Description of the “Romero Zombies”

Process of infection and reanimation

In Romero's Dead series, any human being who dies after the onset of the zombie apocalypse can and will reanimate shortly after death, excluding those who died by massive brain trauma (such as a gunshot wound to the head) or had their brain incapacitated post-mortem. Being bitten by a zombie is not a prerequisite for returning to life, as any deceased human, regardless of exposure to a zombie, will return. No Romero film has revealed the cause of reanimation, but several have featured characters speculating on possible causes, including radiation from a NASA probe, divine intervention and viral infection. The length of time between death and reanimation seems to vary, but generally is only a few minutes.
If a character is bitten by a zombie they will become violently ill and die within three days. The interim till death seems to be dependent on the location and degree of the bite (meaning that bites on or near major arteries or veins will spread the infection much faster than small bites or scratches). Also, massive blood loss caused by one of these bites will speed the death of the victim.
In Day of the Dead a limb is amputated and cauterised in an attempt to stop the infection. The efficacy of this treatment is not revealed, as the character dies of other causes before the infection would have taken effect

Behavior
Throughout the Romero films, all zombies are hazardous to human life. Their only instinct is to feed relentlessly on living organisms - they do not feed to satisfy hunger and even specimens who have been completely disemboweled will still desire to feed as long as brain function is present.
While most of the personality of the original victim is gone there have been instances of the zombies seemingly recalling memories of their past lives and performing familiar tasks.
Although seeming incapable of reason, zombies have been shown to be able to learn through a process of trial and error. Both Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead show zombies using firearms in a limited capacity, while blunt objects as weapons have been used by zombies since Night. The full extent of the learning abilities is unknown but the process of discovery for them is not unlike a toddler.
The films include a few rare examples of what can only be described as emotion in zombies. However this emotion has only come after much training, with ample "food" being provided to keep the zombie occupied. A reanimated corpse will attack any and all living humans in its immediate vicinity regardless of past ties to said individuals.
Romero has stated that the rules to zombie behavior and weaknesses that have become popular with his films and used elsewhere change from movie to movie. In Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead the zombies are afraid of fire, in the later films they are not. By the fourth film the zombies have memories and communicative skills.

Locomotion

The movement of all zombies has been shown to be a shambling walk at best. Individuals more than an arms length away from a zombie will easily be able to out-walk one and avoid their advances. However they have been shown to lunge once in close proximity of a target and will ferociously claw at and bite anything in their grasp. Also their slow gaits cause them to move extremely silently allowing them to sneak up on prey undetected. Zombies have been observed using stairs and even ladders, but they usually have trouble with such obstacles due to their lack of fine motor control.

The apparent slowness of zombies has led many unfortunate victims to believe that they could outpace a zombie as well. However, while over short distances a human can outrun a zombie, zombies have almost limitless stamina. A zombie may only be able to move with standard human walking speed at maximum, however they can maintain such movement for practically indefinite time periods, because they never tire. While a human can outrun a zombie over short distances (provided they keep their distance) the human cannot run forever, while zombies can walk forever, and thus eventually the zombies will run down the human like wolves descending on an exhausted deer. Physically (that is, bio-chemically) it is a mystery how zombies maintain the energy needed to keep their muscles moving for indefinite time periods. However, this is essentially tied to the overall mystery of how dead corpses are able to reanimate as "zombies" at all, and continue to function without ever actually metabolizing meat from humans they consume.

Physical causes and limits

What actually makes Romero-zombies reanimate is an open mystery. However, causal explanations for several practical affects have been explained. It has been demonstrated time and again that Romero-zombies are dependent upon their re-animated brains. destroying the brain (or lower brain stem, thus shattering the connecting to the rest of the body) will "deactivate" a zombie. In laboratory conditions, zombies have been entirely vivisected, with their entire digestive tract disconnected, but they will continue to try to eat. Further, decapitated zombie heads (still functioning due to their intact brains) will still try to consume flesh. The explanation is that zombies don't actually need to "eat" flesh, in the sense that they don't really metabolize anything. Human flesh they swallow down their gullets doesn't get digested, it just congeals or falls out of them. A Romero-zombie could be thought of less as a whole "animal", and more as a brain connected to a set of muscles, and the remaining sensory organs.

As laboratory tests have proved, the physical reason Romero-zombies behave the way they do is that their brain and muscles have been somehow reanimated, but the brain is decaying and shutting down. When a zombie-brain decays, its internal regions shut down starting on the outer regions, then working inwards, layer by layer. Essentially, all of the higher brain functions shut down first because they are near the outside (such as the frontal lobe), leaving the more primitive regions of the inner brain intact in zombies. Thus, the remaining functional portion of a zombie's brain are the primitive inner regions containing the most basic and primal urges, inherited from the first amphibians and reptiles: the urge to consume food.

