Proudly serving monsters since 1998.
The first approach of a zombie taxonomy that aims to classify zombie types is by studying the possible origins of zombies.
Two kinds of zombies exists in modern popular culture: one created by voodoo resulting in a spell-bound near dead state, and cannibal creatures created by scientific experimentation of strange chemicals on living humans (as popularized by a series of films on the “living dead” theme).
Zombies can also be classified according to their physical and mental characteristics. There are the slow zombies and the new breed of fast zombies found in movies like 28 days later or Zombieland. Purists will argue that the latter are not technically zombies but infected living humans.
Origin: Haïtian beliefs and supersitions The word ‘voodoo‘ (vodou, vaudou, vodoun or vodun) derives from the word ‘vodu‘ in the Fon language of Dahomey meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘god’ and describes the complex religious and belief system that exist in Haïti, an island of the West Indies. The foundations of voodoo were established in the seventeenth … Read more
Animal Zombies are non-human victims of the zombie virus, appearing in many forms based on their species. Animal zombies in nature The natural world is full of zombies under mind control. Zombie spiders and cockroaches babysit developing wasp larvae — until the babies devour them. Zombie fish flip around and dart toward the surface of … Read more
Modern zombies or Hollywood zombies, as portrayed in books, films, games, and haunted attractions, are quite different from both voodoo zombies and those of folklore. Modern zombies are typically depicted in popular culture as mindless, unfeeling monsters with a hunger for human flesh. Modern zombies come in mobs and waves, seeking either flesh to eat … Read more
Zombie analogues Examples of this are in the movies 28 Days Later and REC. In 28 Days Later, the victims are infected with a ‘Rage virus’. In REC, the virus is likened to Rabies, only with symptoms that show in minutes or hours instead of months. In both cases, the victim will ‘turn’ while still … Read more
In Army of the Dead‘s Zeus is the Patient zero and Alpha Zombie. He is a monster from an unknown origin who was being transported by the army but escaped during an accident near Area 51. He was then able to contaminate more people and invaded with several other zombies nearby Las Vegas, turning it … Read more
Origin: science Description: a non-conscious system physically different from but functionally isomorphic to a normal human (absent qualia). For example, a system with silicon chips instead of neurons like the robot of Terminator (1985). Some researchers use the logical possibility of such a functional zombie to argue against functionalist theories of consciousness, which postulate that … Read more
A philosophical zombie, p-zombie or p-zed is a hypothetical being that is indistinguishable from a normal human being except that it lacks conscious experience or subjective consciousness, qualia, or sentience. In this sense zombies are mere automaton, completely ‘mindless’ in the conscious sense. If you shoot a p-zombie, he cries out as if he feels … Read more