Matching 50 mythical creatures with each of the 50 states

New Jersey: Ghouls

In things I never thought I would say – I’m sorry New Jersey, but your state monster is Ghouls. That’s right, New Jersey is overrun with Ghouls, and well we might have to blame the neighboring states for this one a bit. After all, you know that if you have been working in NYC and head home after a long commute and plenty of tourists, you probably feel pretty ghoulish yourself.

And sure, we all know that Ghouls are said to be “undead monsters,” but did you know that on a more international level, their story is a bit different? It seems that at one point, a Ghoul was actually a jinn known for eating people. Sometimes they would wait for the person to be dead already, but not always. (Also bonus lesson I picked up from The Book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Creatures, Ghoul means to Seize.)

So basically, there are two ways to look at a Ghoul – one as a magical creature who eats people and one as an undead monster trudging through life. And if we look at its meaning, maybe there are three ways to look at these creatures.

Now, whichever interpretation of the Ghoul you want to choose, it just feels like this is the monster for New Jersey. After all, this is the state that acts as a bridge between New England and New York and the rest of the eastern seaboard. And with so many people trying to amble their way out of THE city, it kind of makes sense that the undead would be chilling in New Jersey.

Again, apologies to the people of New Jersey, but it looks like you may be overrun with undead monsters.