Ghoul

A ghoul is a (folkloric) monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The creature usually dwells in graveyards and cemeteries. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights. The term was first attested to in English in 1786, in William Beckford's Orientalist novel Vathek, which describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore.

By extension, the word ghoul is also used derogatorily to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger.

In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic: literally demon) dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The ghul is a devilish type of jinn believed to be sired by Iblis.

A ghoul is a desert-dwelling shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert or abandoned places wastes to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins and eats the dead.

In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.