Ghoul
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A ghoul is a mythological monster from ancient Arabian folklore that dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The English word comes from the Arabic name for the creature: غول ghūl, which literally means "demon".[1] The ghul is a devilish type of jinn believed to be sired by Iblis.[2]
In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh[3] and the plural is "ghilan".
In common Arabic everyday speaking, the term ghul (ghouleh for a woman) is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.
The ghoul is a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary travellers into the desert wastes to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, robs graves, drinks blood, and eats the dead[4] taking on the form of the one they previously ate. Because of the latter habit, the word ghoul is sometimes used to refer to an ordinary human such as a grave robber, or to anyone who delights in the macabre.[citation needed]
The star Algol takes its name from the definite term الغول, "al-ghūl", "the ghoul".[5]
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Footnotes and references
- ^ ""ghoul"". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://webster.com/dictionary/ghoul. Retrieved January 22 2006.
- ^ ""ghoul"". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036705?query=Ghoul&ct=eb. Retrieved January 22 2006.
- ^ *Muhawi, Ibrahim, and Sharif Kanaana. Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1988
- ^ "ghoul", Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- ^ Jim Kaler (Prof. Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Illinois). "Algol". STARS. http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/algol.html. Retrieved February 18 2006.
