One of these species, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato, specifically infects, controls, and kills carpenter ants ( Camponotus castaneus), native to North America.

The bacteria — which insects disseminate — infect plants such as goldenrods, which have yellow flowers. The infection causes the goldenrods to put out leaf-like extensions instead of their usual blooms.

See also

The word refers to creatures from Haitian folklore that, at its origin, was little more than the ghosts from Western folklore. The zombie also appears as a metaphor in protest songs, symbolizing mindless adherence to authority, particularly that of law enforcement and the armed forces. Well-known examples include Fela Kuti's 1976 album Zombie and the Cranberries' 1994 single " Zombie". Moreman, Christopher M.; Rushton, Cory James (10 October 2011). Zombies Are Us: Essays on the Humanity of the Walking Dead. McFarland. ISBN 9780786488087. I came to the conclusion that although it is unlikely that there is a single explanation for all cases where zombies are recognised by locals in Haiti, the mistaken identification of a wandering mentally ill stranger by bereaved relatives is the most likely explanation in many cases. People with a chronic schizophrenic illness, brain damage or learning disability are not uncommon in rural Haiti, and they would be particularly likely to be identified as zombies. Modern archetype evolution In 1937, while researching folklore in Haiti, Zora Neale Hurston encountered the case of a woman who appeared in a village. A family claimed that she was Felicia Felix-Mentor, a relative, who had died and been buried in 1907 at the age of 29. The woman was examined by a doctor; X-rays indicated that she did not have a leg fracture that Felix-Mentor was known to have had. [29] Hurston pursued rumors that affected persons were given a powerful psychoactive drug, but she was unable to locate individuals willing to offer much information. She wrote: "What is more, if science ever gets to the bottom of Vodou in Haiti and Africa, it will be found that some important medical secrets, still unknown to medical science, give it its power, rather than gestures of ceremony." [30] Kongo

There has been an evolution in the zombie archetype from supernatural to scientific themes. I Am Legend and Night of the Living Dead began the shift away from Haitian dark magic, though did not give scientific explanations for zombie origins. A more decisive shift towards scientific themes came with the Resident Evil video game series in the late 1990s, which gave more realistic scientific explanations for zombie origins while drawing on modern science and technology, such as biological weaponry, genetic manipulation and parasitic symbiosis. This became the standard approach for explaining zombie origins in popular fiction that followed Resident Evil. [57] Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic" (PDF). Cdc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013 . Retrieved 5 November 2013. Graves, Zachary (2010) Zombies: The complete guide to the world of the living dead Sphere, London, ISBN 978-1-84744-415-8 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, while not a zombie novel per se, foreshadows many 20th century ideas about zombies in that the resurrection of the dead is portrayed as a scientific process rather than a mystical one and that the resurrected dead are degraded and more violent than their living selves. Frankenstein, published in 1818, has its roots in European folklore, whose tales of the vengeful dead also informed the evolution of the modern conception of the vampire. [51] Later notable 19th century stories about the avenging undead included Ambrose Bierce's " The Death of Halpin Frayser" and various Gothic Romanticism tales by Edgar Allan Poe. Though their works could not be properly considered zombie fiction, the supernatural tales of Bierce and Poe would prove influential on later writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, by Lovecraft's own admission. [52]Booth, W. (1988). "Voodoo Science". Science. 240 (4850): 274–277. Bibcode: 1988Sci...240..274B. doi: 10.1126/science.3353722. PMID 3353722. Another speaks of a 65-year-old man who had developed a belief that his organs — including his brain — had stopped working, and that even the house in which he lived was slowly but steadily falling apart. At some point, the man attempted to take his own life. Researchers report that “[h]is suicide note revealed that he wanted to kill himself as he feared spreading a deadly infection to the villagers who resultantly might suffer from cancer.” Pulliam, June (2007). "The Zombie". In Joshi, S. T. (ed.). Icons of Horror and the Supernatural. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313337802.

I was expecting something way more silly and unrealistic. Somehow the approach to the theme historically is done in a smooth enough way (although with some sketches where they teach you how to fight a Zombie, just in case :P )

Contents

Whatever you choose to call them, these corpses that rise from the grave to walk the world and terrify — and sometimes infect — its inhabitants are one of the top monsters in popular culture. Stokes, Jasie (17 March 2010). Ghouls, Hell and Transcendence: The Zombie in Popular Culture from 'Night of the Living Dead' to 'Shaun of the Dead' (Master's thesis). Brigham Young University . Retrieved 3 February 2016. Dendle, Peter (28 August 2012). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000–2010. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 9780786461639. Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing highlighted the link between social and cultural expectations and compulsion, in the context of schizophrenia and other mental illness, suggesting that schizogenesis may account for some of the psychological aspects of zombification. [42] Particularly, this suggests cases where schizophrenia manifests a state of catatonia. Weedon, Paul (17 July 2017). "George A. Romero (interview)". Paul Weedon. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019 . Retrieved 2 June 2019.

On 18 May 2011, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a graphic novel entitled Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse, providing tips to survive a zombie invasion as a "fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness". [124] The CDC used the metaphor of a zombie apocalypse to illustrate the value of laying in water, food, medical supplies, and other necessities in preparation for any and all potential disasters, be they hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, or hordes of zombies. [124] [125] Avenging zombies would feature prominently in the early 1950s EC Comics, which George A. Romero would later claim as an influence. The comics, including Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and Weird Science, featured avenging undead in the Gothic tradition quite regularly, including adaptations of Lovecraft's stories, which included "In the Vault", "Cool Air" and "Herbert West–Reanimator". [54] DayZ, a zombie-based survival horror mod for ARMA 2, was responsible for over 300,000 unit sales of its parent game within two months of its release. [116] Over a year later, the developers of the mod created a standalone version of the same game, which was in early access on Steam, and so far has sold 3 million copies since its release in December 2013. [117]Zombies are a common undead creature type fantasy role playing games. In Dungeons & Dragons, zombies are one of the basic undead creature types, based on the zombie from folklore as well as more contemporary entertainment. [109] Zombies are generally portrayed as supernatural creations, with variations such as the Ju-ju, Sea Zombie, and Zombie Lord. The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition game, however, also incorporated a creature called the yellow musk creeper, a creeping plant that drains the intelligence of its victims, possibly turning them into "zombies" under the plant's control. Ben Woodard found this to be an expression of the "seemingly endless morphology of fungal creep and toxicological capacity" within the game. [110] a b c d e f Maçek III, J. C. (15 June 2012). "The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Moore, Brian L. (1995). Cultural Power, Resistance, and Pluralism: Colonial Guyana, 1838–1900. University of California Press. pp.147–149. Robey, Tim. "George A Romero: Why I don't like The Walking Dead". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 . Retrieved 13 February 2017.