Ghoul
/ɡuːl/noun
A mythical evil spirit or undead being that disturbs graves and feeds on the dead.
Did you know?The word comes from Arabic ghūl (غول), a desert-dwelling demon in pre-Islamic and Islamic folklore, and English later turned it into the classic graveyard monster.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
ghūl
“A malevolent desert demon or shapeshifting monster that lurked in lonely places”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
ghūl
“An evil spirit or ogre-like being in folklore”
18th Century
English
ghoul
“A demon or monster associated with graves and corpses, borrowed through Orientalist writing”
19th Century
English
ghoul
“A grave-desecrating creature in horror literature and popular fiction”
Modern English
English
ghoul
“A person who is morbidly fascinated by death or a mythical corpse-eating monster”