Fantasy Magazine Issue 53 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: fantasy, fantasy magazine, short stories
ISBN: 9781607013136
Publisher: Prime Books
Published: 2011-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

Ghouls

“The King’s son followed her and discovered by her hooves that she was a she-ghoul, who was saying to her children ‘I brought you a good, fat boy.’ They replied ‘Mother, bring him to us so that we may feed upon his innards!’ ” — The Thousand and One Nights

Some Islamic traditions consider ghouls to be a subcategory of djinn, while others consider them their own order of being. Some say they were banished when the Qur’an was revealed; others say that the Prophet himself named verses of the Qur’an which, read aloud, could banish any ghouls Muslims might encounter in their travels.

In any case the details are usually the same: Ghouls are almost defined by their vicious cruelty and their ravenous hunger for human flesh. They lurk in dead spaces—desert, graveyard, forlorn wilderness—awaiting victims. In their natural form they are monstrous; humanoid with animal characteristics, grotesque proportions or hideously exaggerated features.

Chief among a ghoul’s magical abilities is shape-changing. In some stories, the ghouls assume the shape of disdained animals like hyenas. But more often they take the form of an old man or a woman alone on the road, feigning distress or seduction to lure in victims.

As with the djinn, wit is required when dealing with ghouls. But, given their horrific nature and unreasoning hunger, the even more essential attribute here is a sort of brave wariness. In the Thousand and One Nights, one traveling prince might boldly expose a ghoul’s true form after watching carefully enough to catch a glimpse of its hooves, while another might simply slay it with his sword. But in any case the true Muslim hero displays alertness and awareness, and, when pressed, unwavering courage.

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