Feral ghoul Feral ghouls ( also known as mindless zombies , ghoul crazies , feral necrotic post - humans , zombies or simply ferals ) are ghoul s that have lost their ability to reason and have become aggressive . Much prejudice from ordinary humans against ghouls who " retain " their mental faculties is due to the widespread assumption that this feral state is the inevitable condition of every ghoul . Background . Biology . < section begin = Biology / > The brain structure of a feral ghoul indicates that the regenerative ability of the neurological system that affords " normal " 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 , " " according to the ghoul physician Barrows . Despite the apparent lack of the higher reasoning they once had as humans , some are capable of semi - intelligible speech , as the Vault 34 security officers will occasionally growl out understandable phrases similar to the trog s of The Pitt , indicating that their vocal chords and their brain ' s speech centers are still relatively intact . As the reasoning and critical thinking portions of a ghoul ' s brain deteriorate , the ghoul subject becomes increasingly hostile , giving in to a carnal need to feed . It is known that normal ghouls can turn feral when exposed to excessive levels of radiation . It is possible that this is a gradual process and some , like Dr . Banfield , believe that all ghouls will eventually succumb to this condition . However , considering the existence of ghouls that have been born prior to the Great War two centuries ago , it is quite possible that this theory is inaccurate , or that the rate of degeneration is dependent on the individual affected and surrounding environmental factors . As with normal ghouls , ferals are not only extremely resistant to radiation , they are actually healed by it , as can be seen when a glowing one uses its radiation blast nearby other ghouls . M . A . R . Go . T . also states that feral ghouls have no internal body heat . < section end = Biology / > Behavior . Feral ghouls often cluster together in dark , cool environments , like sub - basement - levels or underground areas , only occasionally leaving their normal hunting grounds for time in the open air . However , the myth that ferals fear light is false . Occasionally , one or two ferals may be encountered out in the open . Isabella Proud ' s research seems to confirm that feral ghouls do not fear or avoid light . One prime example is Warrington trainyard . Another good example is the Mojave Wasteland , where almost all feral ghouls can be found outdoors during the day . Frequently , ferals of all types 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 . They will often sniff , screech , or lash out at other ferals . Upon detecting a non - ghoul , most ferals will make a high - pitched gurgle or screech , setting out to search the area . Upon sighting prey , they will often scream once more , alerting any nearby ghouls and attack . There is no rank or pecking order to these attacks ; all attack at the same time in a rampant onslaught . Because of this , in enclosed areas like Vault 34 , it is very easy to get overwhelmed . Feral ghouls mainly attack with their hands , slashing and smashing in an insane fury . Some feral ghouls can be seen to use weapons , such as the trooper ghouls in Camp Searchlight , likely indicating that they have only gone feral recently . Feral ghouls are not very smart , but the fact that they seem to move in packs and stay near irradiated areas shows that they have some form of intelligence . However , this may simply be a form of survival instinct . Ferals have also been shown to possess a sense of self - preservation , as in one occasion they have actively fled a Brotherhood of Steel onslaught . In the same locale , a cluster of ferals were kept relatively docile when fed regularly . Otherwise , they always attack aggressively without regard to personal injury . Ghoul mask . One interesting note on ferals is that they seem to be fooled by very rudimentary means . The ghoul mask , seemingly nothing more than the hollowed - out head of a ghoul or several pieces of a human / ghoul head sutured together , still seems to deter ferals from attacking . When wearing the ghoul mask ( or using a Stealth Boy ) the player character can observe relaxed feral ghouls ' actions , including twitching , bending down , having fits or sniffing the air . If one is wearing the ghoul mask , ferals will often turn their head to the side and stretch their necks when nearing them , as if they are confused . Roy Phillips , who originally possesses the mask , states if one gets too close to the ghouls , they will " sniff " the player character out and attack , even with the mask on . Regardless of this advice , the ghouls will not attack unless the player character removes the mask or provokes them with hostile action . Variants . Feral ghoul . Feral ghouls ( also known as mindless ghouls , ghoul crazies or zombies ) are the basic feral ghoul variant , wearing only a pair of