Ghouls

PART THREE

…find many vampirelike myth-creatures whose emblematic designs rest much deeper psychologically than the aforementioned “Hannibal’s-at-the-Gate” effect. The yogini (Hindu), the lamia (Greek), the baba jaga (Russian), the brechta (German), and the berserkr (Norse) are but a few examples. Interestingly, save for the shape-shifting berserkr of Nordic lore, all are female and overtly hypersexual in modus, which might impress the definitive student by clear psycho-erotic roots, and even Freudian thematics, when examined on an individual basis. A fascinating exception to the sex-base is the Mohammedan ghoul, a genderless hermaphroditic plunderer of graves and eater of the dead. Here we find not only an objectification for the terror and unknown of the desert and other implicitly dangerous settings, but darker, more naturalistic implications. Did the ghoul evolve merely as a children’s terror tactic, or is there a more socially functional infrastructure? No one can know, of course; nevertheless, it is interesting to note that the ghoul to this day remains a popular myth in world areas (1) where daily nutritional requirements are rarely met, (2) where nomadic post-burial cannibalism is not uncommon during periods of extreme food shortage, and (3) where reports of missing persons, particularly children, are statistically high.

—from “Sexual and Societal Mechanistics,”

Mythology as Functionalísm a thesis by ADAM T. THORPE IV

ghoul (ghãla) chiefly from Moslem folklore; an evil creature, spirit, or subcarnate that unearths graves and feeds on corpses. Though variations are found in Chinese mythology, the ghoul is founded solidly in Islamic legend and is still well known throughout India, parts of the Middle East, and most of Africa. Ghouls are nocturnal, roaming alone or in small packs. They exist exclusively to murder the living and to consume the dead.

—from “Denotations in Brief,” The Morakis Dictionary of World Myth

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