Gohms, Gomes, Goams, or primarily Ghoms are monstrous beings that live in the wasteland where the Infinity Train is located. They first appear in the episode "The Grid Car".
Appearance
Ghoms are quadrupedal roach-dog creatures that are black in color. There is a single pair of wings covered by the carapace, and between two to four antennae sticking out of their head. They have a mouth lined with small tentacles with several smaller tentacles inside, which glows a light blue when sucking souls. After fully consuming a soul, a Ghom's black coloration will begin to drain and reveal a reflective surface.
The Ghom reflecting one of the car doors.
Residence
Ghoms are generally thought to reside in the Wasteland. While technically correct, this is also technically incorrect: they live in an unknown underground space, possibly hibernating underground, and emerge through cracks in the ground or patches of black mud when they detect motion on the surface.
Capabilities
Several Ghoms
The Ghoms seem to be able to eat the souls of other beings; whether they have a preference for particular types of soul is unknown. While being fed on, a Ghom's victim appears to rapidly become desiccated. When a Ghom fully consumes the soul of a passenger, the victim dies, seemingly in excruciating pain and eventually disintegrates to ash, finally the Ghom itself then explodes into a cloud of blue particles, although this has only been seen once with Simon Laurent (possibly due to the many numbers he gained).
During the first episode, they are seen flying, hinting at relations to arthropods. They are presumably non-sentient, however, the Ghom that used to be Atticus is seen trying to stop itself from hurting Tulip in "The Ball Pit Car," suggesting they, or at least he, maintain some semblance of personality.
Trivia
- The actual spelling of the Ghoms' name has been inconsistent throughout the show's history. For their first appearance in "The Grid Car," they are credited as "Ghoms," but when the name reappears in the credits of "The Wasteland", they are spelled as "Gohms." In "The New Apex", however, they are once again called Ghoms. Owen Dennis has referred to them both as "Gohms" and "Goams" on social media. In the original treatment for "The Bliss Car," they are referred to as "Gomes."
- The Ghoms are never mentioned by name in their debut episode, instead revealed in the credits. They are referred to by name for the first time in "Le Chat Chalet Car" by Simon.
- Owen Dennis drew the initial Ghom design in his notebook on an airplane. He instructed Jessica Yost to drawn them in very dark colors to make it look as though, even when you were seeing them, you couldn't see them fully. He describes the effect as though there was "something wrong with your TV."[1]
- The vocal effects for the Ghoms are provided by Dee Bradley Baker, while the wings sound effects are recordings of motorcycles.[1]
- According to the Book 2 DVD commentary, the Ghoms are written to show up (metaphorically) when characters are at their lowest point in their journey. For Tulip, this is after she has seemingly lost Atticus in "The Ball Pit Car"; for Lake, when she has lost Jesse and gets stuck outside the train in "The Wasteland"; for Simon and Grace, when their former friendship has completely dissolved in "The New Apex."
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Book 1 DVD Commentary. "The Grid Car."
|