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After the Great War, necrophages generally grew bolder and multiplied in the Northern Kingdoms. Ghouls are the most common corpse-eaters and usually roam around in packs. For a ghoul, a living human is raw material that must be processed before it can become a meal. Shredded to pieces with fangs and claws, the human corpse should then be left to age.

I looked for the words "Witcher urgently needed". And then there'd be a sacred site, a dungeon, necropolis or ruins, forest ravine or grotto hidden in the mountains, full of bones and stinking carcasses. Some creatures which lived to kill, out of hunger, for pleasure, or invoked by some sick will. A manticore, wyvern, fogler, aeschna, ilyocoris, chimera, leshy, vampire, ghoul, graveir, were-wolf, giant scorpion, striga, black annis, kikimora, vypper... so many I've killed.
— pg(s). 116, "The Voice of Reason 4", in the collection The Last Wish (UK edition)
— pg(s). 148, "The Voice of Reason 4", in the collection The Last Wish (US edition)

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[ | ]

Ghouls
Tw3 journal ghoul
Details
Class
Necrophage
Variations
Alghouls
Occurrence
Anywhere near corpses.
Vulnerable to
Necrophage Oil
Tactics
It can heal itself after taking substantial damage.
Loot
Ghoul's blood
Monster blood
Monster liver
Monster saliva
Venom extract

Bestiary entry[ | ]

Ghouls creep and crawl at night
Eating everything in sight
In a snap they'd eat you, too
Chop you up for a ghoulish stew!
— Children's rhyme
Ghouls and graveirs are hard to describe. In part, they resemble humans – yet on the whole, they are the utter negation of all that is human. Though they have arms and legs like men, they walk on all fours like dogs or badgers. Though they have eerily familiar faces, one searches them in vain for any sign of sentiment, reason or even a spark of consciousness. They are driven by one thing and one thing only: an insatiable craving for human flesh.

In The Witcher computer game[ | ]

Ghoul
Bestiary Ghoul full
Details
Class
Necrophage
Occurrence
Ghouls are encountered on battlefields, as well as in cemeteries and abandoned crypts
Immunity
Resistant to common poisons
Susceptibility
Sensitive to silver and Necrophage Oil; the Strong Style is most efficient against ghouls; experienced witchers use the Group Style while fighting multiple ghouls
Tactics
A group of ghouls will try to knock an opponent down, surround him and start eating him alive
Alchemy
Abomination lymph
white vinegar
ghoul blood

A horrible, low, and nasty beast, this abomination nests in cemeteries, old burial mounds (kurgans), necropolises, and on battlefields. Disgusting in form and character, it emerges to feed usually during the full moon, and well-rotted corpses are a delicacy for it. When driven by hunger, the ghoul will not hesitate to prey on the living. Only by fire, silver, and bright light can harm it. For this reason, it hunts only at night.

Journal Bestiary Entry[ | ]

"Ghouls are said to have been humans who were once forced into cannibalism and, after many years spent in dark crypts, underwent a horrifying transformation. Only human flesh can satisfy their eternal evil hunger, so they kill people and store the remains in the recesses of their lairs."

Location[ | ]

Sources[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

In English, during the Prologue, Lambert claims the Fast Style is best to use against ghouls, but the conversation does not result in a bestiary entry. His suggestion contradicts the official bestiary's entry above, which claims the Strong Style is best against ghouls. Considering that originally (in Polish) he mentions barghests and ghosts as ideal victims of Addan Aenye, this is most likely just a translator's mistake.

In The Witcher: Adventure Game[ | ]

In The Witcher Adventure Game ghouls can cross the path of the four heroes.

  • sword:3
  • shield:0

Successful sword: Receive 1 red Card
Failed sword: Flip 1 of your health to its negative side.


Monsterbook[ | ]

Developer CD Projekt's characterization of the ghoul taken from the monsterbook, which was enclosed with the Collectors Edition of the computer game The Witcher for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic:

Ghouls, like drowners, appear often in the game. Geralt frequently has the opportunity to practice his silver sword techniques on this monster. Since the drowner became grotesque, we made the ghoul both scary and a bit pathetic, without rendering him humorous. As a foul scavenger, he has all the necessary attributes: deadly pale, spotted skin, a nose-less head resembling a skull, and a strong jaw capable of cracking open any bone. At bit of artistic trickery and clear connotations went into creating the model for this rather dumb, hideous creature.

The ghoul is no joke — it is stocky, and ready to attack. It loves feasting on human cadavers, but has nothing against fresh warm meat. When it grabs its prey with its apelike arms, there is no escape.

Gallery[ | ]