Consequently, zombies don't actually need to eat (indeed, their digestive systems even when intact, are not functional). However, what's left of their functional brains thinks they need to eat, filling them with a ravenous, unreasoning hunger.

In laboratory conditions, brain surgery has been used to destroy the inner regions of the brain controlling this primal hunger urge, while keeping the motor skills-controlling sections functional. The resulting zombie subjects are successfully rendered docile by this procedure, confirming that it is the primal sections of the brain which drive their urge to eat. However, this medical procedure on the brain takes about 11 hours of surgery to perform, and only a handful of qualified medical personnel are skilled enough to do it, making it a totally impractical option for dealing with zombie attacks, much less, a full-blown world-wide zombie apocalypse.

Why this makes zombies attack humans is anyone's guess. The actual details of what zombies will or will not eat various from one incarnation to another: in some versions they actually have a preference for only human flesh. However, in other versions, the more congruent explanation is given that zombies will actually eat any "warm meat" that they can actually catch, though dogs and cats etc. are usually small and fast enough to outrun them.

How zombies can possibly maintain the bio-chemical energy needed to move their own muscles is unknown to science; consuming no actual food, they physically can't make the chemical energy to keep moving, yet they do. So long as a zombie's brain is intact, and its muscular and skeletal system are still relatively functional, it can keep functioning.

However, while Romero-zombies do necrophy slower than normal corpses, it is stated that after roughly 10-12 years, a Romero-zombie's body will have finally decomposed to the point that it affects the zombie's basic motion. After so many years, it has begun to rot to pieces. Thus, the final fall-back solution to the zombie-outbreak which totally overwhelms the entire world in the Romero zombie films is simple: the surviving humans should wait in their bunkers until 10-12 years after the initial outbreak, when most humans were infected. By that time, most zombies will have rotted to pieces, leaving only a few stragglers converted from infected survivors caught in breached strongholds.

Other notes

Only destroying the brain will result in the true death of a zombie. Decapitation will only render the body immobile; the head will still function and is capable of infecting the unwary.

Although medical treatment of bites has been shown to slow the death and resurrection of victims, there is no known cure.

Zombies based on Romero's works

The zombies from the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead bear a special mentioning here. Though they function in (presumably, given the little evidence available) much the same way as Romero zombies, they have a few unique qualities all their own.

The infection is spread only through bites and scratches. It is not shown whether the "virus" (again the cause is never actually shown, but the DVD case suggests that it is a virus) is passed through fluid contact, but it is unlikely seeing as how on numerous occasions characters are essentially showered with blood and are not infected afterwards.

Unlike the original Dead series, simply dying of a non-zombie related cause (i.e. getting shot) will not turn the victim into a zombie. As discussed previously, only bites and scratches will spread the infection.

People who are bit by zombies and then finally die, transform into zombies within a matter of seconds. Thus a man who is bitten in the neck and instantly dies of rapid bloodloss, dies and then reanimates as a zombie barely a minute after being initially bitten. In the original, there is some "turnover" lag time of anywhere from several minutes to several hours within which a person that dies from a zombie bite will remain as a corpse, before reanimating as a zombie.

The most obvious difference in the two classes of zombies are their movement. The original zombies from the Dead series were only capable of walking at a slow pace with the occasional lunge when prey was close. The remake zombies are fully capable of running at top speed. Whether this has something specifically to do with the infection or is just an aesthetic quality introduced by the filmmakers is unknown.

Romero zombies commonly vocalize with only grunts and low moans. The remake zombies do this as well as emit a piercing shriek or a loud growl when provoked.

Author Max Brooks gives a comprehensive breakdown of zombie biology in The Zombie Survival Guide. It should be noted, however, that while Brooks was heavily influenced by Romero-zombies, there are some key differences in his works, chief among which is that Brooks-zombies cannot recall any memories of their former lives as humans or learn. Brooks-zombies are utterly mindless and cannot even learn from the most basic trial and error: one character in Brooks' World War Z describes watching a zombie view spy satellite digging into a sand dune to try to catch a rabbit that had tunneled in; digging in such loose material only ended up spilling more sand into the hole, so it was physically impossible for the zombie to reach its goal. Nevertheless, the zombie kept digging, almost like a robot, for three days straight, until distracted by other prey. A Romero-zombie in a similar circumstance would probably eventually have realize its method wasn't working. The concept of a zombie recalling how to shoot a gun, which Romero-zombies can occasionally do after much coaxing, would be unthinkable for Brooks-zombies

Good golly, Miss Molly!

