What is Zombiology?
While not an actual science, Zombiology is everything related to zombies. For starters, what constitutes a zombie? In modern media a zombie is a reanimated corpse with a craving for human flesh. However, the term originated from Bantu languages referring to spirits or ghosts. It evolved among the Haitian Creole people to refer to an animated corpse.
Over time the idea of dead bodies returning to life and corpses rising from the grave came to be a huge part of pop culture. From classic horror movies like Night of the Living Dead depicting the dead rising to come for the living to more modern takes showing viral outbreaks resulting in cannibalistic undead.
The variations throughout the years have sparked debate among zombie enthusiasts. What exactly counts as a zombie? Well, that’s where Zombiology comes in to ask the questions;
- How long must a body be dead before reanimation to distinguish between a classic zombie and the modern undead?
- What are the accepted possible mechanisms and causations?
- Can a body that hasn’t died, but is considered medically dead (brain dead) be a zombie?
- Can bodies that never die, but are taken over by microbes, drugs, or magic be considered zombies?
What Constitutes A Zombie
The classic zombie is simply a reanimated corpse. In order to make them more frightening, modern media has steadily added new variants of dead or undead beings with a craving for human flesh. While cannibalistic cadavers sound creepy enough, the idea that a living person could turn into a mindless man-eater from a highly communicable contagion adds another layer of suspense.
With classic zombies there was an element of mystique. Old school zombies were usually just corpses brought mindlessly attacking their living loved ones. Sometimes due to supernatural forces at play, like spirits crossing over during the witching hour of All Hallow’s Eve. Other times they were simple puppets being manipulated by magic.
The modern undead can hardly be called zombies. They are usually monsters who were once human, but ave lost themselves to something more sinister. New viruses, often resulting from chemical engineering and/or human error, are the most used mechanism. Sometimes the creation of undead is intentional for reasons such as scientific study and bio-weaponry.
Other Possible Zombies
A few other candidates for the category of zombie are human bodies which contain no mind or free will of their own. These are not reanimated corpses, having never died, and these are not modern undead monsters or mutations. Instead, these are things like;
- Medical phenomenon
- Plant, microbe, or fungal possession
- Technology and/or trans-humanization gone wrong
- Drugs
- Mental illness
Many would argue that these are causations that should be excluded as the actual result is not a flesh eating dead or undead entity. However, the behavior of living humans under specific circumstances can be the same as that of a zombie.
For example, an amoeba known as Naegleria Fowleri destroys brain matter in such a way as to render a living person unaware of themselves, their actions, and their surroundings. They become a walking corpse that just hasn’t physically died yet. That would fall into both the categories of medical phenomenon and microbial possession. There are some plants, fungi, and drugs which can do similar damage to the brain.
Other medical phenomenon which could potentially produce zombie like living humans are mental illnesses resulting in severe delusions of zombieism, hypnosis, and dementia. Those with delusions of being a zombie might engage in cannibalism. Someone under hypnosis can potentially be made to believe they are a zombie or be ordered to behave as such. Those with dementia who also experience violent sun-downing can be far more terrifying than any zombie.
Synthetic Causations
As for drugs, we’ve seen more than a few stories of people under the influence of the street version of fentanyl doing some zombie like things. This does not mean that the drug causes actual zombieism, just that there have been instances of people biting other people, engaging in cannibalism (unaware and unintentionally), and people who had mortally injured themselves in gruesome ways but were so unaware of the pain that they managed to just keep going.
Another drug that could be a potential mechanism for zombieism is scopolamine. Just like someone could use hypnosis to potentially manipulate a living person into behaving like a zombie, the same result can be achieved with scopolamine. It is a highly suggestive drug. Think of it as a dangerous mind control drug.
As for technological sources of zombieism, more people are embracing trans-humanization and upgrading themselves with tech. One known concern is neuron brain mesh being inserted directly into the brain to act as additional links to the brain’s neurons. I hardly think I need to elaborate on all the possible ways I which that sort of thing can go horribly wrong.
