I would probably chalk it up mostly to carelessness, with a touch of bad luck. If you've stopped playing for awhile, that can really send you back a ways.
If you're having a lot of trouble with ghuls, take a look at your character's PV. If it's below 10, a ghul can kill you easily. Above 10, you're probably in the clear unless the ghul is very experienced. Don't forget about tactics, too. A lot of people run around on berserk when they should really be running around on coward. You might want to browse through the wiki article on early game survival. I'm sure you know most of this already, but there's probably a few things in there that could be helpful.
Finally, I'd suggest you play an archer (hurthling or high elf). They are a great second win character.
[edit]If you like wizards, though, you might want to just wander over to Bugwil at level 1. In about 5 minutes or so, you can work your way up to level 9 or 10 by killing some greater claw bugs, which is a pretty huge boost to your survival prospects. Use your torches to increase your sight so you can see the bugs coming.
Last edited by JellySlayer; 03-29-2012 at 04:45 PM.
Hoping to win with every class, doomed. Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastfighter, Druid, Elementalist, Farmer, Fighter, Monk, and ULE Priest down.