And just think I still have Brooks Zombies to go into detail about, I know I already “Defined” the virus but I didn’t go into detail about the zombies themselves.

This is an awesome write up! Keep going!

I figure the best way to describe the Brooks zombie to everyone is to take an expert from “The Zombie Survival Guide”

Keep a look out on my next post, word for word from Brooks himself.

Description of “Brooks-Zombies”

“He comes from the grave, his body a home of worms and filth. No life in his eyes, no warmth of his skin, no beating of his breast. His soul, as empty and dark as the night sky. He laughs at the blade, spits at the arrow, for they will not harm his flesh. For eternity, he will walk the earth, smelling the sweet blood of the living, feasting upon the bones of the damned. Beware, for he is the living dead. “
-Obscure Hindu Text, Circa 1000 B.C.E


What is a zombie? How are they created? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their needs, their desires? Why are they hostile to humanity? Before discussing any survival techniques, you must first learn what you are trying to survive. We must begin by separating fact from fiction. The walking dead are neither a work of "black magic" nor any other supernatural force.

Solanum: The Virus

Solannm works by traveling through the bloodstream, from the initial point of entry to the brain. Through means not yet fully understood, the virus uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. During this period, all bodily functions cease. By stopping the heart, the infected subject is rendered "dead." The brain, however, remains alive but dormant, while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ.

The most critical trait of this new organ is its independence from oxygen. By removing the need for this all-important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but is in no way dependent upon, the complex support mechanism of the human body. Once mutation is complete, this new organ reanimates the body into a form that bears little resemblance (physiologically speaking) to the original corpse. Some bodily functions remain constant, others operate in a modified capacity, and the remainder shut down completely. This new organism is a zombie, a member of the living dead.

Physical Abilities

Too often, the undead have been said to possess superhuman powers: unusual strength, lightning speed, telepathy, etc. Stories range from zombies flying through the air to their scaling vertical surfaces like spiders. While these traits might make for fascinating drama, the individual ghoul is far from a magical, omnipotent demon. Never forget that the body of the undead is, for all practical purposes, human. What changes do occur are in the way this new, reanimated body is used by the now-infected brain. There is no way a zombie could fly unless the human it used to be could fly. The same goes for projecting force fields, telepottation, moving through solid objects, transforming into a wolf, breathing fire, or a variety of other mystical talents amibuted to the walking dead. Imagine the human body as a tool kit. The somnambulist brain has those tools, and only those tools, at its disposal. It cannot create new ones out of thin air. But it can, as you will see, use these tools in unconventional combinations, or push their durability beyond normal human limits.

Sight

The eyes of a zombie are no different than those of a normal human. While still capable (given their rate of decomposition) of transmitting visual signals to the brain, how the brain interprets these signals is another matter. Studies are inconclusive regarding the undead's visual abilities. They can spot prey at distances comparable to a human, but whether they can distinguish a human from one of their own is still up for debate. One theory suggests that the movements made by humans, which are quicker and smoother than those of the undead, is what causes them to stand out to the zombie eye. Experiments have been done in which humans have attempted to confuse approaching ghouls by mimicking their motions and adopting a shambling, awkward limp.

To date, none of these attempts have succeeded. It has been suggested that zombies possess night vision, a fact that explains their skill at nocturnal hunting. This theory has been debunked by the fact that all zombies are expert night feeders, even those without eyes.

Sound

There is no question that zombies have excellent hearing. Not only can they detect sound-they can determine its direction. The basic range appears to be the same as that for humans. Experiments with extreme high and low frequencies have yielded negative results. Tests have also shown that zombies are attracted by any sounds, not just those made by living creatures. It has been recorded that ghouls will notice sounds ignored by living humans. The most likely, if unproven, explanation is that zombies depend on all their senses equally. Humans are sightoriented from birth, depending on other senses only if the primary one is lost. Perhaps this is not a handicap shared by the walking dead. If so, it would explain their ability to hunt, fight, and feed in total darkness.

Smell

Like with sound, the undead have a more acute sense of smell. In both combat situations and laboratory tests, they have been able to distinguish the smell of living prey above all others. In many cases, and given ideal wind conditions, zombies have been known to smell fresh corpses from a distance of more than a mile. Again, this does not mean that ghouls have a greater sense of smell than humans, simply that they rely on it more. It is not known exactly what particular secretion signals the presence of prey: sweat, pheromones, blood, etc. In the past, people seeking to move undetected through infested areas have attempted to "mask" their human scent with perfumes, deodorants, or other strong-smelling chemicals. None were successful. Experiments are now under way to synthesize the smells of living creatures as a decoy or even repellent to the walking dead. A successful product is still years away.

