Creatures of the
night surround us
Romero laughs
His diabolic vision
of despair
Of humor and laughter
A misleading
masterpiece for those willing to understand the genius
Strangers unite
Fighting a plague of
humanity before they fall prey
Victims, not
innocent, but unforgiven of their sins
Their cannibalistic
nature striking fear in us all
Not because of the
sheer terror
Or their horrific
deeds
But, for the primal
nature lurking at our core
The taste of flesh as
sweet as the fruit on the vine
The lure, the only
difference
Or is it?
Instead of a snake in
the garden
We are persuaded by
desire
Carnal temptations
leading us to flesh
At the heart, the
snake and the pleasures are equal
These forbidden dreams
considered taboo
So misunderstood,
that the thought alone often spawns remorse
A lingering guilt
that creates hatred
And yes, these
monsters for us to cheer
The screens are full
of surrealistic views of reality
Where the creatures
indulge in the carnal feasts we covet
Where flesh and blood
replace the love and hate we hold on a pedestal
In many ways, we are
all alike
Zombies searching for
companionship instead of brains
Embracing the taste
of our lovers skin during passion
For us, our time is
here, the day of reckoning is now
The Zombie Apocalypse
has begun
I brought out this piece from an upcoming fictional work to
demonstrate exactly how far the Zombie Mythos has changed over generations. Beginning
in the Middle Ages, people started to believe that the souls of the departed
could return to this realm in different forms. Many accounts of revenants, or
someone raised from the grave, were documented by noted European writers of the
period, describing terrifying encounters with these emancipated corpses of the
underworld. These encounters were not limited to Europe, tales of the undead
can be found across the globe from China
to South America
Today, modern zombies are portrayed in both books and film
quite differently then their true place in legend and lore. The transition of
the undead into these supernatural, flesh eating remnants of life can easily be
traced back to classic Night of the Living Dead, a film that resonates today as
loudly as it did when it was released in 1968.
Prior to this conversion into re-animated carnivores,
legends of walking corpses and mind control could be summed up in one word,
Voodoo; the ancient often misunderstood religion that in many locations still
conjures thoughts of fear and terror in the collective. the idea of real
zombies is unique to voodoo, with the Creole word zombi derived from Nzambi, a
West African Snake God named Damballah Wedo of Niger-Congo origin.
Before going further in-depth on these infamous creatures
and their real life existence, I want to lead you through a brief stroll
through the history and foundation of this path. This religion is based soundly
in Haïtian beliefs and supersitions. In fact, the word Voodoo, is derived from
the word vodu in the Fon language of Dahomey, meaning spirit or god. In
research, it is easy to trace this way of life back to the seventeenth century,
brought to the West Indies slaves captured primarily from the kingdom of Dahomey,
an empire that encompassed parts of what is
known today as West Africa. This word
also describes the multifaceted spiritual belief system practiced by these
unwilling tenants of the New World. Recent studies have indicated that nearly 60 million
people claim to practice voodoo or similar religions worldwide.
Voodoo, like many other religions, involves the belief in
one supreme god, Bon Dieu, and a hierarchy of spirits called Loa. These spirits
are closely related to African Gods and often represent nature and the dead.
They consist or two primary groups, the Rada (helpful or good) and the Petro
(dangerous and evil). The ideals of good and evil, lie at the heart of
everything practiced in this religion, even their priests. In traditional lore, the Houngan or Mambo practice White Magic
(good) and the Bokor or Caplata practice Black Magic (Evil).
In practicing Voodoo, a once normal person can be
transformed via zombification through a spell or potion by a Bokor, dying and eventually
returning to life as a mindless robot, incapable free thought or will, destined
to suffer through eternity controlled entirely by the zombie master.
There are many examples of zombies in modern day Haiti to back
up these claims. One of the more famous occurrences is that of Dictator Papa
Doc Duvallier (1957 to 1971), who controlled a private army called Tonton Macoutes.
Eyewitnesses to the strange behavior exhibited of this elite guard described
them as being in a trance-like state, following every command of the dictator. Ironically, Duvallier led a Voodoo church,
often claiming he would rise from the ashes and rule again.
While there have been cases where these creations have
regained some mental capacity, these incidents are extremely rare. One such
case is of a man named Caesar who returned 18-years after his death, to marry,
have three children and die again, 30- years later.
To me, one cannot disregard the historic importance of these
beliefs and the possibility of the undead walking amongst us. However, it is
extremely unfortunate that the mass appeal of the Zombie in popular literature
and film reduces this religion to something it is not. Voodoo is not just a
form of sorcery or a form of black witchcraft, and it is far from the cannibalistic
practices portrayed on the silver screen that soils the reputation of not only
the practice but of the Haitian culture as well. Voodoo, like Catholicism,
Lutheranism, or Paganism is a valuable and viable religious practice for those
that choose that path and should be treated with the same respect.
