Ghouls

Ghouls are risen corpses which feed on the flesh of the living. Within the first ten years of their undead “life” they are self-willed and sentient creatures who can carry on conversations and maintain their memories of life. After ten years, decay and rot creeps in and begins to effect their sentience: they begin to attack without warning, respond less to attempts at conversation and often go blind. Their physical appearance begins to degrade as well, often resulting in the loss of limbs, skin and/or sensory organs. Eventually, they become animalistic beasts which attack on sight/perception and consume whatever they find.

Ghouls are the basis for both the sentient undead concepts in folklore and the Romero-era zombies [Maddie] which Romero himself accurately called ghouls.