Introduction
Imagine a creature with no emotion, no pain, no mercy, and an insatiable hunger for human flesh. There have been countless interpretations of them, dating all the way back to the early 1800s. Zombies have been a significant piece of human culture for a very long time. There are tons of shows, games, movies, and comics dedicated to our undead brothers and sisters. There’s no question that zombies have become a common concept in society, but we mostly see zombies as purely fictional beings, no matter how realistic the media portrays them. But is there any possibility that zombies could leak into the real world from their fictional realm? Contrary to popular belief, zombies and symptoms of zombification already exist, just not in the way we’re used to seeing them.
Haitian Voodoo
The original concept of a zombie was coined from an official religion of Haiti, Voodoo. Zombification was used as a punishment. Zombies were taken so seriously back then that a group of scientists were sent to research Haitian Voodoo Zombies in 1982 in hopes to learn information to benefit research regarding anesthesia.
One of the scientists sent was Dr. Wade Davis, who had received his Ph.D. in biology and anthropology from Harvard University (Donahue 1986). Davis and other scientists were sent specifically to look into the case of Clairvius Narcisse, a proclaimed real-life zombie who had been buried for eighteen years before returning to the world of the living. Narcisse was sentenced to become a zombie for stealing land and letting his children starve (Donahue 1986). The source of these type of zombies apparently came from a “zombie powder”.
This powder is normally made of human remains, lizards, toads, and blowfish. Davis had concluded that the blowfish might be a crucial ingredient to the powder due to its poisonous tetrodotoxin (Wilson 2005) .This poison is known for its ability to cause paralysis before death (Wilson 2005 ). There are cases in which those who have ingested the tetrodotoxin have lived but appeared dead for a while (due to paralyzation) (Wilson 2005). Davis had hypothesized that if the powder was put on the skin, it would sink into the bloodstream causing the victim to appear dead (Wilson 2005). While this might seem reasonable, there are many criticisms that have shown this theory to most likely be false. Even so, knowing and understanding the origin of zombies can be extremely helpful in determining the validity of real life zombism.
Zombies in Nature
While the majority of people think solely of human when referring to zombies, there have been many cases of zombies in other parts of nature. Most of the sources of animal/insect zombification come from parasites and fungi. The most notable being Ophiocordyceps unilaterius (Switek 2010).This fungus’s number one goal in life, like its fictional counterparts, is to reproduce itself as much as possible. The fungus’s most popular victim to parasite are Camponotus leonardi ants (Switek 2010).
This fungus actually takes control of its victims’ bodies and makes them bite down on the undersides of leaves in order to populate itself (Switek 2010). The fungus drives the ants to places that will best benefit population. It also infects other kinds of creatures, more notably including, bullet ants. After infection, ants become driven to climb extreme heights to explode and therefore sprinkle spores everywhere below (Switek 2010). Records of this fungus have dated back over forty-eight million years ago (Switek 2010). Unlike Voodoo zombies, this form of zombism has been studied by various scientists and has been proven to be completely valid.
Insects and certain animals are prone to fungal/parasitic forms of zombification. This is true, however, the most important and meaningful realm to look into to determine whether or not zombies are apparent in reality is us. In order to do so, one must first look at the different ways that zombification might occur according to our fictional worlds and science. The most common way that media portrays zombie outbreaks is through a virus that can be spread through bodily fluids entering the bloodstream, but mass media fails to take the two most rational approaches into account: mental illness and drugs.
Zombies V.S. Mental Health
While there isn’t one specific mental illness that reflects all symptoms of zombism, there are a few that come fairly close in certain aspects. Two of these diseases are Klüver-Bucy Syndrome and Encephalitis Lethargica (Mortillaro 2016). Dr. Peter Cummings, a neuropathologist at Boston University, explained these diseases in an interview with Nicole Mortillaro, a writer for Global News. He explained the symptoms of Klüver-Bucy Syndrome’s which include“hyperorality (the desire to put inappropriate objects in your mouth), the inability to recognize objects, distractibility and dementia” (Mortillaro 2016). Cummngs elucidated that the symptoms stem from issues in the amygdala (Mortillaro 2016). The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for survival instincts, emotions and memory (Mortillaro 2016). Encephalitis Lethargica, on the other hand, is known for its symptoms of high fever, double vision, delayed physical and mental response, and tiredness (Mortillaro 2016). The only symptoms not present in these diseases are hunger for human flesh and violence. Two new designer drugs, however, make up for this absence.
