Behind the Folklore - Jump the Shark

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GHOULS
In popular legend, a ghoul is a demonic being believed to inhabit burial grounds and other deserted places. In ancient Arabic folklore, ghuls belonged to a diabolic class of jinn (spirits) and were said to be the offspring of Iblis, the Muslim prince of darkness. They were capable of constantly changing form, but their presence was always recognizable by their unalterable sign: ass’s hooves.

Considered female by the ancients, the ghul was often confused with the síla, also female; the síla, however, was a witchlike species of jinn, immutable in shape. A ghul stalked the desert, often in the guise of an attractive woman, trying to distract travelers, and, when successful, killed and ate them. The sole defense that one had against a ghul was to strike it dead in one blow; a second blow would only bring it back to life again.

The ghul, as a vivid figure in the Bedouin imagination, appeared in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, notably that of Ta'abbata Sharran. In North Africa, it was easily assimilated into an ancient Berber folklore already rich in demons and fantastic creatures. Modern Arabs use ghul to designate a human or demonic cannibal and frequently employ the word to frighten disobedient children.

Anglicized as “ghoul,” the word entered English tradition and was further identified as a grave-robbing creature that feeds on dead bodies and on children. In the West ghouls have no specific image and have been described (by Edgar Allan Poe) as “neither man nor woman . . . neither brute nor human.” They are thought to assume disguises, to ride on dogs and hares, and to set fires at night to lure travelers away from the main roads.


OTHER REFERENCES
Jump the Shark
A term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity. The origin of this phrase comes from a Happy Days episode where the Fonz jumped a shark on waterskis; this was labeled the lowest point of the show.

Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American hard rock guitarist and vocalist from Detroit, Michigan.

Cousin Olivers Diner
Reference to "The Brady Bunch", which also jumped the shark when they introduced a new charater in the shape of a cousin called Oliver.

As the guys eat at the diner, a "31st Annual Fonzarelli Skiing Championship" poster can be seen in the background, referring to the 1977 episode of Happy Days when Fonzie on water skis jumped a shark, leading to the establishment of the term.

The motel Sam and Dean was staying at was called Kelsey Manor, in honor of the late Kim Manners who directed many episodes of Supernatural. The photo on the hotel card, although it's supposedly "Sonny Buono," is actually of Manners, who looks a bit like Sonny Bono.

In the hotel room there's an advertisement for the Sonny Bono Lounge, referring to the jump the shark moment when he left Cher and tried a solo career.


Sources: Britannica.com, Urban Dictionary