Zombies: The Complete Guide to the World of the Living Dead

Inspired by horror films of the past, such as George Romeroâ s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, zombies have come lurching back into the forefront of the public imagination with books such as the Jane Austen parody Pride,
Prejudice and Zombies, video games such as Left 4 Dead and blockbuster movies like Zombieland. The living dead have never been so popular! We all know that zombies are by no means a modern phenomenon but where did this zombie fascination come from, and where did people like Romero get their inspiration? The earliest citation on zombies stems from the Afro-Caribbean belief system / religion of voodoo, which is a culmination of African religions such as loa together with the Catholicism of the European settlers. Voodoo is extremely popular on the West-Indian island of Haiti, and there are records of â realâ zombies having existed. Haitians believe that zombies were once normal people who have undergone zombification by a sorcererâ s spell or potion. The victim then dies and becomes a mindless automaton, incapable of remembering the past, unable to recognise loved ones and doomed to a life of miserable toil under the will of the zombie master. Zombies takes a look at all aspects of this gruesome entity and delves into the less
well-known mythological and historical side of this fascinating subject.

CONTENTS:
The Voodoo Zombie: Haitian Vodou, The Bokor, Zombie Powder, Characteristics, Zombie Magic
'Real' Zombies: Zombie Myth, The Duvalier Dynasty, Zombie Sightings, Felicia Feliz-Mentor, Clairvius Narcisse
The Horror Zombie: Frankenstein, White Zombie, Tales from the Crypt, Romero Zombie, Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Shaun of the Dead. Zombie Comics, Zombie Games - House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, Silent Hill

Zachary Graves is a writer who specializes in the occult. He grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA where he developed an early interest in voodoo, and later, as a student of cultural history, made several research trips to Haiti to further his interest. He has traveled widely, particularly in Africa and the Far East, where he lived for some time. He currently resides in New Orleans, close to the St. Louis Cemetery, where Marie Lavaux, the voodoo queen of New Orleans is buried.