Ghouls

In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul than goblins. The concept of the ghoul originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a specific kind of 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 occupation directly involves death, such as a gravedigger or graverobber.

Etymology

The English word ''ghoul'' is from the Arabic (), from () ."Ghoul, N." ''Oxford English Dictionary'', Oxford UP, December 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/2239227052. The term was first used in English literature in 1786 in William Beckford's Orientalist novel ''Vathek'', which describes the of Arabic folklore. This definition of the ghoul has persisted into modern times, with ghouls appearing in popular culture.

In early Arabic, the term is treated as a feminine word. Later, the term became treated as a masculine word, and ghouls became perceived as masculine creatures with Si'lat as feminine counterpart.

Folklore

In Arabic folklore, the ''ghul'' is said to dwell in cemeteries and other uninhabited places. A male ghoul is referred to as ''ghul'' while the female is called ''ghulah''. Scholar Dwight F. Reynolds identifies the Arabic ghoul as a female creature – sometimes called "Mother Ghoul" (''ʾUmm Ghulah''), "Our Aunt Ghoul", or a similar relational term – in tales told to girls and young women. In these tales, the ghoul appears to men as a long-lost female relative or an unassuming old woman; she uses this glamor to lure the hapless characters, who are usually husbands or fathers, into her home, where she can eat them. The male characters' female relatives can often see through the illusion and warn them of the danger; the men survive if they believe the women (and are eaten if they do not).

An example of this can be found in a Syrian folktale, ''The Woodcutter's Wealthy Sister'' or ''The Woodcutter's Weary Wife'', which was adapted into an animated story in the series ''Britannica's Tales Around the World''. A poor, arrogant and spiteful woodcutter encounters a beautiful, wealthy princess who claims to be his long-lost sister, even though he had no sisters at all. The woodcutter accepts the mysterious princess's invitation to bring him, his abused wife and their numerous children to her palace to live in luxury. However, the wife discovers that the "princess" is in fact a female ghoul (simply referred to as a "monster" in the Britannica adaptation) who is planning to eat the woodcutter and his family. After narrowly escaping the ghoul's attempts to eat them, the wife and her children flee the palace in the night and leave the woodcutter to be devoured by the ghoul.

The ghoul is said to lure 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, eats the dead, and takes the form of the person most recently eaten. One of the narratives identified a ghoul named Ghul-e Biyaban, a particularly monstrous character believed to be inhabiting the wilderness of Afghanistan and Iran. A hyena who attacked a woman in Mecca in 1667 was referred to by locals as a ''ghul'', possibly due to a perceived similarity to the creature of folklore.

Al-Dimashqi describes the ghoul as cave-dwelling animals who only leave at night and avoid the light of the sun. They would eat both humans and animals.

It was not until Antoine Galland translated ''One Thousand and One Nights'' into French that the Western concept of ghouls was introduced into European society. Galland depicted the ghoul as a monstrous creature that dwelled in cemeteries, feasting upon corpses.

Similar creatures

In ancient Mesopotamia, there were demonic entities known as ''Gallu

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases