Ghoul Identification Primer
ghoul school!
Much as in my Zombie article, I have compiled this list of different kinds of ghouls commonly encountered in horror fiction and role-playing games. This information is of no use whatsoever, unless you often find yourself explaining ghouls to your family, classmates, co-workers, and other captive audiences. Despite this, the article will continue.
Let's start with the classic ghoul. Webster's defines a "ghoul" as "a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses". That applies to a few of our breeds of ghoul, though the Lovecraftian variety would be underdescribed by that definition. I can't really think of any movies that have featured ghouls, so we're going to have to turn to horror fiction and gaming supplements. Sorry, folks, this is going to be a nerdy one.
The traditional ghoul comes from Arabic folklore and is a kind of demon. I didn't really know anything about them until I started writing this article. The Pantheon description is pretty good, so I'll just link to it. It will be the only offsite link in this article, to discourage any further listing of thingsihate as a blog by people who do us the kindness of linking.We're not an E/N site, either.
In Dungeons and Dragons, or at least in AD&D, since I haven't bought any of the 3rd edition materials yet, ghouls are human undead with a taste for human flesh. That's pretty standard, but Gary Gygax added a few features of his own back in the '70s, like slightly slowed movement and the ability to paralyze humans, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes, but not elves for some reason, by biting them. In addition, since they are supernaturally reanimated corpses not entirely unlike zombies, they aren't especially hurt by damage to their organs or nervous systems.
The Lovecraftian ghoul, on the other hand, builds hugely on the dictionary entry. They may be demons, like the Arabic ghouls, but there's no evidence that they're not undead. It is possible for a human being to become a ghoul, as was the case with Richard Upton Pickman, but they have their own culture and are really more of a supernatural race. They feature canine faces, rubbery skin, and their own language of meeping noises. They live in the Earth's Dreamlands, where they war with the Zoogs. They enter the Earth proper at times via underground tunnels (at least on the Earth side). There, they plunder graves for meat, instruct human children in the eating of human flesh, and recruit promising young painters for their cause. They're pretty much antagonistic toward humans, with the exception of dreamers who fully enter the Dreamlands, who they seem to get on quite well with.
This brings us to something stupid. The White Wolf (Vampire: The Masquerade) ghoul bears no resemblance to any of the above. Modifying an existing idea shows creativity. Appropriating the name of something that's already well-established for your goofy game proves only your laziness. The White Wolf "ghoul" is a person who's ingested vampire blood on three occasions, and has become the thrall of the last vampire to feed him. Since White Wolf players require the ability to be incredibly powerful no matter what type of character they choose, it's also possible for ghouls to develop vampiric powers and become independent from their vampire masters. They don't eat flesh, but they do begin to revert to their former human selves if deprived of blood, which is usually fed to them by their masters. Of course! Because blood is sexy and stylish, not like moldy old corpses. Man, I weep for this generation, I truly do.
Okay, it looks like there are only four sides to ghouldom. Merry Christmas.
Let's start with the classic ghoul. Webster's defines a "ghoul" as "a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses". That applies to a few of our breeds of ghoul, though the Lovecraftian variety would be underdescribed by that definition. I can't really think of any movies that have featured ghouls, so we're going to have to turn to horror fiction and gaming supplements. Sorry, folks, this is going to be a nerdy one.
The traditional ghoul comes from Arabic folklore and is a kind of demon. I didn't really know anything about them until I started writing this article. The Pantheon description is pretty good, so I'll just link to it. It will be the only offsite link in this article, to discourage any further listing of thingsihate as a blog by people who do us the kindness of linking.
In Dungeons and Dragons, or at least in AD&D, since I haven't bought any of the 3rd edition materials yet, ghouls are human undead with a taste for human flesh. That's pretty standard, but Gary Gygax added a few features of his own back in the '70s, like slightly slowed movement and the ability to paralyze humans, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes, but not elves for some reason, by biting them. In addition, since they are supernaturally reanimated corpses not entirely unlike zombies, they aren't especially hurt by damage to their organs or nervous systems.
The Lovecraftian ghoul, on the other hand, builds hugely on the dictionary entry. They may be demons, like the Arabic ghouls, but there's no evidence that they're not undead. It is possible for a human being to become a ghoul, as was the case with Richard Upton Pickman, but they have their own culture and are really more of a supernatural race. They feature canine faces, rubbery skin, and their own language of meeping noises. They live in the Earth's Dreamlands, where they war with the Zoogs. They enter the Earth proper at times via underground tunnels (at least on the Earth side). There, they plunder graves for meat, instruct human children in the eating of human flesh, and recruit promising young painters for their cause. They're pretty much antagonistic toward humans, with the exception of dreamers who fully enter the Dreamlands, who they seem to get on quite well with.
This brings us to something stupid. The White Wolf (Vampire: The Masquerade) ghoul bears no resemblance to any of the above. Modifying an existing idea shows creativity. Appropriating the name of something that's already well-established for your goofy game proves only your laziness. The White Wolf "ghoul" is a person who's ingested vampire blood on three occasions, and has become the thrall of the last vampire to feed him. Since White Wolf players require the ability to be incredibly powerful no matter what type of character they choose, it's also possible for ghouls to develop vampiric powers and become independent from their vampire masters. They don't eat flesh, but they do begin to revert to their former human selves if deprived of blood, which is usually fed to them by their masters. Of course! Because blood is sexy and stylish, not like moldy old corpses. Man, I weep for this generation, I truly do.
Okay, it looks like there are only four sides to ghouldom. Merry Christmas.