Taste

Little is known about the altered taste buds of the walking dead. Zombies do have the ability to tell human flesh apart from that of animals, and they prefer the former. Ghouls also have a remarkable ability to reject carrion in favor of freshly killed meat. A human body that has been dead longer than twelve to eighteen hours will be rejected as food. The same goes for cadavers that have been embalmed or otherwise preserved. Whether this has anything to do with "taste" is not yet certain. It may have to do with smell or, perhaps, another instinct that has not been discovered. As to exactly why human flesh is preferable, science has yet to find an answer to this confounding, frustrating, terrifying question

Touch

Zombies have, literally, no physical sensations. All nerve receptors throughout the body remain dead after reanimation. This is truly their greatest and most terrifying advantage over the living. We, as humans, have the ability to experience physical pain as a signal of bodily damage. Our brain classifies such sensations, matches them to the experience that instigated them, and then files the information away for use as a warning against future harm. It is this gift of physiology and instinct that has allowed us to survive as a species. It is why we value virtues such as courage, which inspires people to perform actions despite warnings of danger. The inability to recognize and avoid pain is what makes the waking dead so formidable. Wounds will not be noticed and, therefore, will not deter an attack. Even if a zombie's body is severely damaged, it will continue to attack until nothing remains. E Sixth Sense Historical research, coupled with laboratory and field observation, have shown that the walking dead have been known to attack even when all their sensory organs have been damaged or completely decomposed. Does this mean that zombies possess a sixth sense? Perhaps. Living humans use less than 5 percent of their brain capacity. It is possible that the virus can stimulate another sensoly ability that has been forgotten by evolution. This theory is one of the most hotly debated in the war against the undead. So far, no scientific evidence has been found to support either side.

Healing

Despite legends and ancient folklore, undead physiology has been proven to possess no powers of regeneration. Cells that are damaged stay damaged. Any wounds, no matter what their size and nature, will remain for the duration of that body's reanimation. A variety of medical treatments have been attempted to stimulate the healing process in captured ghouls. None were successful. This inability to self-repair, something that we as living beings take for granted, is a severe disadvantage to the undead. For example, every time we physically exert ourselves, we tear our muscles. With time, these muscles rebuild to a stronger state than before. A ghoul's muscle mass will remain damaged, reducing its effectiveness every time it is used

Decomposition

The average zombie "life span"-how long it is able to function before completely rotting away-is estimated at three to five years. As fantastic as this sounds-a human corpse able to ward off the natural effects of decay-its cause is rooted in basic biology. When a human body dies, its flesh is immediately set upon by billions of microscopic organisms. These organisms were always present, in the external environment arid within the body itself. In life, the immune system stood as a harrier between these organisms and their target. In death, that barrier is removed. The organisms begin multiplying exponentially as they proceed to eat and, thereby, break down the corpse on a cellular level. The smell and discoloration associated with any decaying meat are the biological process of these microbes at work. When you order an "aged" steak, you are ordering a piece of meat that has begun to rot, its formerly toughened flesh softened by microorganisms breaking down its sturdy fiber.

Within a short time, that steak, like a human corpse, will dissolve to nothing, leaving behind only material too hard or innutritious for any microbe, such as bone, teeth, nails, and hair. This is the normal cycle of life, nature's way of recycling nutrients back into the food chain. To halt this process, and preserve dead tissue, it is necessary to place it in an environment unsuitable for bacteria, such as in extreme low or high temperatures, in toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, or, in this case, to saturate it with Solanum. Almost all the microbe species involved in normal human decomposition have repeatedly rejected flesh infected by the virus, effectively embalming the zombie. Were this not the case, combating the living dead would be as easy as avoiding them for several weeks or even days until they rotted away to hones. Research has yet to discover the exact cause of this condition.

It has been determined that at least some microbe species ignore the repelling effects of Solanum-otherwise, the undead would remain perfectly preserved forever. It has also been determined that natural conditions such as moisture and temperature play an important role as well. Undead that prowl the bayous of Louisiana are unlikely to last as long as those in the cold, dry Gobi desert. Extreme situations, such as deep freezing or immersion in preservative fluid, could, hypothetically, allow an undead specimen to exist indefinatly. These techniques have been known to allow zombies to function for decades, if not centuries. (See "Recorded Attacks" Decomposition does not mean that a member of the walking dead will simply drop. Decay may affect various parts of the body at different times. Specimens have been found with brains intact but nearly disintegrated bodies. Others with partially rotted brains may control some bodily functions but be completely paralyzed in others. A popular theory has recently circulated that attempts to explain the story of the ancient Egyptian mummy as one of the first examples of an embalmed zombie. The preservation techniques allowed it to function several thousand years after being entombed. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of ancient Egypt would find this story almost laughably untrue: The most important and complicated step in preparing a pharaoh for burial was the removal of the brain!

