Zombies have been devouring our brains and culture for centuries. Modern archeologists discovered what they believe as zombie tombs in Ancient Greece.
When scientists unearthed some of the ancient tombs, they discovered skeletons pinned down by large rocks and other heavy objects, assumedly to prevent the dead bodies for reanimating.
And while I’m not a scientist in academia, I do study weird events. Basically, I don’t’ necessarily agree with the archeologists. Here’s why…
In Salem 1692, a man named Giles Corey was accused of witchery. He refused to enter a plea, which according to Massachusetts law, if found guilty, all of his land is relinquished to the government. By refusing to enter a plea, he was forced to undergo Piene forte et dure, a form of torture in which his body is crushed slowly under heavy stones until his death three days later.
He won!—kind of—as his estate was inherited to his sons, rather than state. The Zombies we all know and love in current pop culture,references Haiti in the 17th Century. This was, unfortunately, the time when South Africans were brough to the island as slaves to work on Haiti’s sugar cane plantations. It’s said that their living conditions were so horrific that their physiques and mental state represented what we think of Zombies today.
Haitian Zombies
Vodou (Voodoo) is the religion of Haiti, which like any religion consists of practices not all of humanity agree with, but we’re not judging either. I’m not going to break down the basics of the religion itself, but offer you a slight glimpse into how Vodou practitioners don’t believe in Zombies; because some of those practitioners create them.
Bokors, or Vodou priests or priestesses are often associated with the creation of zombies, but not in the pop cultural sense most of us are aware of. These spiritual leaders will mix herbs, shells, fish, animal parts, bones, and other objects to create a potion called “Zombie Powder”. Once this substance is mixed to perfection, it contains a chemical called, tetrodotoxin.
When administered to the living person, some side effects take over the body. These symptoms include difficultly walking, mental confusion, and respiratory problems (sound familiar to the zombies we all know and love?)
If you want to learn how Bokors can infect a person and make their life a living hell, I recommend watching an oldie but goodie, The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) starring Bill Pullman.
The Threat is REAL – Researching Medical Journals
Before I break down about the REAL possibility of how a zombie apocalypse is possible, let’s start with the rest of the animal kingdom.
According to Medical News Today, there are a number of parasites, fungi, and bacteria that cause zombie-like attributes in insects. There are zombie ants, in which a fungus attaches to the carpenter ant’s brain and makes it a slave to the host. The fungus alters its behavior and will make it climb to a higher elevation (on a plant) so it can grow and spread, all while the ant slowly dies of starvation. This type of behavior also occurs in spider, wasps, and plants.
There have been reports of human zombies as well. In June of 2012, a Florida man ate, or sniffed, some “bath salts” and its effects left a man faceless. The bath salt eating man ripped his clothes off, and attacked a sleeping homeless man by eating 75% of his face. Medical examiners explained that the “bath salts” worked as a stimulus that caused chest pains, high blood pressure, and paranoia.
The Zombie Apocalypse
We’ve seen firsthand, yes-in our lifetime, how the reality of a pandemic cripples people and makes them crazy. Should I mention the toilet paper frenzy?
Author, Max Brooks’ NY Times Best Seller, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006)is based on factual information, and yes, it was also a movie. This “fictional” tale combines an escaped virus that spreads rapidly around the world and how its effect changes human society. The basis of the book comes from his in-depth study of widespread diseases like the Black Death, influenza, and AIDS.
All of Brooks’ research led to him to educating West Point Academy top rank officers to prepare the US military in how to respond to pandemics that can paralyze the nation and the world.
No, I’m still not joking! The US Department of Health and Human Services, or the CDC, shared a lengthy article about how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. They state that if a person is prepared for a zombie apocalypse, then they will also be prepared to other natural disasters like hurricanes, pandemics, earthquakes, and terror attacks. You can read the government article here… Don’t Be a Zombie: Be Prepared . Much of this information comes from Max Brooks’ compiled research based on cyclical events.
Zombie stories are more than a human, flesh-eating nemesis. The creatures represent human fear, survival, and primal instincts that test us in extreme conditions. They are a reflection of societal mirrors that focus on our insatiable appetite for consumerism, personal identity struggles, and societal collapse due to uncontrolled technology.
They symbolize the ugliness of humans. With rotting flesh that emits an unforgettable stench, they have no pulse or ability to speak. They are in essence, controlled by an unseen force. They are puppets that crave human brains, and if the brain symbolizes intelligence, then they represent a system of mindlessness manipulated by a master.
Zombies in Literature & Movies
Zombies offer a myriad of options in writing fantastic tales for speculative fiction audiences. Zombie genres include horror (World War Z), humor (Shaun of the Dead), dystopian (Walking Dead) and romance (Warm Bodies). Each of these sub-genres proposes an end of the world theme, but each gives a different interpretation of how humanity fights back. How will you bring a Zombie to life?
Happy Writing,
-RADolence
Novelist Max Brooks On Doomsday, Dyslexia And Growing Up With Hollywood Parents : NPR History of Zombies – Origins, Pop Culture & Film | HISTORY Top 5 cases of zombies from the real world The devil inside | Books | The Guardian Max Brooks, zombie apocalypse author, sees reality mirroring fiction Zombies in Western Culture – 3. The Four Symbols of the Zombie Metaphor – Open Book Publishers
* Not all images are not mine; therefore, I cannot take credit.