Ghoul

غول

Ghoul

Lesserwell-documentedIslamicArabMiddle EastNorth Africa
Origin

The ghoul appears in pre-Islamic Arabian poetry as a desert demon that misleads travellers. In Islamic thought, it is classified as a type of jinn. The plural (ghilan) haunt graveyards, deserts, and ruins.

Appearance

Variable. In natural form, gaunt and bestial with hollow eyes. Can take the shape of the last person it consumed, perfectly mimicking appearance and voice.

Abilities

Perfect physical mimicry of the deceased. Superhuman strength. Knowledge of the dead's memories from consuming them. Can lure travellers into the desert by calling in familiar voices.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • condition
    One strike kills it; two strikes revives it stronger

Wards

  • mantra
    Bismillah recited before entering a cemetery at night
Sources
  1. [1]
    One Thousand and One Nights. The Arabian Nights (Burton, Richard F., trans.). 1885. The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. Burton Club.literary
  2. [2]
    Jinn, Angels and Supernatural Beings in Islam. El-Zein, Amira. 2009. Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn. Syracuse University Press.academic
well-documented