Ghouls

It was a colossal and nameless blasphemy with glaring red eyes, and it held in bony claws a thing that had been a man, gnawing at the head as a child nibbles at a stick of candy.
H.P. Lovecraft, “Pickman’s Model”

Rubbery and leathery humanoids with canine features and claws, their loathsome mouths are covered in crusted blood and grave mold.

While Ghouls mainly walk on all fours, unnervingly, some ghouls can stand and speak. Most make grotesque gibbering and grunting sounds as they attack and feast on flesh. Their loathsome visage means the ghoul cannot travel in the regular world without a thick cloak or other obvious disguise, and they grow to hate the bright sun. Instead, they flee to the darkest depths of a city, sneaking out at night to snatch a mouthful of flesh.

The sight of the thing raised the question: Do we eat to live, or do we live to eat?

The longer their existence, the greater their hunger for the dead grows, and they often raid a graveyard or mortuary to steal their next meal. The more clever ghouls learn to source their corpse-flesh from willing humans, such as those who tend to cemeteries, hospitals, and even butcher’s shops.

Ghoul Priests, the Disciples of the Devourer

The priests of the ghouls are unspeakable horrors that smell of rot and freshly dug earth, and who wear robes and bone masks. Ghastly, nocturnal creatures, they shepherd and live among packs of lesser ghouls. They primarily serve Umôrdhoth but can also act as lieutenants or servants of necromancers and cult priests.

The priests of rot and graves are more intelligent than lesser ghouls, and some possess mystical powers. They retain their personality and are harder to spot when not in their priestly vestments, often passing for normal people. However, they still gibber and snarl before leaping to attack. They look to expand their flock by transforming humans into ghouls through the consumption of dead humans or food or drink containing an eldritch fluid known as the blood of Umôrdhoth.