Ghouls appear in many legends around the world.
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Introduction

Ghouls are described in many cultures around the world, but they are very popular in Arabic lore. The name comes from ghul (masculine) and ghula (feminine). They are demons that have vampire characteristics and feed on human flesh. They favor eating children, travelers, and corpses that the ghouls will steal from graves. They themselves are described as living dead and sleep for long periods of time in graves. They have long nails and are nocturnal. In Arabic lore the most common type is quite feared. They can take the shape of a woman and preys on the man that she will later marry.

An Arabian Story

One particular Arabian story about a ghoul comes from Baghdad in the 15th-century. A successful merchant had one son, Abdul-Hassan. His father wanted him to marry a rich merchant’s daughter, but Abdul-Hassan fell in love with a beautiful girl named Nadilla from a poorer family. The father insisted that he should instead choose a rich merchant’s daughter, but eventually his father gave in and they were happily married.

He noticed something strange about his wife, in particular she never ate dinner. She would also leave in the middle of the night and come in when morning broke. He decided to act like he was asleep one night. He then followed his bride to see what she was doing in the middle of the night. He followed her into a cemetery and watched her as she entered a tomb. He was astonished when he entered the tomb and saw her and other ghouls eating the flesh from corpses. When he saw this he immediately left the scene and went back home.

The next evening, Nadilla wouldn’t eat supper and Abdul-Hassan made the mistake of confronting her with what he saw the other night. She said nothing. When they were asleep, she woke up at midnight and attacked her husband by tearing his throat open with her sharp nails and teeth and attempted to suck his blood through the vein. Abdul-Hassan had a hunch she might try to kill him, but somehow he managed to kill her with one hit. She was then buried the next day. A few nights later she appeared in her husband’s bed trying to suck his blood but he escaped. The next day he went to her grave, dug her body up and burned her into ashes. He then threw the ashes into the Tigris River and the ghoul was never seen again.

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