tattered shorts and noticeably weaker than standard human opponents , they are easily dispatched with one or two headshots from any decent weapon or a solid hit from a decent melee or unarmed weapon . Despite their shrill noise and remarkable speed , they are only truly a threat when they have the advantage of numbers , or when the player character is at a low level . Some feral ghouls come in different colors as well as different types . The colors are different depending on how the human looked before turning into a feral ghoul . Feral ghoul roamer . Some feral ghoul roamers in the Capital Wasteland wear what appears to be the remains of old combat armor , and are somewhat tougher than standard feral ghouls , requiring more damage to be dealt to put them down . It is possible that roamers are ghoulified U . S . soldiers since tattered remains of combat armor are strapped to their bodies . However , in the Mojave Wasteland , ghoul roamers appear no different than the standard feral ghoul . They are not very common but can be found in groups of 2 - 5 in places containing lots of ghouls , like the Museum of History . Feral ghoul reaver . Feral ghoul reavers appear in the " Fallout 3 " add - ons " Broken Steel " and " Point Lookout " and also can be found in " " in the Mojave Wasteland . They are much more combat - worthy than other ghouls and wear what appears to be the remnant of metal armor . They also have the ability to rip radioactive gore out of themselves and hurl it like a grenade . Aside from the damage they can inflict , they also have great endurance and boast one of the highest HPs in the game , being able to survive even attacks from the Fat Man . Their lunge attacks ( much like a deathclaw ' s ) can send the player a good distance back , and can even cripple or kill a high level player very quickly . Even at point blank range and with the Sniper , Gunslinger and Commando perks , the V . A . T . S . chance for hitting a Reaver ' s head will never go above 74 % in Fallout 3 . In " Fallout : New Vegas " , reavers are simply a tougher and more aggressive variant of feral ghouls , having somewhat higher Hit Points than a glowing one . They have also lost their ability to throw radioactive gore , and their damage is not nearly as high as it was in Fallout 3 , they can be dispatched as if they were any other feral ghoul . Glowing one . Glowing ones or luminous necrotic post - humans are ghouls who absorbed so much radiation that they glow in the dark , being living conduits of radiation . In daylight they simply appear to be incredibly pale feral ghouls , but in darkness they glow with a vivid yellow - green hue , their opaque skeletons clearly visible as in an X - ray . Approaching a fallen glowing one can cause minor exposure to radiation , so they can still be dangerous to normal humans even after their death . They are often considered outsiders even by other ( non - feral ) ghouls , they are also one of the rarest of the feral ghouls . While there are many glowing ones that kept their normal human intellectual abilities in New California , it seems that nearly all of them in the Capital Wasteland and the Mojave Wasteland have become feral . The Capital Wasteland and some Mojave Wasteland glowing ones can also emit an incandescent wave of radiation at will from their bodies , which they use to heal themselves and any surrounding ghouls while damaging their enemies . Even though being considered outcasts , other feral ghouls seem to follow them , as they are attracted to the lethal doses of radiation the glowing ones emit from their bodies . All glowing ones in " Fallout 3 , " " , and Fallout 4 " are feral with the exception of Jason Bright and Oswald the Outrageous In Los , the glowing ghouls are among the members of the Church of the Lost , a ghoul cult dedicated to protection of the Secret Vault . Interestingly , they are less affected by radiation than their comrades from the Capital Wasteland and New California . Swamp ghoul . Swamp ghouls are feral ghouls which exclusively inhabit the swamps of Point Lookout . Swamp ghouls wear a tattered pair of shorts similar to those commonly worn by tribals , hinting that they were once tribals who didn ' t eat their punga fruit . They are found in massive numbers in and around Turtledove Detention Camp . They exhibit characteristics similar to those of normal feral ghouls , but their skin ' s general appearance is more of a gray color and they are also considerably weaker . However , the swamp ghouls tend to appear in greater numbers than their Capital Wasteland counterparts . Legendary feral ghoul . Legendary feral ghouls are a new type of enemy in " Fallout 4 " . At least one appears in the city of Lexington . Endless walkers . The 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 ( note that after being 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 what was once NORAD . Not all endless walkers end up radscorpion 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 ability to reason has been completely lost .