AFRIT/E
Muslim Mythology
Arabic Mythology
A group of Jinn
The AFRIT is not one single being but a classification of five types of powerful JINNS of Muslim and Arabic mythology and folklore. They also go by the names AFREET, AFRITE, EFRIT, IFREET, and IFRIT in various Arabic regions. The AFRIT are described as being enormous both in height and girth and, often, as having horns on the head and hooves instead of feet. The tales associated with these beings tell of their extremely malicious behavior toward any human victim, such that the mere mention of their name inspires unspeakable terror. Ordinarily they inhabit desert wastelands, but the people of Kenya on the east coast of Africa believe they lurk in the muddy depths of pools and rivers. There, like the English Nursery bogie JENNY GREENTEETH, they seize unattended children by the legs and drag them to their deaths. According to Arabic legend, KING SOLOMON compelled an AFREET to become his servent. LORD BYRON, ever interested in the romantic legends of the middle east, wrote an AFRIT into his work "The GIAOUR".
Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth