The Anunnaki

Mortal beings should have been wiped out in pre-history by the powerful demons who ruled the Earth then. But a race of Old Ones known as the Anunnaki encouraged their survival. They had a fascination for mortals, much the way human children like to observe insects going about their business--crawling across a sidewalk, spinning a web--or human adults turn keeping a pet into a hobby--shows, pedigrees. The Anunnaki aided and influenced their early formation.

It was their undoing. Humans not only survived the demon era, they found ways to drive the last pure demons from the Earth. In their anger, the demons cast the Anunnaki into a prison dimension from which they could not escape, and from which they were powerless to act on the mortal plane.

The curse that binds the Anunnaki in their prison is tied to the fate of humanity. The weaker humanity becomes of its own volition, the stronger the Anunnaki will be--some day, strong enough to escape that place. So now the Anunnaki are in the business of human corruption. They grant wishes. Some humans simply self-destruct on their own self-indulgence; others, the Anunnaki cut deals with. They grant the human's wish, and in exchange, after one hundred years of youth, the human must join them in their hell. They are only allowed back on Earth to do their patrons' bidding. Willis is one such minion. Professor Roth may soon be another if she doesn't find a way out of her pact.

The Anunnaki's interest in Connor is part of their scheme to escape the curse, because thwarting his rather significant destiny will give them enough power to escape their prison dimension.

(In common scholarship, the Anunnaki are also part of the pantheon of Sumerian gods.)