Ghoul (novel)
Encyclopedia
Ghoul is a horror novel by Brian Keene
, first published in 2007
known as "the dugout."
The book opens with two high school
seniors having sex
in the cemetery. As they finish the boy realizes a figure has been watching them. The creature lashes out, repeatedly smashes the boy's head against a tombstone until he dies; the chapter ends as he approaches the helpless girl. Another figure comes before sunrise and cleans up the mess.
Timmy's grandfather (Dane Graco) dies the next day, the first Saturday of the summer. His family buries him in the local cemetery; the same one that also houses Timmy's secret hideout and the Ghoul
. Timmy sees his longtime crush Katie Moore whose older sister has gone missing. While walking through the cemetery with Katie and her father, the local pastor, they find a broken sigil stone and Pastor Moore tells Timmie and Katie the legend of the ghoul that once terrorized the area. He was said to be bound by a Sigil Stone under the ruins of the old church. They all notice that the cemetery grounds are dilapidated as headstones are falling over and sinking into the ground.
Barry's father is the caretaker of the cemetery and after the funeral he and Barry bury Dane Graco. It is then revealed that Barry's father Clark is in cahoots with the ghoul acting as his familiar. Clark even kidnaps a local woman as a mate for the ghoul. The ghoul believing himself to be the last of his kind is mating with this woman and the older Moore sister. At the same time you learn that as a commandment from "Him" that the ghouls may not taste fresh meat. Anyone he kills he must let fester for several days.
The town becomes very suspicious with six missing people in less than a week and the boys' families will no longer let them play in the cemetery woods. The boys begin to notice sinkholes forming all over the graveyard. Barry's father has told him he believes there is a cave under ground responsible for all the damage to the grounds. The boys find a hole large enough to enter but do not have time to explore it just then.
The boys' local rivals see them discover the entrance and assume it is the dugout. That night they go into the graveyard under the cover of a storm and enter the cave hoping to trash the dugout. The ghoul kills two of the boys underground as the ringleader attempts to escape. Clark stumbles across him fighting his way out of the ghoul's grasp halfway in the entrance to his warren. Clark recognizes him from a scuffle between him and his own son. He steps on his hand causing him to fall into the hole where the ghoul violently kills him.
That night Doug spends the night at the Graco house and tells Timmy about how his mother sexually abuses
him on a nightly basis. Comparing his stories to the obvious physical abuse
Barry receives from his father he decides that adults are the real monsters.
Clark then bans Doug and Timmy from the graveyard and will only allow Barry to work there in daylight. He catches the kids trying to sneak into the shed where the other boys entered the cave and attacks them both physically and mentally. They then take a long walk into the woods beyond the graveyard and find the remains of Katie's older sister's boyfriend in his car, squashing the rumor they ran away together.
Doug badly wants to spend the night at Timmy's house to avoid the advances of his mother. Timmy's mom will not allow him to so he goes home and locks himself in his room only to be woken up by his mother who has snuck in through the window and is attempting to molest him. At the same time Barry's father beats him nearly to death (at this point Barry notices Dane Graco's Freemason ring on his father's hand.) Timmy tells his dad he believes there is a ghoul on the loose in the cemetery and he believes that it has eaten his father's corpse. His father becomes very angry and take Timmy and his prize comic book collection into the basement and forces him to watch him rip them apart one by one.
Doug leaves his house to go to Timmy's but sees all the lights off and decides to sleep in the dugout. Upon entering the cemetery he sees Clark and the ghoul arguing loudly. Doug flees but his bike's kickstand rattles and the ghoul begins to chase him but he escapes. The ghoul goes back and attempts to kill Clark by slashing him across his neck and face with his claws. He smells Doug returning and goes to meet him at the dugout. Doug begins editing a map of the forest and eating a Kit Kat
when the ghoul bursts through the bottom of the dugout and Doug falls into the grasp of the ghoul who decides to forgo the commandment not to eat fresh meat.
Barry decides to run away from home to escape the abuse of his father, he goes to say goodbye to Doug who is not home and then to Timmy who tells him his suspicions of the ghoul and what his father did. The two form a plan and go to the dugout which they find collapsed into the ghoul's warren. Timmy ventures in and finds Doug's map freshly smeared with Kit-Kat and realizes the ghoul has taken him. He instructs Barry to go start the cemetery's backhoe and start digging the cave up.
Barry finds his father mortally wounded bleeding and unconscious as a result of the Ghoul's attack and uses bungee cord to tie him to a stump. He retrieves the backhoe and begins digging. Timmy finds Karen Moore and the kidnapped woman bound to the walls inside the cave. He frees Karen but the other captive's mind is gone from the trauma of the Ghoul kidnapping and raping her. The ghoul appears holding Doug's head. Timmy and Karen are able to escape and run blindly through the tunnels. Above ground Clark regains consciousness and frees himself and climbs onto the backhoe. As he and Barry struggle the backhoe collapses though the top of the cave and crushes Clark beneath it. Timmy and Karen escape through the hole made by the backhoe and the ghoul follows them out into the sunlight where he melts.
The book then goes to an epilogue twenty years later where Timmy's father is being buried in the cemetery and Barry is now the caretaker. His son has bruises consistent with abuse and Timmy realizes the ghoul was not the only monster in the cemetery.
Brian Keene
Brian Keene is an American author, primarily of horror, crime fiction, and comic books. He has won two Bram Stoker Awards.- Background :Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and many of his books take place in these locales. After graduating high school, he...
, first published in 2007
2007 in literature
The year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...
