These Fallout Theories Will Change How You See Ghouls

Ghouls have long been one of the creepiest and most bizarre story elements in "Fallout" lore. They often look like walking corpses, with their irradiated flesh literally rotting away from their bodies. Despite that, ghouls can also be some of the friendliest people in post-apocalyptic society — that is, until they turn feral. For reasons that no one fully understands, many ghouls eventually lose their minds and become violent, flesh-eating monsters.

Every "Fallout" game has told us that the process of becoming a ghoul is tied to suffering from extreme radiation exposure, but that's as specific as they get. In some games, like "Fallout 4," players even meet people who became ghouls after taking an experimental drug cocktail. As part of the games' timeline, the "Fallout" TV series features a couple of different mystery serums that are seemingly tied to ghoulification. Because of these vagaries, fans have filled this sizable gap in knowledge with outlandish theories, which run the gamut from the supernatural to the highly scientific. What they have in common is that they're all absolutely terrifying. Once you dive into these theories, you'll never be able to look at ghouls the same way.

All good science fiction is based in reality, and even though the ghouls in "Fallout" seem to lean more into fiction than fact, that may not be the case. A Redditor with some background knowledge in microbiology laid out a theory that ties ghouls to the real world via some helpful fungi.

According to this theory, ghoulification is caused by a combination of mutations. Exposure to extreme radiation doesn't just change human cells, but also the cells of the microorganisms that live inside us all. The theory points out that Cryptococcus neoformans, a type of fungus that can infect human beings, actually feeds on radiation as an energy source. If a human was infected with it when the bombs dropped, maybe this fungus would keep them alive by allowing them to replace the need for food with a thirst for radiation and (irradiated) water.

This theory also gets into explaining why the Glowing Ones exist in "Fallout." A bacteria called Photorhabdus luminescens can infect humans in rare situations, and it naturally glows. Unfortunately, human body heat kills the bacteria and its glow isn't quite the same — but that's why this is just a theory, after all. To summarize: If you want to be a ghoul, get yourself hooked up with some fungal and bacterial infections and then find your nearest nuclear power plant.

Why should scientists get to have all the fun? "Fallout" has always contained hints at the supernatural, and this next fan theory re-contextualizes not only ghouls, but the entire "Fallout" universe. This theory imagines that the radiation that players run into in all the "Fallout" games isn't actually radiation at all. There are already plenty of signs that radiation in the games functions differently than it does in the real world. In reality, radiation doesn't typically result in giant monsters and mutated immortal humans. There's a small possibility that the dramatic effects of radiation in the "Fallout" universe are actually the result of some kind of mystical energy provided by Eldritch gods.

In particular, the Bethesda-era "Fallout" games have contained numerous references to Lovecraftian horrors, with the infamous Dunwich House and Dunwich Borers hint that ancient evil gods might have been awakened by the nuclear war. One theory posits that these Old Ones — or some materials tied to them, at least — are the real source of what we know as "radiation" in the "Fallout" world. This could explains all of the monsters and ghouls, but it raises another question: Why are the gods so busy transforming the world? What dark purpose are they pursuing? That will keep you up at night.