Digestion

Recent evidence has once and for all discounted the theory that human flesh is the fuel for the undead. A zombie's digestive tract is completely dormant. The complex system that processes food, extracts nutrition, and excretes waste does not factor into a zombie's physiology. Autopsy's conducted on neutralized undead have shown that their "food" lies in its original, undigested state at all sections of the tract. This partially chewed, slowly rotting matter will continue to accumulate, as the zombie devours more victims, until it is forced through the anus, or literally bursts through the stomach or intestinal lining. While this more dramatic example of non-digestion is rare, hundreds of eyewitness reports have confirmed undead to have distended bellies. One captured and dissected specimen was found to contain 211 pounds of flesh within its system! Even rarer accounts have confirmed that zombies continue to feed long after their digestive tracts have exploded from within.

Respiration

The lungs of the undead continue to function in that they draw air into and expel it from the body. This function accounts for a zombie's signature moan. What the lungs and body chemistry fail to accomplish, however, is to extract oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. Given that Solanum obviates the need for both of these functions, the entire human respiratory system is obsolete in the body of a ghoul. This explains how the living dead can "walk underwater" or survive in environments lethal to humans. Their brains, as noted earlier, are oxygen independent.

Circulation

It would be inaccurate to say that zombies have no heart. It would not he accurate, however, to say that they find no use for it. The circulatory system of the undead is little more than a network of useless tubes filled with congealed blood. The same applies to the lymphatic system as well as all other bodily fluids. Although this mutation would appear to give the undead one more advantage over humanity, it has actually proved to he a godsend. The lack of fluid mass prevents easy transmission of the virus. Were this not true, hand-to-hand combat would he nearly impossible, as the defending human would almost certainly he splattered with blood and/or other fluids.

Reproduction

Zombies are sterile creatures. Their sexual organs are necrotic and impotent. Attempts have been made to fertilize zombie eggs with human sperm and vice versa. None have been succcssful. The undead have also shown no signs of sexual desire, either for their own species or for the living. Until research can prove otherwise, humanity's greatest fear-the dead reproducing the dead-is a comforting impossibility

Strength

Ghouls possess the same brute force as the living. What power can be exerted depends greatly on the individual zombie. What muscle mass a person has in life would be all he possesses in death. Unlike a living body, adrenal glands have not been known to function in the dead, denying zombies the temporary burst of power we humans enjoy. The one solid advantage the living dead do possess is amazing stamina.

Imagine working out, or any other act of physical exertion. Chances are that pain and exhaustion will dictate your limits. These factors do not apply to the dead. They will continue an act, with the same dynamic energy, until the muscles supporting it literally disintegrate. While this makes for progressively weaker ghouls, it allows for an allpowerful first attack. Many barricades that would have exhausted three or even four physically fit humans have fallen to a single determined zombie.

Speed

The "walking" dead tend to move at a slouch or limp. Even without injuries or advanced decomposition, their lack of coordination makes for an unsteady suide. Speed is mainly determined by leg length. Taller ghouls have longer strides than their shorter counterparts. Zombies appear to be incapable of running. The fastest have been observed to move at a rate of barely one step per 1.5 seconds. Again, as with strength, the dead's advantage over the living is their tirelessness. Humans who believe they have outrun their nndead pursuers might do well to remember the story of the tortoise and the hare, adding, of course, that in this instance the hare stands a good chance of being eaten alive

Agility

The average living human possesses a dexterity level 90 percent greater than the strongest ghoul. Some of this comes from the general stiffness of necrotic muscle tissue (hence their awkward stride). The rest is due to their primitive brain functions. Zomhies have little handeye coordination, one of their greatest weaknesses. No one has ever observed a zombie jumping, either from one spot to another or simply up and down. Balancing on a narrow surface is similarly beyond their ahility. Swimming is also a skill reserved for the living.

The theory has been put forth that, if an undead corpse were to he bloated enough to rise to the surface, it could present a floating hazard. This is rare, however, as the slow rate of decomposition would not allow by-product gas to accumulate. Zombies who walk or fall into bodies of water will more likely find themselves wandering aimlessly across the bottom until eventually dissolving. They can be successful climbers, but only in certain circumstances. If zombies perceive prey above them, for example, in the second story of a house, they will always attempt to climb to it. Zombies will try to scale any surface no matter how unfeasahle or even impossible. In all but the easiest situations, these attempts have met with failure. Even in the case of ladders, when simple hand-over-hand coordination is required, only one in four zombies will succeed.

