Page 3 | Why is zombie apocalypse a thing?

Orangade · 2022-02-23T13:36:11+00:00

Where did it come from? Why do we not talk about a werewolf apocalypse? Or a giant spider apocalypse? Or a man-eating lizard apocalypse?

Sparklesocks · 23/02/2022 14:13

@Orangade

Ooohhhhh. See I thought zombies were reanimated dead people, I didn’t realise it was a disease / pandemic scenario!

Technically yes! A zombie is a dead or reanimated person. But normally in the apocalypse type scenario - the way it spreads - at least in popular media - is by bite or contagion etc.

There are also zombies in Haitian folklore which are the dead brought back by voodoo etc, that might be the type you are thinking of.

Ozanj · 23/02/2022 14:10

The Christianity bit made me laugh. Meanwhile ancient Hinduism invented the principles behind mindfulness, athiesm, mathematics, surrogacy, IVF and spacecraft. I wonder how different the world might have been had the advanced ancient civilisations of Iraq-Asia and Africa had been allowed to develop without interference from the relatively far less advanced civilisations of the near Middle East and Europe.

nagsarse · 23/02/2022 14:04

I think we part of the reason it's so popular in horror stories is the idea that you can't always tell who the 'monsters' are- someone who has been bitten could look normal and then a few seconds later 'turn' and be a zombie. There's also the idea that someone you care for could become the 'monster' and be a danger to you and others around you, even though they look the same and your instinct is to protect them.

It gives us a very definite 'monster', but is much closer than something like giant spider to the reality that other humans are our biggest threat and it's usually not until it's too late that we see that we are in danger.

AllOfUsAreDead · 23/02/2022 13:54

@Sparklesocks

It’s been a popular trope in comics/film for decades. I think the reason it’s seen as more ‘scary’ than werewolves etc is the speed at which the ‘virus’ spreads and it becomes horrifying hordes in a few days. Werewolves and spiders just can’t multiply at those speeds!

Also I think the concept of a virus or parasite that infects people and turns them into solely their base instincts (hunting/feeding etc) feels more ‘believable’ than other horror tropes. Think about what rabies does to people, it’s not a completely out there concept in the same way as werewolves or giant monsters.

Yeah rabies is a good example really. It's not far off from being a similar disease as to one of the ones used for zombie apocalypse. And as they say in most zombie films or series, a virus wants to spread, it wants to multiply and infect more hosts, it's how they work. Gives it more of a chance to survive. So it's more likely to occur than werewolves breaking out. Plus werewolves are specifically only a threat once a month, so it wouldn't exactly be difficult to stop that kind of pandemic before it started. Difficult when it's just quick successive mayhem.

I did like that film where all insects suddenly became larger though and can't remember it's name now!

Peas252 · 23/02/2022 13:49

Also, humans in general, are shit at dealing with death.

Original poster

Orangade · 23/02/2022 13:43

Ooohhhhh. See I thought zombies were reanimated dead people, I didn’t realise it was a disease / pandemic scenario!

OP posts:

Sparklesocks · 23/02/2022 13:42

It’s been a popular trope in comics/film for decades. I think the reason it’s seen as more ‘scary’ than werewolves etc is the speed at which the ‘virus’ spreads and it becomes horrifying hordes in a few days. Werewolves and spiders just can’t multiply at those speeds!

Also I think the concept of a virus or parasite that infects people and turns them into solely their base instincts (hunting/feeding etc) feels more ‘believable’ than other horror tropes. Think about what rabies does to people, it’s not a completely out there concept in the same way as werewolves or giant monsters.

gamerchick · 23/02/2022 13:38

The Bible believe it or not. Jesus died and was resurrected. It's evolved since then.