Early Access: A History of Zombies

In what was supposed to be a 20-minute video, I discuss the ways that zombies (and other revenants) have evolved in folklore, pop culture, and history. What did Zora Neale Hurston, Wade Davis, and William Seabrook find when they visited Haiti? How did other Haitian events-- revolution, stigma about voodoo, American occupation in 1915, dictatorships-- shape beliefs and fuel urban legend? How did zombies go from enslaved workers to bloodthirsty plague carriers?

Watch and enjoy! This is being made public on youtube tomorrow.

Sources and Further Reading

Race, Oppression and the Zombie: Essays on Cross-Cultural Appropriations of the Caribbean Tradition

https://u.osu.edu/abel118eng4563/the-history-of-the-zombie-in-popular-culture/

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f5e9efa53eea036e019bc24/t/5f5ee1a44d3a6a5d4ff28e78/1600053672506/Tell+My+Horse_+Voodoo+and+Life+-+Zora+Neale+Hurston.pdf

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250844800/zoinks-tracing-the-history-of-zombie-from-haiti-to-the-cdc

https://galaxypress.com/zombies-the-history-and-literature-of-reanimated-corpses/

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/

https://themagnificent60s.com/2022/09/26/behind-the-scenes-the-night-of-the-living-dead-1968/

https://variety.com/1968/film/reviews/night-of-the-living-dead-1200421603/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/08/AR2008040802044.html?sid=ST2008041102658

https://www.newspapers.com/image/310437220/

https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2017-10/legacy-dead-history-zombie

https://mandemhood.com/voodoo-in-my-heart-a-brief-history-of-haitian-zombies/

https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-zombies-undead-shuffle

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/29/nyregion/dissent-grows-among-jehovah-s-witnesses.html

https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files//zombie_1986_small.pdf

https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/object/relifp-11

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/opinion/a-zombie-is-a-slave-forever.html

https://www.cbr.com/walking-dead-big-lie-image-comics/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/walking-dead-plans-global-zombie-32345/

https://undeadwalking.com/2018/03/10/diversity-walking-dead-comics-issue-177/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/273626776/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/681149535/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/us/hurricane-katrina-roland-bourgeois.html

https://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/news/the-walking-dead-robert-kirkman-aliens-lie/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/our-zombies-ourselves/308401/

https://ia801208.us.archive.org/13/items/GamePro_Issue_103_February_1998/GamePro_Issue_103_February_1998.pdf

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-night-of-the-living-dead-1968

https://web.archive.org/web/20191226094750/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-George-A-Romero-On-Diary-Of-The-Dead-7818.html

https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/blog/pittsburgh-the-home-of-zombies/

https://popular-archaeology.com/article/walking-dead-and-vengeful-spirits/

https://themissingcirclekadist.org/BODIES-WITHOUT-SOULS-SOULS-WITHOUT-BODIES

https://ew.com/article/2007/11/30/richard-mathesons-latest-sci-fi-project/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/10/03/DI2006100300686.html

https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/29/17502894/the-sims-2-storytelling-community

https://journals.openedition.org/miranda/6899

https://news.arizona.edu/news/vampire-burial-reveals-efforts-prevent-childs-return-grave

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/892/ghosts-in-anci

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/haiti-us-occupation-hundred-year-anniversary

https://www.52-insights.com/wade-davis-journey-of-an-explorer-anthropology-science-culture/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/zombie-apocalypse-a-coup-for-the-cdc-emergency-team/2011/05/20/AFPj3l7G_blog.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/797757060/

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/10/31/13440402/zombie-political-history

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250844800/zoinks-tracing-the-history-of-zombie-from-haiti-to-the-cdc

https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/07/michael-jackson-thriller-201007

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/apocalyptic-economics-whether-zombies-or-rapture-be-prepared/239234/

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2014/10/does-the-haitian-criminal-code-outlaw-making-zombies/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/41857250.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad20f65e1061a9911f4ac1e959f69a6df&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&initiator=&acceptTC=1

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24616733?searchText=&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dzombie%26so%3Drel%26efqs%3DeyJjdHkiOlsiYW05MWNtNWhiQT09IiwiWTI5dWRISnBZblYwWldSZmMyVnlhV0ZzY3c9PSJdfQ%3D%3D&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aae42caaa72105a24581f4382d4413efc&seq=2

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/892/ghosts-in-anci

https://www.newspapers.com/image/657027248/

https://aimeecrocker.com/people/asylum-and-the-magic-island/

https://magazine.atavist.com/the-zombie-king/

https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/14/us/now-no-haitians-can-donate-blood.html

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-reopens-an-old-wound-for-haitians