Behavioral Patterns

Intelligence

It has been proven, time and again, that our greatest advantage over the undead is our ability to think. The mental capacity of the average zombie ranks somewhere beneath that of an insect. On no occasion have they shown any ability to reason or employ logic. Attempting to accomplish a task, failing, then by trial and error discovering a new solution, is a skill shared by many members of the animal kingdom hut lost on the walking dead. Zombies have repeatedly failed laboratory intelligence tests set at the level of rodents. One field case showed a human standing at one end of a collapsed bridge with several dozen zombies on the orher side.

One by one, the walking dead tumbled over the edge in a futile attempt to reach him. At no time did any of them realize what was happening and change their tactics in any way. Contrruy to myth and speculation, zombies have never been observed using tools of any kind. Even picking up a rock to use as a weapon is beyond their grasp. This simple task would prove the basic thought process involved in realizing that the rock is a more efficient weapon than the naked hand. Ironically, the age of artificial intelligence has enabled us to identify more easily with the mind of the zombie than that of our more "primitive" ancestors. With care exceptions, even the most advanced computers do not have the ability to think on their own.

They do what they are programmed to do, nothing more. Imagine a computer programmed to execute one function. This function cannot be paused, modified, or erased. No new data can be stored. No new commands can he installed. This computer will perform that one function, over and over, until its power source eventually shuts down. This is the zombie brain. An instinct-driven, unitask machine that is impervious to tampering and can only be destroyed.

Emotions

Feelings of any kind are not known to the walking dead. Every form of psychological warfare, from attempts at enraging the undead to provoking pity have all met with disaster. Joy, sadness, confidence, anxiety, love, hatred, fear-all of these feelings and thousands more that make up the human "heart" are as useless to the living dead as the organ of the same name. Who knows if this is humanity's greatest weakness or strength? The debate continues, and probably will forever.

Memories

A modem conceit is that a zombie retains the knowledge of its former life. We hear stories of the dead returning to their places of residence or work, operating familiar machinery, or even showing acts of mercy to loved ones. Not a shred of proof exists to support this wishful thinking. Zombies could not possibly retain memories of their former lives in either the conscious or subconscious mind, because neither exist! A ghoul will not be distracted by the family pet, living relatives, familiar surroundings, etc.

No matter who a person was in his former life, that person is gone, replaced by a mindless automaton with no instinct other than for feeding. This begs the question: Why do zombies prefer urban areas to the countryside? First, the undead do not prefer cities, but simply remain where they are reanimated. Second, the main reason zomhies tend to stay in cities instead of fanning out into the countryside is because an urban zone holds the highest concentration of prey (note:in no way has this been proven, the prey part, due to the fact they can not think)

Physical Needs

Other than hunger (discussed later), the dead have shown none of the physical wants or needs expressed in mortal life. Zombies have never been observed to sleep or rest under any circumstances. They have not reacted to extreme heat or cold. In harsh weather, they have never sought shelter. Even something as simple as thirst is unknown to the living dead. Defying all laws of science, Solanum has created what could be described as a completely self-sufficient organism.

Communication

Zombies have no language skills. Although their vocal cords are capable of speech, their brain is not. The only vocal ability appears to be a deep-throated moan. This moan is released when zombies identify prey. The sound will remain low and steady until physical contact is made. It will then shift in tone and volume as the zombie commences its attack. This eerie sound, so typically associated with the walking dead, serves as a rallying cry for other zombies and, as has been recently discovered, is a potent psychological weapon. Social Dynamics Theories have always proliferated that the undead function as a collective force, from an army controlled by Satan to an insect-like pheromone-driven hive to the most recent notion that they achieve group consensus by telepathy. The truth is that zombies have no social organization to speak of.

There is no hierarchy, no chain of command, no drive toward any type of collectivization. A horde of the undead, regardless of size, regardless of appearance, is simply a mass of individuals. If several hundred ghouls converge on a victim's location, it is because each one is drawn by its own instinct. Zombies appear to be unaware of one another. Individuals have never been observed to react to the sight of one another at any range. This goes back to the question of sense: How does a zombie distinguish between one of its own and a human or other prey at the same range? The answer has yet to he found. Zombies do avoid one another in the same way they avoid inanimate objects. When they hump into one another, they make no attempt to connect or communicate. Zombies feasting on the same corpse will tug repeatedly on the meat in question rather than shove a competitor out of the way. The only suggestion of communal effort is seen in notorious swarm attacks: the moan of a ghoul calling others within earshot. Once they hear the wail, other walking dead will almost always converge on its source.

