Know Your Zombies

The origins of zombie mythology lie in Haitian culture, and the practice of Voodoo black magic. A zombie -“zombi” in Haitian- is a person who is conscious, but does not have control over their actions.

These individuals are placed in this dreamlike state by a bokor, a voodoo sorcerer or priest. The bokor puts them in this condition through a mixture of toxins, most commonly tetrodotoxin-the poison contained in puffer fish-and another dissociative drugs, like the hallucinogen Datura.  The combination of these drugs lower the affected party’s heart rate and body temperature, slow their breathing patterns to a near stop, and leave them in a state of suspended animation.

Assuming the person has died, their family would bury them, and they would later be exhumed by the bokor. Once they awake from “death” they enter a state of psychosis, brought on by the drugs, and exacerbated by the psychological trauma of being buried alive. These “zombies” are then subject to the bokor who created them, and are supposedly under their complete control. 

Different types of Zombies

Natural Zombies are the zombies that are infected with the tetrodotoxin and controlled by the bokor. They are mostly harmless, not flesh-eaters, but are controlled by the bokor, and will do his sinister biddings

Supernatural Zombies are corpses possessed by spirits or demonic powers. If they are animated by angelic spirits (as in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner), then they are here to help. If they are animated by something demonic (as in The Evil Dead), then firearms may be of limited use as they are beyond the laws of nature. Consult your priest, Rabbi, guru or shaman for further advice.

Alien Zombies are the most popular types of zombies portrayed in modern media. They are created by becoming infected with an unknown, foreign agent, usually not of this world, or created in a lab. These zombies are usually angry, bloodthirsty and angry, and are your typical brain eating zombies. These are the type portrayed in George A Romero’s zombie movies (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead) and in Danny Boyle’s classic zombie movie 28 Days Later. These zombies are only eliminated by blows to the head, preferably by shooting them or hitting them hard enough to kill them.