Ghoul (mythical creature)

A ghoul is a mythical creature in Arabic folklore that is said to dwell near graveyards and abandoned places, feasting on the flesh of both the living and dead. The origins of the creature likely date back to ancient Mesopotamia and stories of demonic beings that dragged their victims into the underworld. The creature became a part of regional folklore in Northern Africa and the Middle East and was first introduced to Western audiences in an eighteenth-century collection of tales called The Arabian Nights.

Early ghouls were seen as evil creatures that fed upon the living, but later incarnations of the myth relegated the creature to devouring corpses. In the modern world, tales of the ghoul are still used to scare disobedient children among some Middle Eastern cultures. In the West, the creatures have become one of the main inspirations for the mindless, flesh-eating zombie in popular culture.

Background

The concept of the ghoul had its origins early in the history of human civilization, likely in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. Mesopotamia was a region in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria, Iran, and Turkey. Several Mesopotamian cultures believed that demons known as gallu would pursue humans and drag them into the underworld. In one Mesopotamian myth, the gallu are sent by the god Enki to rescue the goddess Inanna from the underworld, where she had been trapped by the Queen of the Dead. The gallu succeed in rescuing Inanna, but to do so, they must find another to take her place. The demons seize her lover, the harvest god Dumuzi, and drag him down into the underworld, where he is forced to spend half the year.

Over the centuries, the myths of Mesopotamia spread out over the Middle East, Northern Africa, and parts of the Mediterranean, greatly influencing numerous other cultures. One of those cultures was a nomadic Arab people called the Bedouin, who likely absorbed the idea of the demonic gallu into their own myths. In Arabic mythology, the creature became known as a ghūl, a name which means “to seize.” The modern word ghoul evolved in the eighteenth century. Ghouls were one of several classifications of supernatural beings called jinn. The jinn, who could be either forces of good or evil, were said to have been born from gusts of smokeless fire. One legend states that when some jinn attempted to spy on God in heaven, he threw meteors at them as punishment. The meteors burnt the jinn, who fell from the sky into the sea and onto the earth. The ones that fell into the sea became crocodiles, the ones that hit the ground became ghouls.

Overview

Early stories of the ghoul portrayed it as a demonic being that lived near cemeteries, abandoned buildings, and remote areas away from humans. While some early accounts described them as hairy, dog-like creatures, in most versions, the ghoul was portrayed as a hunched, two-legged pale creature that could drop down and run on all fours to pursue its prey. A common element in many Arabic descriptions of the ghoul was its hoof-like feet. In some later accounts, the ghoul was said to be able to change shape. One account of the myth told of a ghoul that wandered the remote desert wastes in the form of an attractive woman. The ghoul would attempt to lure male travelers to approach, and when they did, the creature would pounce, carrying off its victims to be devoured. In most versions of the myth, the only way to defeat a ghoul was to kill it by striking it once with a sword. If the intended victim hit the creature a second time, it would bring the ghoul back to life.

Ghouls were sometimes described as attacking in groups or even traveling as families. In some Arabic myths, ghouls were believed to carry infectious diseases on their skin, while in other legends, the creatures could transform humans into ghouls with a bite. In addition to being bloodthirsty demons, ghouls were also said to play tricks on humans, breaking into storerooms to steal coins or eat dates. While ghouls were said to feast on any type of human flesh, they were believed to be especially fond of children, possibly because they were easier to catch. Some parents in the modern Arab world still use tales of the creatures as a way to scare mischievous children into behaving. In some versions of the Hadith—an account of the religious sayings and deeds of the prophet Muhammad—the Prophet was said to have mentioned ghouls and explained how to banish the demonic beings by reciting a verse from the Quran and invoking the name of Allah (God).

Stories of the ghoul first came to the attention of European audiences in the early eighteenth century with the French translation of One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales better known in the West as The Arabian Nights. While the original work presented ghouls in the traditional manner, the author who translated the work misinterpreted or reinvented several important details. His version of the ghoul turned the creature into a scavenger that fed on corpses. It was this idea that inspired other authors and helped perpetuate the Western concept of the ghoul as an undead being living in graveyards and feasting on dead bodies.

In modern Western literature, some ghouls have been given the ability to change shape into the form of the person or corpse they have devoured. Other ghouls are said to be able to access the memories of a person by feeding on their brain. In 1968, American filmmaker George Romero used the concept of the ghoul as the basis for the flesh-eating undead in his horror classic Night of the Living Dead. However, media reports began referring to the creatures as zombies, which in Caribbean folklore are reanimated corpses brought back to life by voodoo magic. Caribbean zombies are not flesh-eaters, but act as mindless slaves that do the bidding of their masters. Despite the incorrect terminology, the zombie name stuck, and Romero’s take on ghouls became one of the main templates for the modern zombie.

Bibliography

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