How similar are the two?

I think the argument that "ghouls are actually just horribly mutated people..." is bogus considering how many times I've seen them sleeping underwater; they're clearly undead. It's a little more tricky for the ones who aren't feral though... never seen one of them taking a snooze in a pool of irradiated liquid

Zombies tend to be the result of viral infection.

On the whole sleeping in irradiated water, in past games they often hung out in irradiated water, but obviously weren't sleeping in it.


Probably due to not having an animation for it; they are hanging out in mostly the same "ghoul" locations, I'd say now we're just seeing a more fleshed out picture.


As for living or dead... Dean states he isn't sure if he even has to eat, and he's been around since the bombs fell.


They can certainly exist without their limbs attached, but they have repository systems right? There have been a few chem doing ghouls in the series. The barber from the underworld was always high on jet.


You had those guys asking for sugar bombs to make ultra jet iirc, since normal jet wasn't powerful enough for them being ghouls and all.

The entire naming convention has been completely destroyed by games and movies.

The standard definition of a Ghoul is a create that feasts on the dead. They can be undead or just evil spirits. In Fallout Ghouls are people that have been mutated by radiation and often given incredibly long life. Ghouls are not evil or good, just another form of "humanity". Most ghouls have gone insane and attack none ghouls. As for the sleeping underwater, again they have mutated, your character can even develop the ability to breath underwater so why not mutations?

A Zombie by standard definition is a corpse that has been reanimated by magic in some form. They tend to be mindless and only follow direction of those that raise them or animal instincts. Ghouls by nature have intelligence and often cunning when using the classic definition.

The entertainment world has warped these definitions over time and so it is now harder to know what each is without looking at specific examples.

An interesting fact about the world of the walking dead. The term zombies is never used in it due to George Romero having never existed.

The word Zombie goes way back to the 1800s,mostly from African and Haitian folklore,George Romero popularized it to what it is today.

lovefool35, I think you'll find that your question will ultimately conclude to the more pressing question: Can Zombie Ghouls exist?

I think Preston best describes ghouls when you ask him, both feral and non. However that doesn't explain their ability to 'live' without food or water or aging or air (Billy). It is more like they are dead and very slowly decaying which eventually hits their brain and makes them feral. Zombies are just dead and reanimated somehow.

Same crap and was disappointed when I saw those feral ghouls.

Non-feral ghouls are cool though.

Zambies svck.


Ghouls are always cooler, in or out of Fallout.

They have to breathe and they can die of dehydration. They aren't undead.

They are mutated people......feral mutated people, but still people.

Whilst we're on the subject, has anyone come across ghoul raiders recently? I found one earlier. Is this a new thing added by a recent update or something?

It's been there since the beginning.


Quincy Quarries has a ton of them.

The ghouls keep on going with no heads either. I have taken many heads clean off and they still won't die. Old school zombie lore was to shoot or decapitate to stop them, I think. Like In the old dawn of the dead had to shoot them in the head. Ghouls are an abomination in this game.

Oh I never noticed. Shows how much attention I've been paying.

You're game is bugged then. In my game as well as every copy that my friends have a feral dies as soon as they lose their head.

Also again, ghouls aren't freaking zombies....

That's one bug I'll keep then because it's damn funny.

I think all feral ghouls are just ghouls as we've always known them but the new "withered" ones are a step beyond them.

Normal Fallout Ghouls aren't undead. They're still living. They still need to eat, drink, sleep, and breathe like any other living creature.

Fallout Equestria Ghouls are somewhat of a different story...

Ghouls r zombies.

Bro ghouls are reverse vampires that crave the sun. They come from tanslyvania.

Right. I was aware of the lore and all, I just started to question it after seeing them sleeping in water so many times. Specifically refering to the big pool of irradiated water right inside the border of the Glowing Sea; there's always a ton of ghouls there just taking a nap face down in knee deep water. For my own enjoyment, I'm opting to say a big F it to the lore and imagining them as undead when I'm mowing them down.

The fact they are all wearing space suits in NV's Come Fly with Me which was written by makers of the original game supports they do breath just like us. Unless Bethesda obliterated the cannon with that also.

Zombies are folks to got viral infection, died, but the virus still control the body, they also have the need of eat. Ghouls (Feral-) folks who got too much radiation, their brain rotten away, but they have little human left like sleep. Zombies and Ghouls (Feral-) acts the same, attacks everyone they sees. If I'm not mistaken, seen Ghoul (Feral-) eat on dead human. If you get bitten by Zombie, you get the virus as well. Get bitten by Ghoul (Feral-) gonna hurt a little, but Stimpack fix it. One suffer from virus, another one suffers of radiation / Gamma. Seen almost all Zombie movies by George A. Romero and Lucio Fulci. Not going to see the remakes and these on tv... bad actors acts bad, full of "cream".

Cheers,

-Klevs