I hate zombies. I do not watch zombie movies. I do not read zombie books. And when my husband watches his beloved “Walking Dead,” I leave the room.
Know what my next book contains? Yep. Zombies.
Now, it is true that in some ways I may be a bit of a masochist. But I’ve been thinking about how we need to dig deep, and seeing as I despise zombies, it seemed suitable to examine it closely, and maybe have a bit of fun. I was considering why I think zombies are so scary, and why I dislike them so much.
- because zombies seem plausible. Not necessarily the classic voodoo type of zombie (the origin of the term), but the scary what-if where apocalypse comes because someone / some government was arrogant enough to think they could control a terrifying super-virus or “bad guy prevention” plan, and instead, it destroys humanity.
- the humanity of zombies. They are human, perhaps more so than other paranormal creatures like vampires or werewolves. While potentially those conditions could be passed on as well, you could have a separate species. No matter how you look at it, zombies start out human, and it leads me to wonder how much of their humanity remains. What if they are our friends? Our family? ARE they still that person? Is there anything left? How would you confront this?
- ease of transmission of the condition. Yes, the few zombie films I have seen have probably convinced me of this, but also the fact that while my husband coughs once, and he’s done, I am thereafter sick for two weeks. Therefore, I’m likely to be one of the first zombies.
- loss of control over self and body. What happens to the person you were? Are you still trapped inside a rapidly rotting corpse? Usually the only sure way to kill zombies (never mind a host of other species), is to destroy the brain. Well, if the brain is in a human body, than the consciousness inhabiting that brain must still be the original person, right? How much awareness is there? Is it like a comatose person unable to act? Or perhaps the most ruthless, aggressive form of humanity we fight to hide beneath a veneer of civility?
- the senseless and vicious destructive nature of zombies. Whether they’re after converting other humans or the stereo-typical brains, most zombies aren’t easily stopped, and keep coming and coming and coming. There is something terrifying about an enemy that is without any fear to exploit. No matter the size of our weapons, non-zombies will run and eventually fail because they are afraid. The zombies will just keep attacking.
- they remain a walking reminder of our own mortality – and potentially, our own inevitable fate. While in modern times we prefer to distance ourselves from death and sterilize mortality, zombies are a walking (and vicious) reminder of our own potential, and perhaps, what we too will become, whether simply the dead, or undead, depending on the manner of transmission.
Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Do zombies scare you? What have I missed? Love to hear from you. 😉
Thanks for reading, and hope you have a terrific week. 🙂