Zombies: the History
Zombies Research paper
On Saturday October 8th, 2011 the dead took control of our cities across America! Zombies came out in droves on World Zombie Day, a movement that has gained quite the popularity over the past few years. Along with zombie days throughout our country, America has become fascinated with the undead. I’m sure that most people have seen at least one Zombie flick at some point or another. Maybe you’ve encountered a dead little trick-or-treater on Halloween asking for candy and brains, and maybe you yourself have once made the transformation from the living to the dead! Throughout this article we will explore the history of zombies, where they come from, are they real, and the impact zombie culture has on us in today’s society. The zombies we see in the movies here in America today are quite different from what cultures around the world believe zombies to actually be. It’s amazing how we can take something and make it our own so easily. However, when zombies first entered our society through film in 1932, the movie White Zombie was taken directly from Haitian culture. (Zombies) While America has portrayed the common zombie we see in movies today as a mindless reanimation of a human, the Zombie’s heritage actually lies deep in Haitian culture and voodoo religion. “Technically, a zonbi is a portion of the human soul that is stolen and forced to work.” (Nickell) The author goes on to explain that “the spirit of a deceased person is captured magically-by a bokor (or sorcerer)-and contained, typically, in a bottle.” In religious voodoo folklore there are two types of sorcerers or Haitian Priests; “the houngan or mambo who confines his activities to "white" magic” or magic performed for good “and thebokor or caplata who performs evil spells and black magic.” (Voodoo Zombies)“The victim becomes a slave of the sorcerer who zombified it. Made to work like a robot in the fields, on construction sites, in a bakery or a shop, the
On Saturday October 8th, 2011 the dead took control of our cities across America! Zombies came out in droves on World Zombie Day, a movement that has gained quite the popularity over the past few years. Along with zombie days throughout our country, America has become fascinated with the undead. I’m sure that most people have seen at least one Zombie flick at some point or another. Maybe you’ve encountered a dead little trick-or-treater on Halloween asking for candy and brains, and maybe you yourself have once made the transformation from the living to the dead! Throughout this article we will explore the history of zombies, where they come from, are they real, and the impact zombie culture has on us in today’s society. The zombies we see in the movies here in America today are quite different from what cultures around the world believe zombies to actually be. It’s amazing how we can take something and make it our own so easily. However, when zombies first entered our society through film in 1932, the movie White Zombie was taken directly from Haitian culture. (Zombies) While America has portrayed the common zombie we see in movies today as a mindless reanimation of a human, the Zombie’s heritage actually lies deep in Haitian culture and voodoo religion. “Technically, a zonbi is a portion of the human soul that is stolen and forced to work.” (Nickell) The author goes on to explain that “the spirit of a deceased person is captured magically-by a bokor (or sorcerer)-and contained, typically, in a bottle.” In religious voodoo folklore there are two types of sorcerers or Haitian Priests; “the houngan or mambo who confines his activities to "white" magic” or magic performed for good “and thebokor or caplata who performs evil spells and black magic.” (Voodoo Zombies)“The victim becomes a slave of the sorcerer who zombified it. Made to work like a robot in the fields, on construction sites, in a bakery or a shop, the
Cited: "American Scientist Interviews: Wade Davis on zombies, folk poisons, and Haitian culture."Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society 75.4 (1987): 412-417. Gauthier, Hans-W. Ackermann and Jeanine. "The Ways and Nature of the Zombi." The Journal of American Folklore 104.414 (1991): 466-494. Nickell, Joe. Tracking the Man-Beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More. New York: Prometheus Books, 2011. Risky Fish: The Thrill of Fugu. "Food Editorials.com The Yummy Food Guide." 2011.streetdirectory.com. 29 November 2011 <http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/cooking/seafood_recipes/risky_fish_the_thrill_of_fugu.html>. Voodoo Zombies. "Voodoo Zombies." 2011. Monstrous.com. 21 11 2011 <http://zombies.monstrous.com/voodoo_zombies.htm>. Wylie, Turrell. "Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombie." Chicago Journals 4.1 (1964): 69-80. Zombies. umich.edu. n.d. 29 November 2011 <http://www.umich.edu/~engl415/zombies/zombie.html>.