Ghouls

Type	Enemy
Environment	Underground Desert + Underground Crimson
AI Type	Fighter AI
Damage	64/128/192
Max Life	220/440/660
Defense	32
KB Resist	50%/55%/60%
Banner	Ghoul Banner
Debuff	Ichor
Debuff tooltip	Reduced defense
Chance	100%
Duration	7 seconds14 seconds
Coins	6501625
Hurt	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Hit_37.wav
Killed	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Killed_40.wav
Idle	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_55.wavhttps://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_56.wav

Type	Enemy
Environment	Underground Desert + Underground Corruption
AI Type	Fighter AI
Damage	60/120/180
Max Life	250/500/750
Defense	30
KB Resist	50%/55%/60%
Banner	Ghoul Banner
Debuff	Cursed Inferno
Debuff tooltip	Losing life
Chance	100%
Duration	7 seconds14 seconds
Coins	6501625
Hurt	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Hit_37.wav
Killed	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Killed_40.wav
Idle	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_55.wavhttps://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_56.wav

Type	Enemy
Environment	Underground Desert
AI Type	Fighter AI
Damage	50/100/150
Max Life	180/360/540
Defense	26
KB Resist	40%/46%/52%
Banner	Ghoul Banner
Coins	51250
Hurt	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Hit_37.wav
Killed	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Killed_40.wav
Idle	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_55.wavhttps://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Zombie_56.wav

Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.

Ghouls are Hardmode Underground Desert enemies who follow the Fighter AI (behaving similarly to Zombies). Ordinary Ghouls spawn inside the normal Underground Desert, the Vile Ghoul inside Corrupt parts of the Underground Desert, the Tainted Ghoul inside Crimson parts of the Underground Desert, and the Dreamer Ghoul inside Hallowed parts of the Underground Desert.

Variants

Dreamer GhoulHardmode exclusive

Classic

Expert

Master

Statistics

Type	Enemy
Environment	Underground Desert + Underground Hallow
AI Type	Fighter AI
Damage	54/108/162
Max Life	300/600/900
Defense	32
KB Resist	60%/64%/68%
Banner	Ghoul Banner

Inflicts debuff

Debuff	Confused
Debuff tooltip	Movement is reversed
Chance	100%
Duration	14 seconds28 seconds

Drops

Coins	7501875

Item (Quantity)Rate
Light Shard
6.67%
Ancient Cloth
10%

Sounds

Hurt
Killed
Idle

Internal NPC ID: 527
Internal Buff ID: 31

Tips

The Hallow and Corruption/Crimson variants inflict debuffs which can make exploring the Underground Desert dangerous even with pre-Plantera equipment, but can be easily avoided if approaching the enemy with care.

Trivia

While a ghoul is a common enemy in many games, it is fitting that the Terraria version appears in Desert biomes. The ghoul's origin can be traced back to Arabic stories of monsters that feed on the flesh of desert travelers and desecrate the tombs of the buried.
It appears that the Corruption/Crimson and Hallowed versions have a liquid dripping down their chin while the normal version does not.
- This is confirmed by their Bestiary entries.
Oddly enough, the Ghouls are not immune to the debuffs they inflict, except the Dreamer Ghoul.

Bestiary entries

Ghoul: "Wandering the dark caverns below the desert dunes, ghouls are the dessicated husks of zombies preserved by the arid environment."
Vile Ghoul: "Ghouls twisted by the Corruption ooze a nasty green bile that ignites on contact with skin, scorching their prey with cursed flames."
Tainted Ghoul: "Ghouls infested by the Crimson leak vile ichor from their mouths, weakening the defenses of their foes with every bite."
Dreamer Ghoul: "Ghouls cleansed by the Hallow possess a psychedelic saliva that renders their victims confused and distracted by visions and mirages."