How Zombies Work

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Introduction to How Zombies Work

It happens in just about every zombie movie -- a throng of reanimated corpses lumbers toward the farmhouse, shopping mall, pub or army base where the heroes have barricaded themselves. The zombies aren't dead, but they should be. They're relentless and oblivious to pain, and they continue to attack even after losing limbs. Usually, anyone the zombies kill returns as a zombie, so they quickly evolve from a nuisance to a plague.

Zombie Image Gallery

The concept of zombies are thought to have originated in Haiti. See more zombie pictures.

Like a lot of monsters, zombies have their roots in folklore and -- according to some researchers -- in real events in Haiti. In this article, we'll discuss Haitian zombies, explore depictions of zombies in films and video games and review the best course of action for surviving an attack.

Zombie Origins There are several possible origins for the word "zombie." These include jumbie, the West Indian term for "ghost," and nzambi, the Kongo word meaning "spirit of a dead person."

Haitian Zombies

Zora Neale Hurston is one of many ethnographers who have documented the traditions and beliefs of Haitian voodoo.

Zombies are common in Haitian stories and folklore. Researchers studying Haitian culture have related countless tales of bodies brought back to life by bokor, or sorcerers. These zombies are mindless slaves. They are not self-aware and are not particularly dangerous unless fed salt, which restores their senses. These stories are widespread and similar to urban legends -- they prey on the listener's deepest fears and seem believable in spite of their improbability.

Even after documenting numerous stories and rumors, researchers found little solid evidence to explain or prove the phenomenon. Often, the alleged zombies had received little or no medical care before their apparent deaths. Researchers also had trouble ruling out mistaken identity and fraud.

In 1980, a man appeared in a rural Haitian village. He claimed to be Clairvius Narcisse, who had died in Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti on May 2, 1962. Narcisse described being conscious but paralyzed during his presumed death -- he had even seen the doctor cover his face with a sheet. Narcisse claimed that a bokor had resurrected him and made him a zombie.

Voodoo Voodoo is a Haitian religion rooted in West African traditions. Also called voudou, vodun or voudoun, it bears little resemblance to voodoo as depicted in popular culture. You can learn more about the myths and facts of voodoo in How Voodoo Works.

Since the hospital had documented Narcisse's illness and death, scientists viewed him as a potential proof for Haitian zombies. Narcisse answered questions about his family and childhood that not even a close friend could have known. Eventually, his family and many outside observers agreed that he was a zombie returned to life.

Dr. Wade Davis has chronicled his studies of Haitian zombies
in "The Serpent and the Rainbow" and "The Passage of Darkness."

Narcisse was the impetus for the Zombie Project -- a study into the origins of zombies conducted in Haiti between 1982 and 1984. During that time, ethnobotanist and anthropologist Dr. Wade Davis traveled through Haiti in the hopes of discovering what causes Haitian zombies.

Next, we'll look at what Davis discovered.

Zombies and Haitian Law A law that seems to condemn zombie creation went into effect in Haiti in 1835 [ref]. Article 246 of the Haitian Penal Code classifies the administration of a substance that creates a prolonged period of lethargy without causing death as attempted murder. If the substance causes the appearance of death and results in the burial of the victim, the act is classified as murder.

Haitian Zombie Powder

Salt and Zombies According to Haitian folklore, feeding salt to a zombie will return it to its senses. Often the zombie then attacks the bokor who created it or returns to its place of burial and dies. Ironically, tetrodotoxin works by blocking the sodium channels in muscle and nerve cells. However, there is no known cure for tetrodotoxin poisoning, and the amount of sodium in a few grains of salt is unlikely to have any physiological effect on a poisoned person.

Davis traveled to Haiti at the request of Dr. Nathan S. Kline, who theorized that a drug was responsible for Narcisse's experiences as a zombie. Since such a drug could have medical uses, particularly in the field of anesthesiology, Kline hoped to gather samples, analyze them and determine how they worked.

Davis learned that Haitians who believed in zombies believed that a bokor's sorcery -- not a poison or a drug -- created them. According to local lore, a bokor captures a victim's ti bon ange, or the part of the soul directly connected to an individual, to create a zombie. But during his research, Davis discovered that the bokor used complex powders, made from dried and ground plants and animals, in their rituals.