An early study theorized that this was a deliberate act, that a scout used its moan to signal the others to attack. However, we now h o w that it happens purely by accident. The ghoul that moans at the detection of prey does so as an instinctive reaction, not as an alert

Hunting

Zombies are migratory organisms, with no regard for temtory or concept of home. They will travel miles and perhaps, given time, cross continents in their search for food. Their hunting pattern is random. Ghouls will feed at night and during the day. They will stumble through an area rather than deliberately searching it. Certain zones or structures will not he singled out as more likely to contain prey. For example, some have been known to search farmhouses and other rural structures while others in the same group have moved by without even a glance.

Urban zones take more time to explore, which is why the undead remain longer in these areas, hut no building will take precedence over another. Zombies appear to be totally unaware of their surroundings. They do not, for example, move their eyes in a way that would take in the information of a new setting. Shuffling silently, with a thousand-yard stare, they will wander aimlessly, regardless of location, until prey is detected. As discussed earlier, the undead possess an uncauny ability to home in on a victim's precise location. Once contact is made, the previously silent, oblivious automaton transforms into something more closely related to a guided missile.

The head turns immediately in the direction of its victim. The jaw drops, lips retract, and, from the depths of its diaphragm, comes the moan. Once contact is made, zombies cannot be distracted by any means. They will continue to pursue their prey, stopping only if they lose contact, make a successful kill, or are destroyed

Motivation

Why do the undead prey upon the living? If it has been proven that human flesh serves no nutritional purpose, why does their instinct drive them to murder? The truth eludes us. Modem science, combined with historical data, has shown that living humans are not the only delights on the undead menu. Rescue teams entering an infested area have consistently reported them stripped of all life. Any creatures, no matter what their size or species, will he consumed by an attacking zombie. Human flesh, however, will always he preferable to other life forms. One experiment presented a captured specimen with two identical cubes of meat: one human, one animal. The zombie repeatedly chose the human. Reasons for this are still unknown (UPDATE: one theory for human prefrence is that humans are the only creature that reanimate and seek out new victims, allowing the virus to spread to new hosts, as any other creature infected with the virus will simply die). What can be confirmed, beyond any shadow of doubt, is that instinct brought on by Solanum drives the undead to kill and devour any living creature they discover. There appear to be no exceptions.

Killing the Dead

While destroying a zombie may be simple, it is far from easy. As we have seen, zombies require none of the physiological functions that humans need to survive. Destruction or severe damage of the circulatory, digestive, or respiratory system would do nothing to a member of the walking dead, as these functions no longer support the brain. Simply put, there are thousands of ways to kill a humanand only one to kill a zombie. The brain must be obliterated, by any means possible.

Disposal

Studies have shown that Solanum can still inhabit the body of a terminated zombie for up to fortyeight hours. Exercise extreme care when disposing of undead corpses. The head in particular possesses the most serious hazard, given its concentration of the virus. Never handle an undead corpse without protective clothing. Treat it as you would any toxic, highly lethal material. Cremation is the safest, most effective way of disposal. Despite rumors that a pile of burning corpses will spread Solannm in a cloud of smoking plague, common sense would dictate that any virus is unable to survive intense heat, to say nothing of an open flame.

Domestication?

To reiterate, the zombie brain has proved, so far, to he tamper-proof. Experiments ranging from chemicals to surgery to electromagnetic waves have yielded negative results. Behavioral modification therapy and other such attempts to train the living dead like some kind of pack animal have similarly met with failure. Again, the machine cannot be rewired. It will exist as is, or it will not exist at all.

Voodoo Zombies

If zombies are the creation of a virus and not black magic, then how does this explain the so-called "voodoo zombie," a person who has died, been raised from his grave, and is doomed to spend eternity as a slave of the living? Yes, it is trne that the word "zombie" originally comes from the Kimbnndn word "nzfimbe," a term describing a dead person's soul, and yes, zombies and zombification are integral parts of the Afro-Caribbean religion known as voodoo. However, the origin of their name is the only similarity between the voodoo zombie and the viral zombie. Although it is said that voodoo houngans (priests) can turn humans into zombies by magical means, the practice is rooted in bard, undeniable science. "Zombie powder," the tool used by the houngan for zombification, contains a very powerful neurotoxin (the exact ingredients are a closely guarded secret).

The toxin temporarily paralyzes the human nervous system, creating a state of extreme hibernation. With the heart, lungs, and all other bodily functions operating at minimal levels, it would be understandable if an inexperienced coroner declared the paralyzed subject to be dead. Many humans have been buried while in such a state, only to awaken screaming in the pitch darkness of their coffin. So what makes this living human being a zombie? The answer is simple: brain damage. Many who are buried alive quickly use up the air inside their coffins. Those that are recovered (if they are lucky) almost always suffer brain damage from lack of oxygen. These poor souls shamble about with little cognitive skills, or, indeed, free will, and are often mistaken for the living dead.

