# Zombies Question...



## Xaysai (Jan 8, 2013)

First, does the subject of zombies fall under the heading of "Fantasy" as it pertains to Mythic Scribes?

My question is this: I don't understand the fascination with zombies, so I plan to write a zombies short story, but want to understand the appeal.

Is it the zombies themselves? The survival aspect of the story? Is it the post apocalyptic "feel" to the story? Or all of the above? And do people like fast zombies or slow zombies better?

Thanks,

Dan


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## SeverinR (Jan 8, 2013)

How about a zombie who discovers a crush on a young woman, that starts his decaying heart to start beating again.
As the loving couple grow, the zombies around suddenly find their hearts beating again.

With just a little love, the world will suddenly get a whole lot better.

I forget the name of this movie but its going to be released soon.

"Warm bodies."


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## Xaysai (Jan 8, 2013)

SeverinR said:


> How about a zombie who discovers a crush on a young woman, that starts his decaying heart to start beating again.
> As the loving couple grow, the zombies around suddenly find their hearts beating again.
> 
> With just a little love, the world will suddenly get a whole lot better.
> ...



I want to write a zombie story about a guy who lures people to his house (like a siren) via ham radio with the promise of safety and shelter, only to feed them to his turned family who he has caged in his basement.

However, the girl he lures to his house is either going to eat him, or eat his zombie family while making him watch.

Not sure, yet.


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## Ireth (Jan 8, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> I want to write a zombie story about a guy who lures people to his house (like a siren) via ham radio with the promise of safety and shelter, only to feed them to his turned family who he has caged in his basement.
> 
> However, the girl he lures to his house is either going to eat him, or eat his zombie family while making him watch.
> 
> Not sure, yet.



I can't imagine zombie flesh being very healthy... might it not also result in the eater being zombified, because of the virus or  whatever reason for zombification being carried over?


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## Xaysai (Jan 8, 2013)

Ireth said:


> I can't imagine zombie flesh being very healthy... might it not also result in the eater being zombified, because of the virus or  whatever reason for zombification being carried over?



Ya, but maybe eating the zombie flesh somehow builds her immunity to the virus! Maybe that's how she survives.

I really wanted to write it so that the reader thinks this chick is going to get fed to the family, then flip the script on the bad guy.


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## Chilari (Jan 8, 2013)

Zombie stories and films have never appealed to me. Zombie games, on the other hand, do. Notably Left 4 Dead - the team aspect of it is great in particular, the sense that you're in a hostile world with few places which are safe and you're relying on one another and a bit of luck to get through to the next safe house.


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## Reaver (Jan 8, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> First, does the subject of zombies fall under the heading of "Fantasy" as it pertains to Mythic Scribes?



Yes. Zombies or at least some derivative have been used in fantasy quite extensively. 

In fact, the zombie was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974), where they were described as acting under the instructions of their motivator, usually a magic-user or cleric of chaotic alignment. 

This is about the only way that zombies ever could exist in real life, so what are the odds of that all you zombie apocalypse theorists?



Xaysai said:


> My question is this: I don't understand the fascination with zombies, so I plan to write a zombies short story, but want to understand the appeal.
> 
> Is it the zombies themselves? The survival aspect of the story? Is it the post apocalyptic "feel" to the story? Or all of the above?



I really wouldn't describe the "feel" as post-apocalyptic but rather "survival horror" to use Resident Evil's* term. 

I like the whole zombie thing as long as those weird conspiracy fringe people don't start in with the "government's zombie virus", "zombies are real", or "it could happen" crap.  

I mean, zombies are great entertainment fodder for movies (Day of the Dead, Sean of the Dead, Zombieland, etc.) and video games (Resident Evil*, House of the Dead, etc.) and, as I mentioned above, in fantasy (a very broad genre that includes everything from horror to sci-fi) novels and game.

Personally, I like slow zombies in video games but not in movies.

*Please note that I purposefully excluded the craptastic Resident Evil movies because they're almost as bad as the Star Wars prequels. I also didn't include 28 Days and 28 Weeks Later, not because they're shit movies, I think they're great. It's just that those monsters aren't zombies. They're still alive.

Come to think of it, the very notion that anyone could possibly believe that zombies are real is ludicrous. If you're dead and your brain is dead, how would you be able to see? If your brain isn't working, you can forget about being able to stand let alone walk.  Idiots.


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## Steerpike (Jan 8, 2013)

I just bought a zombie book called _Dead City._ I'll let you know how it goes


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## Chilari (Jan 9, 2013)

Devor: I'd say 28 Day/Weeks later are zombie movies. See, there's two types of zombies: infected and magically ressurected. Infected are what we tend to see in modern settings - like 28 Days later and Left 4 Dead - whereas ressurrected zombies are more of a fantasy thing, like the Draugr in Skyrim, and in some cases are under the control of a necromancer. I still consider all of them zombies of some shade or another.


