Zombies: Fact or Fiction

I was reading the "Themes in Video Games" thread when someone mentioned a theme the struck me as way to conventional to even be considered. Zombies.

From Zombies Ate My Neighbors, to Resedent Evil, Zombies have become a staple of mondern video entertainment.

So, I got to wondering where exactly the Zombie myth came from. I'm up to speed with world "fairy tales." I can tell you that Abominable Snowmen and Gnomes originally hail from Germany, that Santa Claus was originally a female witch from Russia, and that Bigfoot is American (though it be an offshoot of the aforementioned Yetti). But I'll be damned if I could come up with the origin of the Zombie. So, I found this link which takes Zombification back to Haiti and the practice of Voodoo (seems a fairly obvious choice now that I've found it).

For your enjoyment: *Groooooooooooooooaan*

The Haiti/voodoo ideal is the only thing I've ever heard about zombies. To my knowledge Romero (of Dawn/Day of the Dead fame) made up the part about decapatation/bullet to the brain being able to kill them.

Actually, Santa Claus has roots in Russian folklore, but not as female witch, who is Baba Yaga, but as Father Frost, who just like Santa brings the presents to children and adults, not on Xmas, but on New Years Eve. Since Russian Orthodox Xmas is on Jan 7th.

As for Zombie theme, Voodoo legends and Haitian folklore migth be one inspiration point. Night of the Living dead would be another one, which actually created the Flesh Eating Zombie, since Haitian zombies were just slaves of the warlock, and didnt hunt living for food. But after NOFLD, Zombie is human corpse that came back to life, and has no other purpose but to hunt and eat the living.

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Originally posted by Despair
Actually, Santa Claus has roots in Russian folklore, but not as female witch, who is Baba Yaga, but as Father Frost, who just like Santa brings the presents to children and adults, not on Xmas, but on New Years Eve. Since Russian Orthodox Xmas is on Jan 7th.

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I was close. :p

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As for Zombie theme, Voodoo legends and Haitian folklore migth be one inspiration point. Night of the Living dead would be another one, which actually created the Flesh Eating Zombie, since Haitian zombies were just slaves of the warlock, and didnt hunt living for food. But after NOFLD, Zombie is human corpse that came back to life, and has no other purpose but to hunt and eat the living.

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I think the modern Zombie is definatly a result of NotLD. What I was more interested in was the origin of the Zombie. I knew Zombies weren't flesh eating monsters, and were more closely related to Homonculi. I just didn't know where the original idea came from...but now I do. :)

My bad. I didn't mean to clutter. Thanks for the move. :)

Actually, Santa Claus was really a German burlap manufacturer named Hans Snitchel who specialized in making burlap bras for overweight ballet dancers. He abandoned the burlap trade when a Japanese burlap company set up shop in town and drove him out of business. He wandered the streets, and soon joined a colony of female midget prostitutes- he tried to work their trade, but when it was discovered that he was neither a midget, nor a woman, the fact that he offered a greatly reduced fee for his services didn't stop them from casting him out of their circle. Vowing revenge, he adopted a santanic guise often whispered of in children's fables, that of a jolly fat man who took delight in beheading little children and carrying their heads around in a bloody sack. Since children and midgets have heads of a similar size, he figured in his warped and deranged mind that it would work. But the great-great-great grandfather of American fast-food icon Ronald McDonald caught wind of the scheme and, being a generous patron of the midget's trade, showed up just in time to save the darling little hookers and beat Hans about the neck and head with his own all-beef patties that one day, his decendant would serve to the masses. The patties caused such trauma to Hans' skull that he totally lost his memory and, being dressed in a jolly red outfit and carrying a sack, decided that infact he should break into people's homes and leave toys constructed of burlap for children all over the world. He enlisted the aid of the midget hookers and the legend was born. True story. Despair doesn't know what he's talking about...

Actually, Santa's TRUE inspiration is from Siberian tribal shamen.

In the winter they would bring medicine, like mushrooms, to houses in a big sack. Since the snow would get pretty deep, they had hatches in the roof for entry. His outfit pretty closely resembles their typical outfit, a heavy coat lined with fur, and I think I recall red being a powerful colour for those shamen.


As for Haitian zombies, I'm very surprised you didn't know that. I thought it was common knowledge...

Great story there Dolemite :lol:

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Originally posted by Kenshin
As for Haitian zombies, I'm very surprised you didn't know that. I thought it was common knowledge...

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I prolly did know it...but had since forgotten.

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Originally posted by Despair
Great story there Dolemite :lol:

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Thanks! It's completely true, as far as I know, though I might have some of the facts mixed up... :)