Davis collected eight samples of this zombie powder in four regions of Haiti. Their ingredients were not identical, but seven of the eight samples had four ingredients in common:

Photo courtesy MBL Marine Biology Laboratory
A puffer fish, an ingredient in zombie powder.

One or more species of puffer fish, which often contain a deadly neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin
A marine toad (Bufo marinus), which produces numerous toxic substances
A hyla tree frog (Osteopilus dominicensis), which secretes an irritating (but not deadly) substance
Human remains

In addition, the powders contained other plant and animal ingredients, like lizards and spiders, which would be likely to irritate the skin. Some even included ground glass.

The use of puffer fish intrigued Davis. Tetrodotoxin causes paralysis and death, and victims of tetrodotoxin poisoning often remain conscious until just before death. The paralysis prevents them from reacting to stimuli -- much like what Clairvius Narcisse described about his own death. Doctors have also documented cases in which people ingested tetrodotoxin and appeared dead but eventually made a complete recovery.

Photo courtesy USGS
Bufo marinus, an ingredient in zombie powder.

Davis theorized that the powder, applied topically, created irritation and breaks in the victim's skin. The tetrodotoxin could then pass into the bloodstream, paralyzing the victim and causing him to appear dead. The family would bury the victim, and the bokor would remove the body from the grave. If all had gone well, the poison would wear off and the victim would believe himself to be a zombie.

While Davis's theory is promising, it does have some holes. Next, we'll look at the controversy surrounding Davis's research.

Nature vs. Nurture?

Photo courtesy USDA
Datura stramonium, also known as jimson weed or zombie's cucumber

In Japan, puffer fish is a delicacy called fugu. Served raw and prepared by a competent chef, it contains only enough tetrodotoxin to cause tingling and lightheadedness. If a chef makes a mistake while preparing the fugu, the result can be deadly.

But when people eat toxic servings of fugu and recover, they are poisoning victims -- not zombies. Davis's theory is that culture and belief cause some Haitians to believe that they are zombies after recovering from the powder's effects. Some bokor also describe feeding zombies a paste that includes Datura stramonium, locally known as "zombie's cucumber." Called jimson weed in the U.S., this plant causes fever, hallucinations and amnesia, potentially strengthening a victim's belief that a real transformation has taken place.

The Zombie Controversy

He's Only Mostly Dead According to Davis's theories, a person poisoned with Haitian zombie powder regains consciousness either while in the coffin or shortly after being removed from it. But he explains that the bokor have a built-in safety net if the procedure doesn't work. Bokor say that divine intervention can prevent the reanimation of a zombie. They also say they can't create a zombie if the powder is too potent and kills too completely.

At first glance, Davis's research seems promising. Tetrodotoxin definitely causes paralysis and death, and researchers have documented cases in which people have recovered from near-fatal tetrodotoxin poisoning. Some of the samples Davis brought back to the United States also produced dramatic results when applied to the shaved skin of rats and a rhesus monkey. The subjects became lethargic and then immobile, but they eventually recovered completely.

Other researchers, however, have raised questions about the legitimacy of Davis's research and the actual components of the samples he brought back from Haiti. Scientists have:

Questioned Davis's ethics, since he observed the desecration of graves when gathering ingredients for the powder
Questioned whether the initial experiments with the powder were scientific or controlled and whether other substances had been added to the powder being tested
Alleged that samples of powder contained little to no tetrodotoxin. Davis counters that putting the powder into solution for testing may have destroyed the active ingredients
Revealed that Davis repeated his topical applications of the powder using rats and saw absolutely no effect
Studied several alleged zombies and discovered clear cases of mental illness and mistaken identity

A lot of people view Davis's work as the only possible explanation for the Haitian zombie phenomenon. Others dismiss it as unscientific or even fraudulent. You can learn more about the controversies regarding Haitian zombies and Davis's research in the April 15, 1988 issue of the journal Science or the October 11, 1997 issue of The Lancet.

a child zombie from night of the living dead

A lone (but deadly) child zombie
from the original "Night of the Living Dead."

Haitian zombies have been the inspiration for movies, books and video games. Next, we'll look at portrayals of zombies in popular culture.

