra "test" wish; she orders the djinn to kill itself. He shoots himself in the head with a gun but his wound heals instantly, revealing the djinn as an immortal. Using the first of the official three wishes, Alex wishes to know her opponent, the djinn. He teleports her to his world within the gem which terrifies her. She wishes herself back to her apartment, alone.The Djinn had been threatening Alex's sister, Shannon (Wendy Benson), so Alex hurries to a party Beaumont invited them to earlier. The djinn follows, again disguised as Nathaniel Demerest. When Beaumont wishes his party would be unforgettable, the djinn causes artwork to kill the guests. Eventually the djinn corners the sisters and attempts to scare Alex into making her third wish. Alex wishes the crane operator, Mickey Torelli, had not been drunk at work, undoing the events that followed and trapping the djinn in the fire opal again.The now sober crane operator lowers the crate with no problems. Alex visits Joshânow alive againâwho notices that Alex seems pleased with herself, though she does not explain why. Inside the jewel on the statue of Ahura Mazdaânow in Beaumont's private collectionâthe djinn waits on a throne, waiting to be released.
Output: Question: What is Wendy Derleth's profession?, Answer: Folklore Professor