Ghouls

Ghouls are demons, often associated with vampires, who feed on the flesh of human beings.

Folklore Origin: Arabic folklore

Creature origin: There are some cultures that believe ghouls are the result of a human, who has been sexually active in the past, being bitten by a vampire. There are other cultures who believe ghouls are dead humans, who have been asleep, and then rise and feast on the living and the dead.

Name notes:

• Female: ghula
• Male:ghula

Appearance:

• A reanimated corpse, however, where vampires are handsome and look like humans. Ghouls are a reanimated dead people in humanoid form.

Tasks/Powers:

• Some cultures believe ghouls to be a type of servant to vampires, i.e. the ghoul can be commanded by the vampire who bit them (sired them.) 
• Their bite is also said to make more ghouls. They share a lot of the characteristics of the modern zombie.

Characteristics:

• Eat human flesh
• Are said to attack travelers, human corpses
• Non-intelligent being
• Have no free will
• Are driven solely by the need to feed

Habitat:

• Graveyards
• Ruins

Note(s):

• Female ghouls are said to appear as normal. She supposedly marries a human male, who then becomes her prey, almost like a female spider/praying mantis.

Resource(s):

• Demons and Demonology, Rosemary E. Guiley
• The Vampire Book, J. Gordon Melton