Ghoulish

/ˈɡuːlɪʃ/ adjective

Definition

Showing an unhealthy interest in death or suffering; creepy and morbid in a way that seems wrong or disturbing.

Etymology

From 'ghoul,' from Arabic 'ghul,' a spirit that robbed graves and ate corpses in Arabian folklore, with English suffix '-ish' added.

Kelly Says

The idea of a ghoul comes from genuine cultural fears about grave-robbing in ancient Arabia, making the word a linguistic time capsule of historical anxieties about death and the afterlife.

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