What are Ghouls in the Fallout Series? Life, Creation, and More
If you are only now approaching the world of Fallout, perhaps after having seen a few episodes of the successful TV series available on Amazon Prime Video, you are likely wondering what Ghouls are, the terrifying creatures that resemble zombies. For those who don’t know, Fallout Ghouls are nothing more than humans who have undergone a mutation. Before taking on this form, Ghouls were very normal people and, for one reason or another, they were exposed to radiation and therefore transformed into monstrous creatures with great physical resistance and a better life expectancy than humans. The peculiarity of Ghouls is that they are not all the same and there are various types based on exposure to radiation.
Many of these beings have undergone an alteration in form, but they are sentient and therefore have behaviors similar to those of a human: this means that, as also seen in the TV series, they can speak and reason. Then there are the Shining Ones, i.e. Ghouls who have absorbed a very high quantity of radiation and, therefore, their skin is bioluminescent, a factor that makes them clearly visible even in the dark. Feral Ghouls, on the other hand, are very widespread, and unlike sentient ones, they have lost every bit of humanity. Ferals are very fragile, incredibly aggressive and move just as if they were animals, acting on instinct. Precisely for this reason, the Ferals usually move in packs and represent a danger to those who wander the Wastelands without being adequately prepared.
What Are Ghouls in Fallout?
Warning: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Fallout.
Ghouls are humans who have undergone mutation due to a process known as ghoulification. The result is a human with ravaged skin, exposed muscles, thinning hair (if any), and the distinct absence of a nose. While some, like Cooper Howard’s Ghoul, can speak and perform regular tasks as a normal human would, many Ghouls have lost their minds and have been reduced to more zombie-like states. Ghouls are also able to handle irradiated materials much better than normal humans, as demonstrated by Walton Goggins’ character casually sipping water containing radiation.
How Do They Become Ghouls?
Ghoulification, the process that transforms humans into Ghouls, is caused by exposure to prolonged amounts of radiation. In episode 4, Cooper Howard’s Ghoul suggests to Lucy that she will soon become a Ghoul if she stays in the wasteland. It is unknown how long this process takes in the show’s universe, but in the games, glorification can occur anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. If left unchecked, Ghouls can transform into feral Ghouls over time. These Ghouls have become increasingly hostile towards others and have lost almost all sense of sanity.
Roger and Martha became feral Ghouls in the fourth episode of Fallout. The two desperately repeat their names, seemingly to cling to any remnants of themselves. The yellow vials can temporarily slow deterioration and avert the descent into a feral Ghoul transformation. Fallout also seems to hint that other man-made chemicals can cause glorification, as in the case of Thaddeus, after the serum he takes to heal his foot slowly transforms him into a Ghoul. However, this may be a red herring, implying that he may instead transform into a super-mutant, a similar but separate type of mutated human with greater strength than in the games.
How Long Do Ghouls Live?
Despite their grim appearance, one benefit of becoming a Ghoul is the extended lifespan granted to the creatures. This can make Ghouls immortal, as long as they continue to consume adequate nutrition like normal humans. In the television series, Cooper Howard’s Ghoul is indicated to be the oldest of them all, having survived for over 200 years. This was made possible by his ability to earn money to buy vials and, in turn, avoid going feral.
This implies that many Ghouls could survive as long as Cooper, but they don’t because after a while they succumb to their feral side, which presumably leads to their death. The longer lifespan of Ghouls is probably favored by their resistance to radiation, which already circulates in their bodies. While Cooper Howard’s story was fleshed out throughout the first series of Fallout episodes, it is still unknown how he transformed into a Ghoul. Perhaps this is a question for season two, if it happens, as the show’s producers hope.
WHO IS THE GHOUL IN THE SERIES? The Ghoul from the Fallout series on Prime Video is called Cooper Howard and the show begins by revealing his past before the nuclear war. Howard was a once-famous Hollywood actor who starred in Western films but then had to work as an entertainer at children’s birthday parties. After the nuclear bombs went off, he was transformed into a ghoul and has since become a bounty hunter.
WHO IS IT PLAYED BY? The Ghoul in the Fallout series on Prime Video is played by American actor Walton Goggins. Goggins is known for starring in several television series, including the crime drama series The Shield and Justified, HBO’s Vice Principals, and the animated series Invincible. This isn’t his first role based on a video game: he played Mathias Vogel, the rival of Lara Croft’s father, in the 2018 film Tomb Raider.
HOW WERE GHOULS CREATED IN FALLOUT? In the Fallout video game, Ghouls are post-human creatures who survived the Great War, a nuclear holocaust that destroyed life on the planet’s surface as we know it. They have mutated significantly due to exposure to residual radiation which gives them an unnaturally long life but also deforms them into zombie-like creatures. Some Ghouls are similar to regular humans in behavior and cognitive abilities but are discriminated against by other humans due to their appearance. Ghouls can become feral, meaning they lose the ability to reason and become aggressive, behaving more like traditional zombies. Most humans become feral soon after transforming into Ghouls, while others remain nonferal for decades and even centuries.
DO FALLOUT GHOULS AGE AND DECAY? Ghouls stop aging at the normal rate of humans, which significantly extends their lifespan. This effectively makes them immortal, unless they are killed. Ghouls do not rot but have suffered the effects of prolonged exposure to radiation that has damaged their skin. In short, they look like zombies, but their flesh isn’t rotting, and their tolerance to low-level radiation likely makes their bodies even more resistant to rot than normal humans.
ARE THE GHOULS IN THE SERIES DIFFERENT FROM THOSE IN THE GAME?
The video games have been vague about how exactly Ghouls become feral, but the series expands on the lore by providing a possible explanation. In the series, the Ghoul is seen using RadAway, a drug that also appears in the games and is used to remove radioactive particles from the body and mitigate the effects of exposure. Later in the series, we learn that not taking RadAway frequently enough would cause the Ghoul to become ferocious. The games never explain why or how Ghouls become feral, but Fallout 3 hints that social isolation plays a role in the process, or at least makes Ghouls more likely to become feral. If you want to know more about the Prime Video series, take a look at how the Fallout series responds to another unsolved video game mystery.
