D&D Basic Monsters: Ghoul

The Ghoul is another staple D&D monster stemming back from the earliest days of the game. These undead creatures usually inhabit grave yards, feeding on corpses, and their most feared weapon is their paralysing touch, that will freeze any creature the ghoul touches, save for elves. Quite why their  touch doesn't affect elves is unclear, but the pointy eared ones have been immune to ghoulish paralysis right from the earliest versions of the game.

In mythology, the ghoul (or ghul) actually traces its roots back to arabic folklore, where they are described as demonic spirits, related to jinns, that dwell in burial grounds or uninhabited places. Alternatively, they are described as shape shifting demons, that lure people astray in the desert. The ghoul was introduced to the western world in the eighteenth century, when Antoine Galland translated The Thousand and One Nights.