Ghoul

For other uses of the term "ghoul", see Ghoul (disambiguation).
"Amine Discovered with the Goule", from the story of Sidi Nouman, of the One Thousand and One Nights

A ghoul is a monster or evil spirit in Arabian mythology, associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights.[1] The term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford's Orientalist novel Vathek,[2] which describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore. In modern fiction, the term has often been used for a certain kind of undead monster. By extension, the word ghoul is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger or graverobber.

Early etymology

Ghoul is from the Arabic غول ghūl, from غال ghala, "to seize".[3] The term is etymologically related to Gallu, a Mesopotamian demon.[4][5]

Middle Eastern folklore

Ghoul gathering for combat.

In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic) dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The ghul is a fiendish type of jinni believed to be sired by Iblis.[6]

A ghoul is also a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting, demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead,[7] then taking the form of the person most recently eaten.

In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghoulah[8] and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.

Ghouls in popular culture

Ghouls are significant characters in the Japanese manga Tokyo Ghoul and its anime adaptation, albeit re-imagined with human-like traits. Ghouls also appears as enemies in the Castlevania series of videogames. In one modern theme, ghouls serve as minions of vampires. Ghouls are sometimes confused with zombies, causing them to be mistaken as undead monsters rather than demons. In the original film Night of the Living Dead, news reports refer to the undead cannibalistic antagonists as ghouls, though modern audiences would identify them as zombies.

In the Fallout video game series, the term "ghoul" is used to describe a human being who had been caught outside of the underground fallout bunkers, or Vaults, during the destruction of the atomic bombs in the setting. Those humans who survived the nukes, but had been afflicted by their intense heat and radiation, develop a macabre physique that gives them an undead appearance, hoarse voices, a greatly slowed or possibly halted process of bodily aging, infertility, and even resistance to drugs and chemicals in the Fallout world. Some ghouls in this series, called "ferals", have lost their minds due to their brain rotting and will attack and eat humans.

There are many references to 'ghouls' in the CW television series Supernatural as well.

The horror/comedy movie Ghoulies, released in 1985, features small, demonic ghouls on a rampage.

The character Charlie Kelly of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia lists "little green ghouls" as one of his main interests.

Ghouls appear as evil henchmen-for-hire in many books in The Dresden Files series written by Jim_Butcher.

Astrology and Astronomy

Algol Aa2 orbits Algol Aa1.s; are one of the best known eclipsing binaries.

The star Algol and Batman villain Ra's al Ghul take their names from the definite Arabic term Rās al-ghūl, or The Demon's Head.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Story of Sidi-Nouman". Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Ghoul Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Ghoul". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  3. ↑ Robert Lebling (30 July 2010). Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar. I.B.Tauris. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-0-85773-063-3.
  4. ↑ Cramer, Marc (1979). The Devil Within. W.H. Allen. ISBN 978-0-491-02366-5.
  5. ↑ "Cultural Analysis, Volume 8, 2009: The Mythical Ghoul in Arabic Culture / Ahmed Al-Rawi". Socrates.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  6. ↑ "ghoul". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 22, 2006.
  7. ↑ "ghoul". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved January 22, 2006.
  8. ↑ *Muhawi, Ibrahim, and Sharif Kanaana (1988). Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  9. ↑ Garfinkle, Robert A (1997-04-13). Star-Hopping: Your Visa to Viewing the Universe. p. 215. ISBN 9780521598897.
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