Then there is the debate about whether or not rogue android who eat humans can be considered a form a zombie. Most would argue not as they were never human, but let’s not forget that is also still up for debate. If it is ever determined that artificial humans counts as humans so long as they are indistinguishable from the real deal, might they also count as zombies should they suffer the infliction of zombieism?
Human Flesh Consumption in Zombiology
One topic in Zombiology that often is considered a factor in determining what constitutes a zombie is metabolism. Do zombies only eat human flesh? Must they have an insatiable craving? If they’re already dead, would they starve or cease function without consumption?
Some modern zombie media has shown zombies to eventually weaken over time and deteriorate. This also goes back to the question of just how old can a body be and still be capable of reanimation. Many accept that a body too decomposed no longer possesses the required ligaments and structures necessary for movement. Therefore, it’s feasible to assume a zombie will eventually rot away to nothing. We just have to wait it out.
However, that only applies to corpses. What about those that simply transition from living human to undead? Will they decompose? Do they exist in a perpetual state of suspended animation? Will eating living flesh sustain them?
The answers depend on the exact mechanism for the zombieism and how the body functions under that specific mechanism. Presumably, most living dead or undead zombies will eventually reach a severe enough state of decomposition that they simply because fleshy mush on the ground. However, an undead mutated human with self-reanimating capabilities may be able to regenerate cells.
Perhaps that could be a reason for cannibalism. An undead mutated man-eater may crave human flesh if metabolizing it better enables cellular regeneration. Still, would such a monster only crave human flesh? Why not other meat sources? Again, the answers would be specific to the exact mechanism, and each would need to be thoroughly examined individually to answer all those questions. Maybe one day I’ll write an entire book on Zombiology, but for now I am TRYING to keep this relatively brief.
Zombie Flesh Consumption in Zombiology
I once had an interesting conversation with my brother about whether or not we could eat zombies. He seemed to think that humans wouldn’t starve in a zombie apocalypse because we could just adapt to hunt and eat zombies. Never mind the morality and cannibalism debates in this assumption for now. Instead let’s just focus on whether or not it’s possible to safely consume zombie meat.
Interestingly enough, apparently this is another hotly debated topic. The internet is just full of forums discussing exactly this. Now again, whether or not the meat is safe for consumption is going to depend on the causation. Obviously this debate tends to focus on zombies that occur as the result of an epidemic, usually viral. Some argue that if you cook the eat long enough or at high enough temperatures, any contagion within the flesh should be killed making it safe for consumption.
In the cases of drug, mental illness, and a number of microbes perhaps this is true. However, some bacteria, amoeba, and the prion that cause mad cow disease still pose a threat. If a new prion were to cause zombieism among humans, chances are those zombies would not be safe for hunting and eating.
Zombieism Transmission
Finally, one last topic of high debate in Zombiology is method of transmission. The most common zombies depicted in modern media are those created from an outbreak of an unknown new ailment. Typically it’s viral. Most often we see zombieism transmissible through bodily fluid. This usually means breaking the skin, which is why a bite is depicted as the most common method. The saliva of an infected person gets into the blood stream of whoever they bit and that person also becomes infected.
Sometimes the disease is airborne or waterborne. Sometimes it jumps species. Often there are those with resistance who can become carriers. Carriers often show no signs or symptoms of being infected, but are able to infect others. Naturally this had led to some…questionable discussions, especially on the internet.
In particular the discussion of reproduction. Usually, zombies just make more zombies by infecting others. It is widely accepted that unborn children will become some manner of zombie in the womb if the mother is infected. Though, some have speculated that if a pregnant woman were to become a zombie she would miscarry. The bigger question is, can zombieism be transmitted sexually?
If it is one of the types of zombieism transmissible through bodily fluid, I would argue yes. Which would mean a carrier could potentially infect someone by engaging in sexual activity. It should also go without saying that you can’t or at least shouldn’t have sex with zombies. I never thought I’d have to discuss this sort of thing in any of my written works, but here we are. I hope this has at least been as informative as it has been entertaining.
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