Buiilding on World Building

[Shokkou]

Since Tokyo Ghoul is set in what is effectively an alternate reality and I'm a bit of a nerd about such things, I can't help but wonder about the wider cultural and historical impact of ghouls a) existing and b) being common knowledge. For instance, in real life there's an entire body of ghoul-related fiction that may or may not exist in the TG world. I mean, I figure that the use of the term 'ghoul' suggests that the original Arabic folklore that it comes from exists, or at least some of it (speaking of which, there's a folktale called The Ghul's Daughter that would be extra interesting in the context of a world where ghouls existed), but what about the later stuff (for some reason the story that I keep wondering about the most is Pickman's Model by HP Lovecraft)? Do they not exist in the Tokyo Ghoul world, do they exist with differences or what?

Then you get other stuff, like funeral customs. Japan cremates their dead, so no change there, but what about those cultures that are very burial-orientated in real life, given that that would make things easy for the ghouls (although not as easy as cultures like the Zoroastrians who expose their dead)? I mean, historically there's been an awful lot of grave-robbing/body-snatching in real life; with ghouls around I'd be suprised if anyone got a chance to rest in peace. Also, the 'resurrection men' would have a whole load of additional occupational hazards, but also potentially another market depending on the temperaments of the local ghouls.

Yes, my brain is a strange place.