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THE TRUTH BEHIND ZOMBIES

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Take a look back at the earliest roots of zombiesm, the walks that celebrate this strange obsession, and the books and films that launched the zombie fascination to a new level. Explore the most famous case of an alleged real life Voodoo zombie and the pandemic threats that make some fear a possible zombie outbreak.



* The idea of a zombie originates form the West African Voodoo spiritual belief system, much practiced in the Caribbean island of Haiti.



* Voodoo was officially recognized as a religion in Haiti in 2003, which means that voodoo ceremonies such as marriages now have equal standing with Catholic ones.



* In Haiti, Voodoo is actually spelled Vodou; it is only spelt Voodoo in English.



* Voodoo has come to have a negative image in popular culture, being associated with zombies, voodoo dolls, and witch doctors, however while there is evidence of zombiesm, it is a minor phenomenon and is not focussed on heavily within the religion.



* It is thought that the first introduction of the concept of zombies into western culture was in W.B Seabrook�s book The Magic Island, in 1929.



* The Magic Island is the sensationalized account of a narrator in Haiti who encounters voodoo cults and their resurrected thralls.



* It is also argued that a poem by Robert Southey first used the word zombie in the English language, although it is though to have been referring to something slightly different.



* In 1932, Victor Halperin directed White Zombie, a horror film starring Bela Lugosi. This film, capitalizing on the same voodoo zombie themes as Seabrook's book of three years prior, is often regarded as the first legitimate zombie film ever made.



* Probably the most famous case of an alleged real life Voodoo zombie is the case of Clairvius Narcisse, investigated by Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis in his 1985 best selling book The Serpent and the Rainbow.



* Initially released in 1968, Night of the Living Dead, a genre-defining classic, has proved to be more influential on the concept of zombies than any literary or cinematic work before it. However George Romero never intended it to be a Zombie film. One of the earlier working titles was The Night of the Flesh Eaters. The monsters in the film are reanimated flesh eating ghouls, and it was the media and the audience that specifically called them zombies.



* Night of the Living Dead premiered on the 1st October 1968 and was completed on a $114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it grossed some $12 million domestically and $30 million internationally.



* In 2002, British horror film 28 Days Later brought the zombie genre to a whole new level � the threat of a killer �rage� virus! The plot depicts the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious rage virus.



* With the increase in viral out breaks such as SARS and Swine Flu, some believe that we can�t discount the possibility of a mutated zombie virus with �zombie like� symptoms arising.



* The Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 spread world wide and killed between 50 and 100 million people!



* In 2005, a fake BBC article appeared online about an outbreak of �zombism� in Cambodia. Despite its April 1st date, the story spread like wildfire.



* Zombies have captured the imagination of people young and old, and there are organized zombie walks across the globe. People dress up as zombies with full blood and guts make up and take to the streets.



* The earliest zombie walk on record was held in August 19, 2001 in California. The event, billed as a 'The Zombie Parade.'



* In 2009, on what would have been Michael Jackson�s 51st birthday, thousands of people in cities across the world dressed up as zombies to perform the Thriller dance from the iconic video. It is thought that 13,597 people across the world were dancing in unison!





Source : National Geographic ( http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...710/#tab-facts )