The Secret Life of Ghouls

Ghouls are not just any ordinary old cannibalistic, flesh-eating or creepy monsters. If you thought so, you would be wrong.

You're probably confusing Ghouls with other types of the Undead, usually the mindless varieties of vampires and zombies who populate old cemeteries in the dark of the night.

A Ghoul is an entirely different species, not as dangerous perhaps, but distinctly dire and dreadful all the same.

The original Ghoul (ghul) of Arabic lore was really, really gruesome. He (or she) was a demonic, child-eating, shape-shifting Jinn which you encountered in graveyards..

These diabolic creatures were capable of constantly changing form, but their presence was always recognisable by their unalterable distinguishing sign - instead of feet, a Ghoul had donkey's hooves.

These days, the modern Ghoul rarely has the feet of a donkey, and all supernatural powers have long since been lost.

In earlier times in the deserts of Arabia, it was pretty easy to recognise a ghoul. Now most of the original, strikingly awful and generally ghoulish characteristics have faded.

Once a quick sideways glance at the ankles was enough, but the telltale donkey feet have vanished, as have the goat horns. But there are other ways to check if the creature in the graveyard is a Ghoul.

Take a good look, is the clothing tattered? (Sometimes the clothing has disappeared completely). Is the flesh decomposing? Be suspicious of sunglasses, Ghouls will often wear sunglasses to conceal their bulging yellowish eyes.

Graveyards have long been a frequent haunt of unpleasant creatures. Especially 19th century graveyards with lots of wrought iron railings.

Fortunately most of the gruesome residents have fled in these modern times, but that's no excuse not to be on your guard. You never know where an old ghoul, the last of his kind, could be concealed.

H.P. Lovecraft described Ghouls as a subterranean species.

According to his numerous works of horror, Ghouls were previously humans but after living beneath ground and consuming human flesh, they mutated into disgusting monsters.

The first Ghoul to be a main character on the screen was played by Boris Karloff in 1933.

Boris Karloff's Ghoul was a real Ghoul. A horrible creepy decrepit creature who threatened to end civilisation as we know it. Karloff set the tone for any following Ghoul in cinema and, quite arguably, any storyline involving Egyptian lore.

In The Ghoul, Karloff plays an Egyptologist on his deathbed. He's in possession of the Eternal Light, a scarab jewel that is said to grant immortality.

He orders his servant to bury him with the jewel and contends that if the majestic nugget is pilfered, he will rise from the grave to claim what is rightfully his.

Needless to say, the Eternal Light is promptly stolen from the tomb.

On the whole, Ghouls are not overly burdened with intelligence. Not only are they, to say the least, pretty stupid but they forget things very easily. Ghouls are also very slow moving, they can only lurch and shamble towards you.

If you see a Ghoul it's usually enough to run away fast. The Ghoul can't possibly keep up and he's going to forget all about you in five minutes.

However, now and then you may have the misfortune of coming across a particularly brutish Ghoul who will insist on pursuing you.

In this case, quickly set fire to any flammable object that's nearby and threaten your pursuer with the flames. Ghouls don't like fire.