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What’s the Deal with Zombies?




I have never really been much into zombies. I mean what are they really? Dead people brought back to life who can infect more dead people to bring them back to life. In other words, sort of like vampires, except way less sexy and with way fewer powers. Who would you rather watch, sexy vampires who can fly and perform mind control, or a half-decomposed creature who can’t walk very fast, let alone run, let alone fly? Zombies have to be some of the most uninspired horror creatures ever invented. Certainly, they have a creep factor, but if a zombie is coming for you: walk away. You don’t even have to run. Whereas, if a vampire is coming for you, or a velociraptor, or an orc, or a thing from outer space . . . see where I’m going? Yes, when you are dealing with massive numbers of zombies it can be a problem, but still, monsters with brains are far more interesting to me than monsters without brains. Yet zombie films and TV shows continue to be popular. I am not sure why.

The origin of zombies is to be found in Hattian voodoo folklore. The existence of zombies in the Hattian world is part mythology and part chemically induced by witch-doctors (see pufferfish toxin and/or hallucinogenic drugs). But even before the Haitians invented the word (possibly with a West African root) many other cultures had folklore about the undead of one form or another. So perhaps it touches all our subconscious back brains. 

Probably the first landmark piece of literature dealing with zombies (as we think of them today) is Richard Matheson’s novel I am Legend, which has been made into at least three movies: The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, The Omega Man with Charlton Heston, and I am Legend with Will Smith.  There was a smattering of B-movie Zombie flicks in the 1950’s and 60’s. But I think the one that really set off the zombie craze was the 1968 George Romero movie Night of the Living Dead. It seems odd that this little shoestring-budget film should have had such an influence. I think it had a budget of like $3.25 and a box of Rolaids. It was shot in black and white with local actors and crew from the Pittsburg area. Some of the actors were pretty good, some were not. I think where the film was ground breaking, was in its shock value. It didn’t pull any punches unlike most films of the time. The gore and violence were of a scale that had never been seen before. All kidding aside, the film actually cost $114,000 and it grossed $18 million. Executives in Hollywood, if nothing else, can read a balance sheet. And somebody must have said, “hey, there’s money to be had in this zombie stuff.” So, the zombie became an enduring trope. You can find zombies that are metaphorical. You can find zombies that are humorous. You can find zombies set in Jane Austen’s world. I even came upon an anthology of short stories that all had “zombie erotica” as a theme (Why? To each his own I guess, but really . . . why?)

We have an innate fear of the dead. But in the horror genre, the dead can take many forms: ghosts, zombies, vampires, mummies, or the reanimated creations of a mad scientist.  Everything is personal preference. If you like zombie shows or books, more power to you. Follow your bliss. But zombies (and mummies) just don’t do it for me. Like I said, just walk away.

(My novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon and other online sources)
Star Liner

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