How can yon distinguish a voodoo zombie from the genuine article? The telltale signs are obvious.

Voodoo zombies show emotion.

People suffering from zombie powder-induced brain damage are still capable of all normal human feelings. They smile, cry, even growl with anger if hurt or otherwise provoked (something real zombies would never do).

Voodoo zombies exhibit thought

As has been stated before, when a real zombie encounters you it will immediately home in like a smart bomb. A voodoo zombie will take a moment to try to figurer out who or what you are. Maybe it will come toward you, maybe it will recoil, maybe it will continue its observation as its damaged brain attempts to analyze the information given to it. What a voodoo zombie will not do is raise its arms, drop its jaw, unleash a hellish moan, and stumble directly toward you.

Voodoo zombies feel pain.

A voodoo zombie that trips and falls will undoubtedly hold its bruised knee and whimper. Likewise, one already suffering from some other wound will nurse it, or, at the very least, be aware of the wound's existence. Voodoo zombies will not ignore deep gashes in their bodies like a real zombie would.

Voodoo zombies recognize fire

This is not to say that they are afraid of open flames. Some that have suffered severe brain damage may not remember what fire is. They will stop to examine it, perhaps even reach out to touch it, hut they will recoil once they realize it causes pain

Voodoo zombies recognize their surroundings

Unlike real zombies, who only recognize prey, voodoo zombies will react to sudden changes in light, sound, taste, and smell. Voodoo zombies have been observed watching television or brightly flashing lights, listening to music, cringing at thunder, and even taking notice of one another. This last fact has been critical in several cases of mis-identification. Had the zombies in question not reacted to each other (they looked at each other, made noises, even touched each other's faces), they might have been accidentally exterminated.

Voodoo zombies do NOT have bypersense

A human who has suffered the debilitating effects of zombie powder is still a sightdependent human. He cannot operate perfectly in the dark, hear a footstep at 500 yards, smell a living being on the wind. Voodoo or zombies can actually be surprised by someone walking up behind them. This is not recommended, however, as a frightened zombie might react in anger

Voodoo zombies can communicate

While this is not always the case, many of these individuals can respond to audiovisual signals. Many understand words; some even comprehend simple sentences. Many voodoo zombies possess the ability to speak, simply, of course, and rarely for extended conversations.

Voodoo zombies can be controlled.

While not always true, many brain damaged humans have lost much of their self-realization, making them very susceptible to suggestion. Simply shouting for a subject to halt or even go away can he enough to get rid of a voodoo zombie. This has created the dangerous situation of confused people believing they could control or train true zombies. Several times headstrong humans have insisted they could simply command their living dead attackers to stop. As cold, rotting hands grabbed their limbs and dirty, worn teeth bit into their flesh, these people discovered, too late, what they were truly dealing with.

These guidelines should give you a good idea of how to tell a voodoo zombie from a true zombie. One final note: Voodoo zombies are almost always encountered in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and the southern United States. Although it is not impossible to find someone who has been turned into a zombie by a houngan elsewhere, the chances of such an encounter are slim

Hollywood Zombie

Since the living dead first stepped onto the silver screen, their greatest enemy has not been hunters, but critics. Scholars, scientists, even concerned citizens have all argued that these movies depict the living dead in a fantastic, unrealistic fashion. Visually stunning weapons, physically impossible action sequences, larger-than-life human characters, and, above all, magical, invincible, even comical ghouls have all added their colors to the controversial rainbow that is "the Zombie Movie."

Further criticism argues that this "style over substance" approach to somnambulist cinema teaches human viewers lessons that may get them killed in a real encounter. These serious charges demand an equally serious defense. While some zombie movies are based on actual events, their goal, indeed the goal of almost every movie in every genre, has always been, first and foremost, to entertain. Unless we are discussing pure documentaries (and even some of those are "sweetened" ), moviemakers must take some artistic license to make their work more palatable to the audience. Even movies that are based on actual events will sacrifice pure reality for good storytelling. Certain characters will be an amalgam of real-life individuals. Others may be purely fictional in order to explain certain facts, facilitate the plotline, or simply add flavor to the scene.

One might argue that the role of the artist is to challenge, educate, and enlighten her audience. That may be true, but try imparting knowledge to an audience who has either left or fallen asleep within the first ten minutes of the picture. Accept this basic rule of moviemaking and you will understand why Hollywood zombie films stray, in some cases wildly, from the reality on which they are based. In short, use these photo-plays as their makers intended: as a source of temporary, lighthearted entertainment and not a visual aid to your survival.

Holy ****.