Ghoul (Fallout)

Ghouls are a fictional race of posthuman beings from the post-apocalyptic Fallout video game franchise. Within series lore, ghouls are originally humans, many of them survivors of a global nuclear holocaust, who have been severely mutated by the residual radiation, which greatly extends their lifespans but deforms their physical appearance into a zombie-like presentation. Many ghouls live alongside humans in settlements across the post-apocalyptic wasteland, while others mentally degenerate into a violently feral and antisocial state.

Considered to be among the most recognizable and iconic elements of the Fallout intellectual property (IP), ghouls have appeared in every media of the franchise, and have been the subject of numerous fan mods of Fallout series games. Critics have lauded their use as either antagonistic figures or as supporting non-player characters throughout the series, with some even calling for ghouls to play a more central role in future sequels or adaptations of the franchise. In the 2024 American post-apocalyptic dramatic television series Fallout, pre-war actor turned ghoulified bounty hunter Cooper Howard, known simply as The Ghoul, is portrayed by Walton Goggins.

The term "ghoul" in the Fallout series refers to human victims who were subject to prolonged exposure to radiation, forced evolutionary virus (FEV) and other pollutants when they were caught outside during the Great War, a global conflict driven by the use of nuclear weapons which devastated much of the known world in the Fallout universe and provides the basis for the devastated world setting of the franchise.

Those who survive experience genetic mutations caused by elevated levels of radiation and develop widespread necrosis or rot on their physical bodies. This disrupts the normal process of decay in the neurotransmitters down a subject's spinal cord, allowing the body to continuously regenerate and function near-indefinitely unless destroyed by some outside force. However, the brain of a ghoul is not affected by this regenerative process, meaning that over decades (or even centuries) of wandering the Wasteland, a ghoul's brain will begin to degrade. It starts with the gradual loss of higher brain function, followed by increased appetite and aggression. The ghoul will finally be considered feral when it loses the last of its capacity for intelligent thought, and this is a fate that's likely to befall all ghouls as they continue to age indefinitely, all while their brain continues to deteriorate. Ghouls' lifespans are greatly extended, which allows them to live for at least hundreds of years, if not being effectively immortal. Besides their prolonged lifespans, ghouls are no longer harmed by low-level radiation and even receive physical benefits when exposed to it.

Ghouls are sterile and incapable of procreation due to the irreversible damage caused by radiation to their reproductive systems. "Born ghouls" are mentioned in older Fallout lore, but these are not present in the officially released games and are considered non-canon. In the mobile game Fallout Shelter, ghouls can have children, but these children are born as normal humans, not ghouls.

Some ghouls, colloquially known as "Glowing Ones", have managed to develop bioluminescence, rendering their bodies capable of illuminating dark areas with a glowing green light, though they also emit large amounts of radiation, which can heal other ghouls and is dangerous to non-ghouls. A new type of ghoul introduced in Fallout 76 are the Scorched, mutants infected with a virulent plague spread by large mutated bats known as Scorchbeasts; like Feral Ghouls, they are largely hostile to player characters but differ in their capability of operating firearms.

Despite their robust physiology and resilience towards radiation damage, ghouls are not as physically formidable as other types of mutated beings in the series, such as Deathclaws and Super Mutants.

Ghouls who live within the rebuilt civilizations of the known world are similar to normal humans in terms of intellect or personality, but often suffer from discrimination due to their disconcerting physical appearance. On the other hand, Feral Ghouls have lost their mental faculties due to radiation damage and will attack other non-ghouls on sight. Feral Ghouls often roam together in packs and shamble around areas they are familiar with, such as a supermarket or a drive-in movie theatre, often with a form of muscle memory that vaguely drives them to relive aspects of the life they once knew. Trinkets looted from their corpses often provide hints or glimpses into their forgotten identities.