When it comes to discussing zombies, there is a lot to be said for watching horror films, reading fiction, and exploring what scares you. Combined with real-world science, exploration into the philosophy of what it means to be “undead”, and plenty of critical thinking, a person is left with a somewhat definitive set of answers for all things Zombie. With over twenty years experience in the mysteries and myths of the undead, I have found there are five basic zombie-types, three of which we will cover now.
The Romero When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. – Dawn of the Dead
In 1968, George A. Romero’s film – Night of the Living Dead, thrust zombies into American pop-culture, filling the silver screen with political commentary in the form of the recently deceased rising from the dead. Depicted as mindless, rotting shells of former human-beings, these zombies would relentlessly pursue human flesh, though they did so at a meandering sloth-like pace. Walker, wheel-chair or otherwise, the only real issue when it came to outrunning this type of zombie is that they just kept on coming, building in number until there was nowhere left to run.
The good news is that while the Romero zombie has continued to present a serious problem to those existing in the world of entertainment (film, graphic novels, television), the rest of us have nothing to fear from these fictional former human-beings.
The Vodun Don’t let them bury me! I’m not dead! – Serpent and the Rainbow
Ethnobotanist Wade Davis (author of Serpent and the Rainbow) traveled to Haiti in 1982 to investigate rumors of the dead returning to life. Through extensive research, experimentation, and interviews, Davis concluded that societal beliefs, and religious practices dating back to the 18th century, combined with tetrodotoxin (a powerful neurotoxin found in pufferfish), datura (a toxin found in plants), and intense mental duress, were the primary components required for zombification. Davis also found that the majority of reported zombies were from small villages and towns: places that couldn’t afford or didn’t call for official investigation into the disappearance or death of locals.
Victims are first poisoned, forcing their bodies into a death-like state, then buried alive. Aware of their surroundings, but unable to react throughout the medical examination and burial process, most victims suffer an intense psychotic break; it is then that the Vodoun Zombie is born. Stripped of their families and former lives, these zombies are left to fend for themselves, something rendered nearly impossible by their broken minds and bodies. Typically indifferent to their surroundings, and rarely aggressive, Vodun zombies aren’t a threat to humanity, or even something to fear. However, those who see fit to create Vodun zombies are very frightening indeed.
Viral Type II It started as rioting. But right from the beginning you knew this was different. – 28 Days Later
Inspired by real-world virology, these highly infectious zombies are based off of mutated strains of the rabies virus, either adapted naturally or within the confines of a laboratory, rather than originating from religious practices like those seen with the Vodun zombie or the unknown circumstances involved with those of the Romero.
The symptoms of a Viral Type II zombie include, but are not limited to extreme confusion, aggression, partial paralysis, erratic movements, high fever, and acute pain. These symptoms override the body and brain, stripping the infected of their humanity, but not their heartbeat, replacing it with utter rage.
Rather than consuming the uninfected, these zombies often ravage their victims to the point of death or infect them and quickly move on to the next potential carrier. Spreading via bite and blood, an outbreak of this type would deal a devastating blow to the human race.
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I think, therefore I am. – Rene Descartes
Regardless of their origin, all zombies lack the ability to define themselves as anything other than an empty vessel, once filled with the thoughts, feelings, personality, and responsibilities of a human-being. These creatures lack what many philosophers have determined to be one of humankind’s defining features: mindfulness.
If mindlessness is at the root of what defines a zombie, then are we as human beings, shuffling through life and ignoring the world around us, guilty of self-zombification? Are we, often ignorant to the world around us, not the original zombie? These are questions we need to ask ourselves before attempting to explore the undead any further than we already have.
