Feral ghoul

Feral ghouls, mindless ghouls or feral necrotic post-humans are those ghouls (humans mutated by radiation) that lost their minds and became aggressive animals. Their minds are almost completely gone and they react mostly on instinct, making them very similar to fictional Zombies. Indeed, this similarity has caused much discrimination towards the ghouls that have retained their mental faculties.



Biology
The brain structure of a feral ghoul indicates that the regenerative ability of the neurological systems that affords typical necrotic post-humans their longevity does not extend into the higher reasoning functions of the brain itself. This condition is referred to as "ferocious post-necrotic dystrophy".

As the reasoning and high order thinking portions of the brain deteriorate, the ghoul subject becomes increasingly hostile, giving into a carnal need to feed as opposed to the capacity for thinking that reasoning that a non-feral ghoul retains. It remains unclear exactly what precipitates this change in biology and psychology, but anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that non-social ghouls, or those in isolation, are more prone to the condition.

Behaviour
Feral Ghouls often cluster together in dark, cool environments, like sub-basement-level or totally underground areas, only occasionally leaving their hunting grounds into open air.

Frequently, Ferals will wander from place to place, stopping at fallen prey to feed, but will immediately attack any and all non-Ghoul creatures they come across. Upon detecting a non-Ghoul, most Ferals will make a high-pitched gurgle or screech, and set to searching the area. Upon sighting prey, they will often scream once more, alerting any nearby Ghouls, and attack.

One interesting note with Ferals is that they seem to be fooled with rudimentary means. The Ghoul Mask, seemingly nothing more than the hollowed-out head of a Ghoul, still seems to deter Ferals from attacking. Whether this suggests that Ferals only track through sight, or that their other senses have become dull enough not to recognize prey through movement or scent is unclear, but would explain why Ferals do not attack other, sentient, Ghouls.

Feral Glowing Ghouls
Some of the Glowing Ones also become feral (or some of the feral ghouls start to glow due to exposure to radiation). They are known to use radiation-based attacks on humans.

Endless Walkers
Endless Walk is the punishment in which a ghoul from the Reservation is stripped of every worldly possession, including clothing, and sent marching into the wasteland. No ghoul has ever come back from the Endless Walk (exiled from the Reservation Otto Stead was saved by governor Dodge at Hoover Dam). Another source of Endless Walkers in the Boulder area is the Crater, the remains of NORAD.

Not all Endless Walkers end up scorpion food, at least not at first. On those rare occasions when one survives more than one year in the wasteland, they turn into wandering, voracious creatures on an endless quest for flesh. Due to their prolonged, open exposure to the desert sun, high radiation, and other hardships of the wasteland, these unfortunate ghouls, who were banished, naked, from the Reservation, look like walking, sun bleached chunks of beef jerky. Their constant exposure to the hot sun and high levels of radiation has caused their skin to toughen into natural, hardened leather, but at the same time, their brain has completely cooked.

Endless Walkers who have been in the wastes for so long become a creature of instinct and will attack anything that moves in a vain effort to quench an appetite that can never be quenched. Also, their skin is very tough and they strike with their claw-like hands with surprising quickness. Fortunately, endless walkers do not travel in groups. In fact, it is a rare occasion when someone comes across one, though most who travel this side of the wasteland like to keep their distance from the voracious creatures. Though encounters with Endless Walkers are rare, when someone does encounter them, they are assured to never forget the encounter, if they survive.

Appearances
Feral ghouls appear in Fallout (in random encounters, as "mindless ghouls"), Fallout 2 (as "ghoul crazies") and Fallout 3 (where they are actually named "feral ghouls" for the first time).