{{for|the death metal band|Ghoul (band)}}
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[[Image:Ghoul.gif|thumb|right|200px|The iconic ghoul from ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.]]
A '''ghoul''' is a [[monster]] from ancient [[Arabian]] [[folklore]] that dwells in graveyards and other uninhabited places. The [[English language|English]] word comes from the Arabic name for the creature: الغول ''ghūl'', which literally means "[[demon]]".<ref>{{cite web|title="ghoul"|work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|url=http://webster.com/dictionary/ghoul|accessdate=January 22|accessyear=2006}}</ref> The ''ghul'' is a devilish type of [[jinn]] believed to be sired by [[Iblis]].<ref>{{cite web|title="ghoul"|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036705?query=Ghoul&ct=eb|accessdate=January 22|accessyear=2006}}</ref>

The female form is given as "ghouleh" in Muhawi and Kanaana (see ref below).  The plural is "ghilan".

''Ghul'' is also the name for a [[desert]]-dwelling [[shapeshifter|shapeshifting]] demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a [[hyena]]. It lures unwary travellers into the desert wastes to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children{{fact}}, robs [[grave]]s, and eats the dead<ref>"ghoul", ''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary''.</ref>. Because of the latter habit, the word ''ghoul'' is sometimes used to refer to an ordinary human such as a [[grave robber]], or to anyone who delights in the [[macabre]]. The word "ghoul" has also been used to describe cannibals such as [[Jeffrey Dahmer]].{{cn}} 

The star [[Algol]] takes its name from this creature.<ref>{{cite web|title=Algol|work=STARS|author=Jim Kaler (Prof. Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Illinois)|accessdate=February 18|accessyear=2006|url=http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/algol.html}}</ref>

==In Iran==
In Iranian mythologies, Ghuls are creatures very similar to humans but with very larger size; usually with much less intelligence and not necessarily evil.
Most Farsi speakers use Ghul to describe people with huge body, and that is not considered insult.

==Fictional representations==
In modern fiction, ghouls are often confused with other types of [[undead]], usually the mindless varieties of [[vampires]] and [[zombies]]. Although modern fiction (post-1954), particularly 1954's ''[[I Am Legend]]'', suggests that the latter beings share cannibalistic habits with ghouls, it is nonetheless generally believed that vampires and zombies prefer live prey.

[[Bram Stoker]]'s [[1897]] novel ''[[Dracula]]'' features a ghoulish character named [[Renfield]]. Under the vampire's influence, Renfield becomes his willing slave and develops a craving to eat living creatures in the hope of obtaining their life-force for himself. After being confined to an asylum, he considers eating a human hospital orderly, but finds he can only capture and consume flies, spiders, and the occasional bird.

In the fiction of [[H. P. Lovecraft]], a ghoul is a member of a nocturnal subterranean race. Some ghouls were once human, but a diet of human corpses, and perhaps the tutelage of proper ghouls, mutated them into horrific bestial humanoids. In the [[short story]] "[[Pickman's Model]]" ([[1927 in literature|1927]]), the first of Lovecraft's ghoul stories, they are unutterably terrible monsters;  however, in his earlier [[novella]] ''[[The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath]]'' ([[1926 in literature|1926]]), the ghouls are somewhat less disturbing, even comical at times, and both helpful and loyal to the protagonist. [[Cthulhu Mythos biographies#Pickman, Richard Upton|Richard Upton Pickman]], a noteworthy [[Boston]] painter who disappeared mysteriously in "Pickman's Model", appears as a ghoul himself in ''Dream-Quest''. Similar themes appear in "The Lurking Fear" ([[1922 in literature|1922]]) and "The Rats in the Walls" ([[1924 in literature|1924]]), both of which posit the existence of subterranean clans of degenerate, retrogressive cannibals or carrion-eating humans.

==Popular culture==
Ghouls have been portrayed in many instances of popular literature. The following is a non-exhaustive list in which Ghouls appear: a series of [[dark fantasy]] short stories by [[Brian McNaughton]], a [[Michael Slade]] novel, "[[Ghoul (Slade)|Ghoul]]", [[Larry Niven]]'s "[[Ringworld]]" series, [[J.K. Rowling]]'s [[Harry Potter]] series, ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', the works of [[Caitlín R. Kiernan]], [[Laurell K. Hamilton]]'s [[Anita Blake]] series, and [[Jim Butcher]]'s [[The Dresden Files]].

===Popular fiction===
In [[1987]], [[Brian McNaughton]] wrote a series of [[dark fantasy]] short stories in which these Lovecraftian ghouls are the [[protagonist]]s. The stories, collectively published as ''[[Throne of Bones]]'', were a critical success and the book went on to receive a ''[[World Fantasy Award for Best Collection]]''.

In [[Michael Slade]]'s novel ''[[Ghoul (Slade)|Ghoul]]'' is a heavy metal rock band with possible connections to a series of grisly murders.

In [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Ringworld]]'' series, the ghouls are a race that eats the dead of the other races that live on the ringworld.  They have a fairly sophisticated (for a post-apocalyptic people) culture, and are the only race with a communication system that traverses the entire ringworld: [[heliograph]]s.

In [[J.K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, ghouls are harmless creatures that live in the homes of [[Wizarding world|wizard]]s, making loud noises and occasionally groaning. 

In ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', ghouls are creatures that serve the [[White Witch]]. They resemble corroded old humans. In the 2005 movie and videogame, they resemble pale [[orcs]] carrying spears.

In [[Laurell K. Hamilton]]'s ''[[Anita Blake]]'' series, graveyards became infested with ghouls when the blessing of the graveyard was used up; this was usually caused when too many zombies were raised or voodoo rituals of evil nature were performed in the graveyard. Though they were once human, they are like pack animals, and they are not very smart. They will only attack if a person is vulnerable.  A ghoul will run from a healthy strong human being.

In [[Max Brooks]]' ''[[The Zombie Survival Guide]]: Complete Protection from the Undead'', zombies are frequently referred to as ghouls.

In [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', ghouls are much like they are in the classic mythologies. They are humanoid monsters that feed on human flesh, and seem to be able to disguise themselves as ordinary humans. These ghouls are intelligent, as opposed to being mindless and feral monsters.

In ''[[Monster in My Pocket]]'' #37, a ghoul shown carrying a shovel.  When he appears in stage 2, the [[kitchen]], in the [[video game]], the shovel has become an axe. Ghilan is ''Monster in My Pocket'' #101, which appears to be a cluster of two of the shapeshifitng sort of ghul.

In [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]]'s St. Germain series, the ghoul is an undead being created through an ancient Egyptian ritual to act as a servant to a vampire. St. Germain comes across a dying slave and resurrrects him as his faithful servant, Roger, who accompanies him through his adventures for the next 2,000 years.  Roger is indistinguishable from humans except for his immortality and that his diet consists of raw meat.

[[Caitlín R. Kiernan]] has written a number of short stories and novels featuring ghouls (referred to as the ''ghul''), including "The Dead and the Moonstruck" and "So Runs the World Away" (both from ''[[To Charles Fort, With Love]]'', 2005) ''Low Red Moon'', ''Murder of Angels'', and ''Daughter of Hounds''. Kiernan's ghouls exhibit a blend of human and canine traits, are highly intelligent, live in subterranean cities, and feed on the flesh of human corpses. According to ''Daughter of Hounds'', they seem to have an [[Extraterrestrial_life_in_popular_culture|extraterrestrial]] origin. They are often referred to as "The Hounds of Cain."

===Movies and television===
Although many screenplays have featured ghouls, the first major motion picture of this theme was the [[1933]] British film entitled ''[[The Ghoul (film)|The Ghoul]]''.  The actor [[Boris Karloff]] plays a dying Egyptologist who possesses an occult gem, known as The Eternal Light, which he believes will grant immortality if he is buried with it, and thereby able to present it to [[Anubis]] in the afterlife. Of course, his bickering covetous heirs and associates would rather keep the jewel for themselves. Karloff vows to rise from his grave and avenge himself against anyone who meddles with his plan, and he keeps this promise when one of his colleagues steals The Eternal Light after his death. 

In [[1968]], [[George A. Romero]]'s groundbreaking film ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' combined reanimated corpses (zombies) with cannibalistic monsters (ghouls), creating new film monsters more terrifying than either of their predecessors.  The term "ghoul" was the one actually used in the film.

The 1975 British film ''The Ghoul'' (unrelated to the Karloff vehicle) stars [[Peter Cushing]] as a [[defrocked]] missionary whose son has deveolped a taste for human flesh while travelling in India.  As the son's mind and body degenerate, Cushing has several young people dispatched and prepared as food for his offspring, whom he keeps locked up in the attic.

The 1975 anthology film ''[[The Monster Club]]'' featured a segment about a village of ghouls stumbled upon by an unwary traveller ([[Stuart Whitman]]), who temporarily escapes the creatures with the help of one half-human girl, but he is recaptured when it turns out that the ghouls have representatives inhabiting our normal human world.

In the [[anime]] and [[manga]] series ''[[Hellsing]]'', ghouls are [[zombie]]-like creatures that are created when a "chipped" (technological) vampire drains a victim to death, or, in the Manga, where a vampire drains the blood of someone who is not a virgin. If fatally wounded, they instantly crumble to dust. They are under the control of the vampire who bites them, eat human [[flesh]], and are intelligent enough to use [[firearms]]. It is not rare to see a vampire amass a small army of Ghouls for [[offence]] and [[defence]]

"The Ghoul" is the stage name of [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]]-area horror television host [[Ron Sweed]].

===Ghouls in gaming===
{{main|Ghouls in gaming}}
Many games use the term "ghoul" to describe undead beings or other kinds of [[cannibal|cannibalistic]] and [[degeneracy|degenerate]] [[humanoids]].

In the game [[Warcraft 3]] and its expansion, the ghoul is the main light infantry and lumber harvesting unit of the Undead race.

==See also==
*[[Halloween traditions]]
*[[The Ghouls]] Punk Band
*"Ghouls" a song by [[The Horrorpops]]
*"Ghoulina" a song by [[Nekromantix]]

==Footnotes and references==
*Muhawi, Ibrahim, and Sharif Kanaana. Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales. Berkeley:  University of California Press,  c1989. 

<references />

[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]]
[[Category:Corporeal undead]]
[[Category:Etymology]]
[[Category:Arabic words]]
[[Category:Arabian mythology]]
[[Category:Legendary creatures]]

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