Mythology/Folklore

African, American

Associated Holidays

Halloween

Location 

Africa, United States

Key Points / Halloween Connection

- While the dead returning to life is a concept found in nearly every culture, the "living death" zombie, and term, originates in Africa

- The "American" Zombie is based on the ones found George Romero "of the Dead" movies 

*Rink Fact: The word zombie is never used in Night of the Living Dead film.

Brief Bio

Zombies originated from Haitian Voudou tradition, where they are reanimated corpses controlled by sorcerers, a concept rooted in West African beliefs about the soul and an afterlife. The word "zombie" comes from the Kikongo word "nzambi" for "soul". The modern, flesh-eating zombie trope was popularized by George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, significantly altering the original concept with Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead bring about the current Zombie pop culture craze.