From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishghoulghoul /ɡuːl/ noun [countable] 1 ROMan evil spirit in stories that takes bodies from graves (=place in the ground where dead people are buried) and eats them2 BAD PERSONsomeone who gets pleasure from unpleasant things such as accidents that shock other people —ghoulish adjective
Examples from the Corpus
ghoul• Also to be considered are the many strange accounts of werewolves, vampires, apart from ghosts and ghouls.• Thursday night concessionary prices to all who dress as zombies or ghouls.• Reynard questions this repulsive ghoul, with neither hope nor disappointment.• What is this shuffling ghoul you present to me?• Then the ghoul will rob the corpse of the interred jewellery and devour the newly dead flesh with its sharp fangs.Origin ghoul (1700-1800) Arabic ghul, from ghala “to seize” 