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## CupofJoe (Jan 9, 2013)

I heard it explained on the radio that the recent fascination with Zombies was to do with the rise of China.
The way it was explained was that in the 1950s and 60s its was Alien invasion and the communist threat [as it was seen] that scared America/Hollywood. 
In the 80s and 90s it was a resurgent USA that fought [in the guise of Schwarzenegger and Willis] fought bad guys one-on-one. 
For the last dozen or more years [explicitly since 2001] it has been the unseen/unstoppable terror[ist] and the faceless unhuman hordes of the Chinese [I mean Zombies] that America is now fighting... America has seen that it is not omnipotent and doesn't know how to react. There were lots of examples in the item about how Zombies learning [I am legend] and getting super-fast/strong [28day/weeks later et al] reflect the growing fear of the power of China learning the "western game" and now playing it better than we do...
I do not support or accept this thesis but it did make me think and smile a little...


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## Devor (Jan 9, 2013)

Reaver said:


> Come to think of it, the very notion that anyone could possibly believe that zombies are real is ludicrous. If you're dead and your brain is dead, how would you be able to see? If your brain isn't working, you can forget about being able to stand let alone walk.  Idiots.



Well, there's zombies and there's zombies.  In Walking Dead, they show a brain scan of a zombie coming back to life and how parts of the brain "restart" when the virus kicks in.  They don't wander around muttering brains, though, which is the kind that doesn't make sense to me.

I'm not a fan of the "Zombies are real" attitude, either.  I have trouble believing that a zombie infestation could ever get off the ground the way it's commonly described as spreading.  They're deadly if you're surrounded by them, but easily enough controlled if you have the upper hand.




Chilari said:


> Devor: I'd say 28 Day/Weeks later are . . . .



That's a first.


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## Reaver (Jan 9, 2013)

Chilari said:


> Devor: I'd say 28 Day/Weeks later are zombie movies. See, there's two types of zombies: infected and magically ressurected. Infected are what we tend to see in modern settings - like 28 Days later and Left 4 Dead - whereas ressurrected zombies are more of a fantasy thing, like the Draugr in Skyrim, and in some cases are under the control of a necromancer. I still consider all of them zombies of some shade or another.



Devor? That is a first indeed. I guess that the whole 28 Days/ Weeks thing is a matter of opinion or really lazy semantics. Take your pick. By that logic mummies are zombies too.

*EDIT* I am looking forward to World War Z though. That movie looks badass!


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## Chilari (Jan 9, 2013)

Clearly I wasn't paying attention earlier. Sorry. Overworked today.


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## Reaver (Jan 9, 2013)

No worries.


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## wordwalker (Jan 9, 2013)

I don't know about China fears, but between terrorism, nuclear weapons in "certain" hands, and climate issues, it's not hard to see why apocalypses get attention these days.

But part of the fun with zombies is the sheer elegance of the world-building. Change one thing and you've got your immediate danger, your shortage of authorities to steal the show, and a world you don't have to invent but can look at our own from a whole new perspective --such as, the new political power is whoever cleans out the sporting goods shop first and shoots his way to the National Guard post.


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## Xaysai (Jan 9, 2013)

I've always wondered about the zombies wanting to eat brains things.

They lack the motor skills necessary to crack open the skull don't they?

Jeez, that sounds like such a ridiculous question!

(but I gotta know!)


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## Ireth (Jan 9, 2013)

Xaysai said:


> I've always wondered about the zombies wanting to eat brains things.
> 
> They lack the motor skills necessary to crack open the skull don't they?
> 
> ...



That's a good question. I suppose if you gave them enough knowledge to realize that "rock = smash skull = brains!" then it might work... but still, zombies aren't typically known for their intelligence.


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## Reaver (Jan 9, 2013)

I can only remember three movies where they wanted to specifically eat brains: George A. Romero's original, the one that started it all: Night of the Living Dead (1968), and then two of his cult classic sequels, Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985).


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## Chilari (Jan 10, 2013)

And Shaun of the Dead., but given that's a comedy/parody it might not count.


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## Xaysai (Jan 10, 2013)

Chilari said:


> And Shaun of the Dead., but given that's a comedy/parody it might not count.



I had a guy who worked for me who was a HUGE movie buff when that movie came to theaters and he found every possible way to work the phrase "RomZomCom" (Romantic Zombie Comedy) into casual conversation as if it were a real genre.

"I'm going to see that new romzomcom tonight."

"Hey, did you guys see the new romzomcom?"

"That new romzomcom was terrific!"

I still laugh when I think about it.


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