Ghouls Are a Staple Part of 'Fallout' Lore — What to Know

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of Fallout.

One of the primary characters and a clear antagonist introduced early on in the inaugural season of Fallout is a man (or what used to be a man) referred only to as "Ghoul." In the first episode, Ghoul is pulled from a grave, dug up by a trio of bandits hoping to enlist him for help in acquiring what they refer to as their biggest bounty yet.

Despite being attacked multiple times in that first episode alone, the decrepit being walks away from the encounter basically unscathed. Are Ghouls immortal? Let's break down what these beings really are.

Within the first couple of episodes, we see Ghoul take a lot of bullets, only to recover almost instantly from the damage, with his skin regrowing over wounds. Even the bandits who brought Ghoul out of his grave mentioned that he was well over 200 years old — but these beings are technically immortal.

In the long Fallout lore, Ghouls are sometimes referred to as necrotic post-humans. These people's bodies have been incredibly altered by radiation, and though they look as though they're decomposing, they're not actually.

It's because of their body's reaction to the radiation that they are able to regenerate skin and become immune to specific wounds. Only a shot through their brain can kill them, making Ghouls as close to immortal as possible.

Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to radiation has the potential to render the Ghouls insane and unstable. Without the proper vials of medication, a Ghoul can go feral, essentially becoming the Fallout version of a zombie. Though the mad Ghouls are not flesh-eating creatures, like many depictions of zombies are, they are still incredibly dangerous and will attack those they encounter.

As seen with another character this season, a certain combination of chemicals also has the potential to create a Ghoul — it's not just prolonged exposure to radiation that creates a Ghoul. The exact recipe for its inception isn't entirely clear in the show, though it's clear just about anyone on the surface can become a Ghoul if they're not careful who they receive their medical help from.

Spoiler warning: This section contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of Fallout.

The Ghoul fighting for Dr. Wilzig's head in Season 1 of Fallout is actually Cooper Howard, the famed actor from the time before the nuclear wipeout. Cooper's wife, Barb, worked closely with Bud Askins at Vault-Tec, who was spearheading the training of a series of managers dubbed "Bud's Buds."

These managers were the secret locked away in Vault 31 — every manager Bud trained was frozen in time, only to be released when a new leader was needed for either Vault 32 or Vault 33.

Henry (or Hank) MacLean was Barb's assistant and one of these managers in training — and also a big fan of Cooper's. As Ghoul is more than 200 years old, he remembers Hank very clearly from before the nuclear explosion. When Ghoul learns that Lucy's father is alive and was captured by Moldaver, he hunts him down.

Unfortunately, that's where the season ends, and the specifics of their longtime feud isn't entirely clear by the time the final credits roll on that first season. But it's seems like Hank and the Ghoul will have more to duke out if Fallout returns for a second season.

Season 1 of Fallout is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.