Ghoul Ghouls act as the shock troops for the Scourge . These lumbering , rotting corpses were once innocent townsfolk who have made the final transition into true undeath . Ghouls have great stamina and revel in combat with living beings . Ghouls are ravenous cannibals who can replenish their health by devouring the flesh of fallen warriors , friend and foe alike . Ghouls are the main forces of the undead Scourge . They are vicious creatures , retaining little of their humanity . The plague has torn away most of their memories , leaving only hunger and basic survival instincts in their place . Ghouls are feral and animalistic and are often considered to be the lowest form of undead . While generally humanoid in appearance , a ghoul is easy to recognize on the battlefield by its pallor , hunched - over posture , and feral face . Even those who were close to the individual in life have difficulty recognizing their loved one ; the transformation removes most vestiges of humanity as well as identifying features of voice and body structure . Ghouls of the Scourge are strong fighters , but they are not particularly tough . Their ability to regenerate , coupled with cannibalizing the dead , makes them far tougher opponents than they may seem . Because of their limited intelligence , their greatest tactical insight is to hit something until it ’ s dead . Thus , more intelligent beings often direct ghouls of the Scourge or send them into suicide situations where no tactics are needed . Ghoulish tenacity and fearlessness make them feared and loathed opponents ( as does their habit of eating slain foes ) . They have some animalistic cunning when it comes to ambushes and other primitive attack strategies . They do not use weapons ( having little brains with which to understand the concept ) and fight with their bare hands or with a club or other found item . Only the Scourge and a few other necromancers know the secret of creating ghouls . Rumors say that zombies transform into ghouls when they make the transcendence to " true undeath " , perhaps reclaiming a small portion of their former intelligence in the process . However , death knights have raised ghouls to their will to fight along side them as well . It is likely they know the secret to raise the dead to their command as well . Ghouls speak in growling , phlegmy voices , but they only mutter to themselves ; they do not normally communicate meaningfully . Horgus the Ravager is one such ghoul that managed to retain a fair amount of intelligence , and was given a very high rank in the Scourge . It has been shown that ghouls can speak but most of what they say are driven through some sort of hunger for meat , such as Eliza . During the third war , ghouls were used as basic attack units , and also used to harvest lumber to build scourge structures . Ghouls are found in several places throughout Azeroth , primarily the Eastern Kingdoms . Most notable are those who terrorize the Plaguelands as the front lines of the Scourge , heavy concentrations can also be found in Eversong Forest and Ghostlands . Mindless ghouls can also be found in Silverpine Forest and Duskwood . Ghouls have the appearance of a bent , twisted humanoid figure . Much of their flesh has rotted away , exposing a fair amount of bone and twisting facial features until they are unrecognizable as human . As undeath progresses in a victim , it twists and corrupts the body , growing fangs and claws . The ghoul is the final stage of the process of undeath . Zombie Infestation . During the Zombie Infestation world event , conspicuous crates could be found in Booty Bay , that if opened would give the player a 1 - 10 minute plague infection . If the plague was allowed to complete its duration or if the player died while infected , the end result led to the player becoming a zombie ( with the appearance of a ghoul ) . As a zombie , the player is able to infect other players , leading them to become undead , as well . The hits and attacks an infected player receives hasten the process towards mutation . In Warcraft III . Ghouls are the basic warriors of the Undead Scourge . These lumbering , rotting corpses were once Zombies that have made the final transition into true ' undeath ' . Ghouls have great stamina and revel in combat with living beings . Ghouls are ravenous cannibals who can regenerate their wounds by eating the flesh of fallen warriors . In addition to being combat units , Ghouls also harvest Lumber . They harvest 20 Lumber as opposed to Human Peasants and Orc Peons that start with 10 . In Wrath of the Lich King . In the Wrath of the Lich King ghouls were given a new look , the most obvious change is the face and hair . However the old model is still used along with the new one . Death knight minions . In the Wrath of the Lich King expansion , ghouls play a major minion to the death knight class . Death knights have the ability to use moves such as Raise Dead , Raise Ally and Army of the Dead . With the Master of Ghouls talent , the death knight can make the ghoul a permanent pet like a warlock ' s demon and similarly the risen ghoul can not be renamed . They can also be fed buff food in the same way . In Heroes of the Storm . Ghouls also appear as a Unit in Heroes of the Storm in service of Arthas . Note . " Ghoul of the Scourge " is an acquired template in the Warcraft RPG .