SDFiles #011 – Origins: Zombies Part 1

This is our first of many Origins episodes, and the first part to Origins: Zombies. There is so much to learn about zombies that we had to split it up into multiple episodes. Check out our outline of notes below, and stay tuned for Origins: Zombies Part 2Zombie \ˈzäm-bē\: a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc. (Merriam-Webster)Date unknown (about 18th Century BC?) Epic of Gilgamesh - - Ishtar threatens to unleash undead from the Netherworld to eat the living Dates: unknown - present dayHaitian zombies - "Zombi" is also another name of the voodoo snake god Damballah Wedo, of Niger-Congo origin 1818Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein sparked the modern concept of undead: vampires and zombies, etc. Late 1800sAmbrose Bierce and Edgar Allan Poe write undead-themed novels, and although they weren’t specifically zombies, they influenced future authors’ imaginations. 1920-1930H.P. Lovecraft wrote several novelettes about zombies and the undead, including his most popular zombie-related work: Herbert West-Reanimator* Cool Air: (Wikipedia) A doctor keeps himself alive for 18 years after his death by machines and keeping his body cold.* Herbert West-Reanimator: (Wikipedia) It featured scientifically reanimated corpses, with animalistic and uncontrollable temperament. Herbert West is the inventor of a special solution, or "reagent", that can resurrect the dead 1950sTales from the Crypt featured many stories with zombies, including adaptations of Lovecraft’s stories. 1954Richard Matheson - I Am Legend. This novel later was adapted into a movie in 1964, The Last Man on Earth, and then again in 2007, I Am Legend, and a direct-to-video production in 2007, I Am Omega. 1968Night of the Living Dead - George A. Romero. Inspired greatly by I Am Legend.