10 facts about zombies you did not know

10 facts about zombies you did not know

1.     ORIGIN OF THE ZOMBIE

The term zombie is coming from and African word which describes god. Zombies have been used in dark voodoo ceremonies across centuries. The word zombie also means “God help me!”

The modern Zombie is coming actually  from Haiti. The dark magic Voodoo Priests can turn alive people into personal zombies enslaving them forever and following without question.

 It is believed mothers advise their children never to accept any drinks from strangers as they might be VOODOO priests and can steal their souls

2.     HOW ZOMBIES APPEARED TODAY

Clarivius Narcisse from Haiti was believed to be an actual real life example of a Zombie. It was said that he died, was buried and than he resurrected by a Voodoo witch doctor.

This particular story has been witnessed by William Seabrook early last century who wrote a book which turned into the first movie ever made about undead zombies. He claimed Zombies are real.

Apparently there is a potion containing a substance called tetrodotoxin which was the main ingredient but not enough to act alone. The recipes were kept secret by Voodoo priests for centuries

3.     REAL ANTI ZOMBIE LAW IN HAITI

Due to the Zombie popular beliefs, there is actually a LAW in Haiti to stop people making another person a ZOMBIE.  It is classified a murder to attempt to perform such a task.

Unfortunately there was actual cases of people who died as a result of voodoo ceremonies to turn them into zombies.

Their deaths certificates show the cause of death – “zombification attempt”

4.     REAL ZOMBIES OR NOT

There are species of funguses in amazon that turns insects into bug zombies and force them to crawl to the top of branches. Once the insect has finished the task, the fungus kills the host and multiplies from the bugs’ head.

This is a weird and amazing natural mechanism used by the fungus to prevail by infecting a healthy host.

There also few human diseases that show zombie like symptoms. There are few parasites and viruses  which attack the human brain making people acting lifeless without being able to do any tasks at all, turning them into mindless individuals.

There is also a necrosis infection which makes human skin rot alive, attacking also the internal organs shutting them down one by one.

5.     HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

Zombies have been present in folklore through the history from ancient times. The epic of Gilgamesh tells a story where a Goddess makes threats to the main character that she will bring back the dead in order to eat the flash of the living.

In China, Zombies are called Kuang Chi and they are dead people who passed away far from their origins and they are coming back to find eternal peace.

In Scandinavian countries, zombies are dead hardened warriors who return to kill the living. The are called Norse Zombies and the only way to kill them, is to cut off their head and burn the body.

6.     TRADITION AND CULT

Back in Haiti, where the zombie culture comes from, people need to bury the bodies of their loved ones under heavy weights and watch the grave for 36 hours, in order to prevent them to come back from death.  The Responsible witch doctors who can turn people into Zombies are called Bokor

It is believed that once a zombie it is impossible to reverse the process. The only option left is to kill it. The only way to kill a zombie is cutting the head off. Burning the body is recommended to make sure any viruses or infection are killed as well.

7.     ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Despite the fact a lot of people believe that Zombies are just fiction, the Centre for Disease control has actually a documented emergency plan in case of a Zombie Apocalypse. They prefer rather be safe than sorry for ignoring Zombies as a real threat to humans, or considering them myths.

A zombie apocalispe would be treated like any other disease outbreak. 

Every family should have an emergency kit and an evacuation plan in their house.

8.     ZOMBIES AND MOVIES

Zombies have found a place in the world TV and Cinema for a long time. What started in 1932, today the Zombie theme is common and created also a niche within genre. The first zombie movie was created in 1932 and it was titled White Zombie. The film depicts a young woman’s transformation into a mindless zombie at the hands of the evil voodoo priest.

We can mention a few well known today

Night of the living dead, Walking dead, Dawn of dead

Resident Evil, 28 weeks later, Maggie

World War Z, Zombie Apolcalypse ,I am legend

And hundred of others.

9.     ZOMBIES AND VAMPIRES

Zombies are culturally mentioned in various parts of the world starting with HAITI, Africa, Central and North America

In other countries, zombies find different shapes and the most recognisable ones are the vampires.

Vampires are very similar to the zombies. In many aspects

They both are dead people turned by a bite to initiate transformation

They both crave human tissue, blood or flesh.

They both come only at night and are bothered  by sunlight

10.  ZOMBIE ARMY

Francoise Duvalier was the president of Haiti starting with 1957 and he ruled with an iron fist over his people.  He was said to have killed 50,000 Haitian people for daring to oppose his regime. 

He ruled through fear and manipulation, using the popular voodoo beliefs and customs.

A local urban legend claims the Duvalier had established his own private army of zombies, to carry out bloody tasks without question and no remorse.

His brutality certainly left scars in the Haitian history and indirectly in the world understanding of Zombies as we know it today.