Brains, Brains, Brains!/Drugs, Drugs, Drugs!
While there are many drugs that might yield zombie-like symptoms, the ones that correlate the most to the majority of stereotypical symptoms of zombism are ‘bath salts’ and ‘flakka’. Many people might be familiar with bath salts due to the infamous Miami incident that occurred in 2012 where a naked homeless man, Rudy Eugene, attacked an innocent man, Ronald Poppo and ate his face off (Tienabeso 2012). Police and researchers suspected that Rudy was high on a new drug, at the time, called ‘bath salts’. ‘Bath salts’ is a cheap drug similar to cocaine that is either inhaled or snorted. According to the response article by ABC News, “Patients on the drug can experience high body temperatures that induce hypothermia, paranoia, hallucinations, and agitation” (Tienabeso 2012). This wasn’t the only case either. Armando Aguilar, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of police, describes another incident, “There was another incident after the popular Ultra Festival where a guy was walking around naked, and was hit by a taxi. He jumped on top of the taxi, beat the people inside.
It took 15 officers to stop him, and as he was being tasered, he was begging them to shoot and kill him” (Tienabeso 2012). Unfortunately, another new drug similar to ‘bath salts’ has surfaced recently called ‘flakka’. ‘Flakka’ has actually started to be called ‘the zombie drug’ for the dangerous effects it has on those who use it. The first noted incident of flakka occurred on August 15th, 2016, when Austin Harrouff, a student at Florida State University, murdered a couple and ate some of their flesh (Scaccia 2016). Similar to ‘bath salts’, ‘flakka’ imitates the effects of coke and meth but is far cheaper (Scaccia 2016). It can be snorted, eaten, injected or smoked and is ten-times more powerful than cocaine (Scaccia 2016).
Flakka is extremely dangerous, not only to those around the user, but to the user themselves. Those who use Flakka are prone to kidney damage or failure, heart attacks, stroke, aneurysms, heart failure and, of course, death (Scaccia 2016). According to an article from Rolling Stone Magazine, at first, ‘Flakka’ causes high sociability, focus and sex drive (Scaccia 2016). Not very long after use, it will cause hallucinations, paranoia, increased strength, and hyper stimulation as well as depression, suicidal and violent thoughts (Scaccia 2016). Although forms of these drugs have been banned in many places, they are still being distributed illegally. The most rational and realistic way as of now that zombies can occur in the real world are these drugs because it’s already happening. The difference is that the situation is far more contained than any fictional representation.
Conclusion
While it may not be the same image that society and mass media project, there are cases of zombies in the real world. The most logical way, as of now, that this zombism could begin to match the fictional versions we’ve created for ourselves is most likely through drugs.
Works-Cited
Donahue, Deirdre. “With His Book on Zombies, Adventurer Wade Davis Becomes a Knight of the Living Dead.” People, 7 Apr. 1986, people.com/archive/with-his-book-on-zombies-adventurer-wade-davis-becomes-a-knight-of-the-living-dead-vol-25-no-14/.
Mortillaro, Nicole. “The science behind zombies: Could it really happen?” Global News, 28 Oct. 2016, globalnews.ca/news/3031188/the-science-behind-zombies-could-it-really-happen/.
Scaccia, Annamarya. “Florida Zombie Drug Flakka: Everything You Need to Know.” Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/florida-zombie-drug-flakka-everything-you-need-to-know-w435074.
Switek, Brian. “The Scariest Zombies in Nature.” Smithsonian, 17 Oct. 2010, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-scariest-zombies-in-nature-65517629/?no-ist.
Tienabeso, Seni. “Face-Eating Attack Possibly Prompted by ‘Bath Salts,’ Authorities Suspect.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 29 May 2012, abcnews.go.com/US/face-eating-attack-possibly-linked-bath-salts-miami/story?id=16451452.
Wilson, Tracy V. “How Zombies Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 28 Oct. 2005, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/zombie.htm.
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