Plot summary
Timmy Graco and his best friends Barry Smetzler and Doug Keiser are looking forward to a summer they will never forget; they have made the perfect secret underground clubhouse in the local cemeteryCemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
known as "the dugout."
The book opens with two high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
seniors having sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
in the cemetery. As they finish the boy realizes a figure has been watching them. The creature lashes out, repeatedly smashes the boy's head against a tombstone until he dies; the chapter ends as he approaches the helpless girl. Another figure comes before sunrise and cleans up the mess.
Timmy's grandfather (Dane Graco) dies the next day, the first Saturday of the summer. His family buries him in the local cemetery; the same one that also houses Timmy's secret hideout and the Ghoul
Ghoul
A ghoul is a folkloric monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights...
. Timmy sees his longtime crush Katie Moore whose older sister has gone missing. While walking through the cemetery with Katie and her father, the local pastor, they find a broken sigil stone and Pastor Moore tells Timmie and Katie the legend of the ghoul that once terrorized the area. He was said to be bound by a Sigil Stone under the ruins of the old church. They all notice that the cemetery grounds are dilapidated as headstones are falling over and sinking into the ground.
Barry's father is the caretaker of the cemetery and after the funeral he and Barry bury Dane Graco. It is then revealed that Barry's father Clark is in cahoots with the ghoul acting as his familiar. Clark even kidnaps a local woman as a mate for the ghoul. The ghoul believing himself to be the last of his kind is mating with this woman and the older Moore sister. At the same time you learn that as a commandment from "Him" that the ghouls may not taste fresh meat. Anyone he kills he must let fester for several days.
The town becomes very suspicious with six missing people in less than a week and the boys' families will no longer let them play in the cemetery woods. The boys begin to notice sinkholes forming all over the graveyard. Barry's father has told him he believes there is a cave under ground responsible for all the damage to the grounds. The boys find a hole large enough to enter but do not have time to explore it just then.
The boys' local rivals see them discover the entrance and assume it is the dugout. That night they go into the graveyard under the cover of a storm and enter the cave hoping to trash the dugout. The ghoul kills two of the boys underground as the ringleader attempts to escape. Clark stumbles across him fighting his way out of the ghoul's grasp halfway in the entrance to his warren. Clark recognizes him from a scuffle between him and his own son. He steps on his hand causing him to fall into the hole where the ghoul violently kills him.
That night Doug spends the night at the Graco house and tells Timmy about how his mother sexually abuses
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
him on a nightly basis. Comparing his stories to the obvious physical abuse
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
Barry receives from his father he decides that adults are the real monsters.
Clark then bans Doug and Timmy from the graveyard and will only allow Barry to work there in daylight. He catches the kids trying to sneak into the shed where the other boys entered the cave and attacks them both physically and mentally. They then take a long walk into the woods beyond the graveyard and find the remains of Katie's older sister's boyfriend in his car, squashing the rumor they ran away together.
Doug badly wants to spend the night at Timmy's house to avoid the advances of his mother. Timmy's mom will not allow him to so he goes home and locks himself in his room only to be woken up by his mother who has snuck in through the window and is attempting to molest him. At the same time Barry's father beats him nearly to death (at this point Barry notices Dane Graco's Freemason ring on his father's hand.) Timmy tells his dad he believes there is a ghoul on the loose in the cemetery and he believes that it has eaten his father's corpse. His father becomes very angry and take Timmy and his prize comic book collection into the basement and forces him to watch him rip them apart one by one.
Doug leaves his house to go to Timmy's but sees all the lights off and decides to sleep in the dugout. Upon entering the cemetery he sees Clark and the ghoul arguing loudly. Doug flees but his bike's kickstand rattles and the ghoul begins to chase him but he escapes. The ghoul goes back and attempts to kill Clark by slashing him across his neck and face with his claws. He smells Doug returning and goes to meet him at the dugout. Doug begins editing a map of the forest and eating a Kit Kat
Kit Kat
Kit Kat is a chocolate-coated wafer confection that was created by Rowntree's of York, England, and is now produced worldwide by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree in 1988, except in the United States where it is made under licence by The Hershey Company. Each bar consists of fingers composed of three...
when the ghoul bursts through the bottom of the dugout and Doug falls into the grasp of the ghoul who decides to forgo the commandment not to eat fresh meat.
Barry decides to run away from home to escape the abuse of his father, he goes to say goodbye to Doug who is not home and then to Timmy who tells him his suspicions of the ghoul and what his father did. The two form a plan and go to the dugout which they find collapsed into the ghoul's warren. Timmy ventures in and finds Doug's map freshly smeared with Kit-Kat and realizes the ghoul has taken him. He instructs Barry to go start the cemetery's backhoe and start digging the cave up.
Barry finds his father mortally wounded bleeding and unconscious as a result of the Ghoul's attack and uses bungee cord to tie him to a stump. He retrieves the backhoe and begins digging. Timmy finds Karen Moore and the kidnapped woman bound to the walls inside the cave. He frees Karen but the other captive's mind is gone from the trauma of the Ghoul kidnapping and raping her. The ghoul appears holding Doug's head. Timmy and Karen are able to escape and run blindly through the tunnels. Above ground Clark regains consciousness and frees himself and climbs onto the backhoe. As he and Barry struggle the backhoe collapses though the top of the cave and crushes Clark beneath it. Timmy and Karen escape through the hole made by the backhoe and the ghoul follows them out into the sunlight where he melts.
The book then goes to an epilogue twenty years later where Timmy's father is being buried in the cemetery and Barry is now the caretaker. His son has bruises consistent with abuse and Timmy realizes the ghoul was not the only monster in the cemetery.