Zombies in Popular Culture

Although zombies appeared in movies as early as 1919 [ref], many people credit George A. Romero with setting the standard for modern zombies. In the classic movie "Night of the Living Dead," Romero portrayed zombies as slow-moving, flesh-eating corpses, reanimated by radiation from a satellite returning from Venus. The radiation affected the recent, unburied dead, and the resulting zombies were invulnerable until someone destroyed their brains or separated their heads from their bodies. In "Night of the Living Dead," zombies were neither intelligent nor self-aware. They had a very limited use of tools, mostly confined to using blunt objects as cudgels. In Romero's later work, zombies became somewhat capable of thought, and in some cases self-aware. They still generally moved slowly and had minimal intelligence.

Many movies and video games have used Romero's concept of zombies. For the most part, zombies are:

Newly dead corpses reanimated by radiation, chemicals, viruses, sorcery or acts of God
Human, although some depictions include zombie animals
Very strong, but not very fast or agile
Impervious to pain and able to function after sustaining extreme physical damage
Invulnerable to injury, except for decapitation or destruction of the brain
Relentlessly driven to kill and eat
Afraid of fire and bright lights

Many movies follow the example of "Night of the Living Dead" and portray zombies as far more dangerous in large groups.

In some portrayals, zombism is contagious, and people bitten by zombies become zombies themselves. In others, people die from the bite and are reanimated by the same force that created the other zombies. In general, this continual spread of zombies leads to a zombie plague in which the undead vastly outnumber living humans.

Some recent zombie movies, like "Shaun of the Dead," adhere faithfully to the Romero zombie conventions and make frequent references to his work. Others depict faster, more intelligent zombies. Films like "28 Days Later" keep the basic structure of a zombie film but do not portray actual zombies. (In "28 Days Later," people are infected with a virus that takes effect in seconds -- they don't actually die until they eventually starve.) A few recent movies and games throw all these conventions aside, presenting zombies that move quickly and can think for themselves, much to the chagrin of zombie purists.

Next, we'll review how to defend yourself from a zombie attack.

Zombie or Not? Zombies are undead, but not all undead are zombies, and a resurrected corpse does not always a zombie make. For example, Frankensteinian monsters, assembled from various body parts, are not zombies because they are usually intelligent and self-aware. Mummies can bear a striking resemblance to zombies, even down to the guttural speech and shambling walk. Their deliberate physical preservation, however, sets them apart from ordinary zombies. The infected people in "28 Days Later" also are not zombies because they do not die before taking on a zombie-like (though fast-moving) appearance and fixation on killing.

Zombie Self-Defense

Free Zombies The original 1968 version of Night of the Living Dead is now in the public domain. You can watch it (and other classic movies) for free at the Moving Images section of the Internet Archive.

Whether featuring traditional, shambling zombies or a newer, smarter breed, most movies and games agree on how to survive a zombie attack:

Don't panic.
Get away from the zombies. Most of the time, you can move faster than they can.
Gather food, water, an emergency radio, flashlights and weapons, and retreat to a secure location.
If possible, retreat to a shopping mall, general retail store or other location where you'll have easy access to food and supplies.
Stay away from densely populated areas, where the infestation is likely to be heaviest.
Barricade all entrances and stay put at all costs.
Don't get surrounded or backed into a corner or other enclosed space.
Remember that anyone bitten or killed by a zombie will become a threat to you and your party.
Wait patiently for rescue and make long-term preparations for your survival.

An important rule of zombie survival: Don't get surrounded. From "Night of the Living Dead."

Also, avoid common mistakes like:

Sheltering in a vehicle to which you do not have the keys
Leaving blades, cudgels or other basic weapons out for zombies to find
Teaching zombies how to use firearms
Giving your only weapon to anyone who is hysterical
Retreating to a basement or cellar without taking supplies with you
Getting into an elevator in a building infested with zombies
Letting personal feelings and arguments get in the way of survival

Zombie survival, then and now --
there are better hiding places than farmhouses and pubs.

Follow the links on the next page for lots more information about Haiti, voodoo, zombies and related topics.

Braiiiiiins Movies like "Return of the Living Dead" have popularized the idea that zombies eat people's brains. This makes little logical sense, since brains are relatively small and are more protected than any other organ in the human body. However, some sources explain that zombies only devour the brains of the living when their zombie masters order them to.

Lots More Information

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How Zombies Work