If you could see my Kindle library you might note a significant number of books totally devoted to the macabre, and a large subset dealing with the subject of Zombies. Zombies are the new black. They’re everywhere–in literature, movies, television, behind shrubbery, probably lurking around the next corner ready to eat whatever brains I have left.
Yesterday I watched an awful B movie called “Diary of a Zombie.” Did I mention it was awful? Yet, I watched every minute with my feet tucked up in my chair to prevent any skulking members of the walking dead from feasting on my prettily painted toenails. I once watched 45 minutes of an exercise infomercial because without my glasses on I mistook the title “Zumba!” for “Zombie!”
Presently I’m reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a reworking of Jane Austen’s classic tale with a liberal sprinkling of zombies added in. A die-hard Austen fan might be horrified to find the sisters of the Longbourn family as accomplished in warfare against the “unfortunate scourge” as they are in the arts of needlepoint and the playing of the pianoforte, but I am delighted. Author Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel is soon to be made into a movie, and I cannot wait to watch Elizabeth Bennet singlehandedly dispatch a variety of zombies including the caroling Hellford family who have become “unmentionables” due to some unfortunate circumstance.
Three of my favorite books in the zombie genre (zombre?) are World War Z by Max Brooks, a much more satisfying read than the movie might lead one to believe; Scott Kenemore’s Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead; and Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry. Have a desire to mix tales of zombies and superheroes? Then try the Ex-Heroes series by Peter Clines. Google, “Zombie Books List” for more titles than any zombie loving geek (should we be “zeeks”?) can read in a year.
No brief discussion of zombies in current pop culture would be complete without a mention of “The Walking Dead.” Even my non-zeek spouse is into the popular AMC series. I’ve almost convinced him we need to plant pointy stakes around the perimeter of our home, but he has no intention of buying me a crossbow.
Chances are I will never encounter an actual zombie. And that’s a really good thing. So, why am I, and so many like me, fascinated by the walking dead? I’ve read some research that points to an increased interest in zombie literature during times of widespread financial depression. In a way, this makes sense. After all, what lifts one spirits more than fantasizing about the dead rising from the grave in order to stalk and devour the living? Truly, an “it could always be worse” mentality. Maybe zombie stories are a way of dealing with our own mortality. “Hey, being dead could be fun! Come eat some nice intestines!”
In any case, I’m ready for zombies should they ever become a reality. My brains are filled with all sorts of nutritious grey matter and my best run is more of a fast limp. They’ll love me almost as much as I love them.
Peace, People!
Praying for Eyebrowz 
Great writing once again, but sorry, just not “into” Zombies! I like to sleep at night! 🙂
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I’m missing The Walking Dead.
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