"Zombies and the Infected ... what's the difference?" 

The zombie apocalypse genre begins with Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). The American media connected the Haitian word ‘zombie’ (Haitian French: zombi; Haitian Creole: zonbi) to Romero’s living dead. Romero, though, called them ‘ghouls.’

 

Neither the movies nor the creator of the movies used the z-word. Indeed, the genre to this day has gone to strange lengths to avoid using the z-word in dialogue. At a time when the audience would call the living dead ‘zombies,’ the characters use words such as ‘walkers’ (The Walking Dead). Years ago, I read a critique of Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy, stating “finally!” because the characters used a term referring to Romero for the zoms, but still did not use the actual z-word. There’s a thing in the genre about avoiding the z-word.

​

In 2002, a new antagonist was born in the British film 28 Days Later. These were alive and virally infected with Rage. They ran. They were hyper-strong and violent. Immediately, the media slapped “zombie” onto this, and did so against the wishes of the living dead fans. It is a controversy within the community about if the alive infected can be called “zombies.” 

​

Come 2012, a synthetic Cathinone street drug called bath salts erupts onto the streets of America. The behavior of those overdosing on this is very similar to the alive infected with Rage, except they strip off their clothes. They can be cannibals. Soon, another synthetic Cathinone appears, called flakka. These are nicknamed “zombie drugs.” In my Book One “Behind the Scenes,” I go through this history.

​

The living dead or undead of American entertainment comes from Europe, not Haiti. George Romero stated his influence for Night of the Living Dead was the novella I am Legend by Richard Matheson, which is about vampires.

​

Traditionally, the living dead or undead are ‘vampires,’ but not Bram Stoker’s fiction novel version. His was not based on folklore but inspired by romanticized fiction by such notable authors as Lord Byron. The European folklore vampire was the living dead, also called revenants. They did not speak or show any cognitive abilities. They were dead people who rose from their graves, typically at night, shuffled towards the living, usually to their family, and drained the living of their life force, often symbolized by blood but not always.

​

“A vampire is a creature from folklore that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited while they were alive.” – https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Vampire

​

The belief in vampires was so strong that in the 18th century after the European witch trial craze ended they went into a vampire craze. They blamed the living dead for causing illness and calamity, dug up tons of corpses, and mutilated them. This grew so widespread and fanatical that authority figures in some countries intervened and made laws to stop the desecration of corpses.

​

In the 19th century UK, the government made a law to stop corpse mutilations. In England, criminals were staked through the heart and buried at the crossroads – right in Central London! – to keep them from rising and wreaking havoc. Here is a documentary from the UK regarding this history, primarily focused on England. “Why Do We Fear The Dead?,” Gods And Monsters, Timeline.

​

“How Does Vampire Folklore Differ Around The World?”, Vampire Island, Timeline

​

If you want the whole in-depth history, with a focus on eastern Europe, verbally told to you, here ya go:

​

The 18th Century Vampire Scare, Part 1 & The 18th Century Vampire Scare, Part 2.

​

The original vampire came from eastern Europe from the Slavic people, and it was originally a ghost, similar to Asian Hungry Ghosts folklore. As the lore traveled west in Europe, it grew more physical, eventually turning into a tangible physical being who was a reanimated corpse rising from the dead, no longer an ethereal ghost. Often, the living dead were at fault for their own situation, such as criminal or suicide. 

​

In 19th-century New England and Virginia, there were cases of “vampirism” that we can now identify as most likely TB. “The Mystery Of The New England Vampire,” Mummy Mysteries Documentary, Timeline.

​

The American living dead is from old European folklore and has no relationship with the Haitian zombie folklore, outside the American media attaching the Haitian word “zombie” to the genre. The media also attached “zombie” to the alive virally infected born from 28 Days Later, and to users of synthetic Cathinone drugs. Are they all Haitian zombie folklore because the z-word is used? No. Haitian folklore does not have hyper-strong, uber-violent, running, alive zombies, yet the “zombie” name is used. The z-word usage is irrelevant in its connection to Haiti and Haitian folklore. This is obvious to anyone familiar with this topic or who has done research on the topic.

​

Haitian zombies are about the fear of being controlled as an individual by another individual, the conjurer, the two-headed snake doctor, or facing a loved one in an unnatural state who is controlled by the conjurer. It is about the individual being controlled by a master. The zombie apocalypse entertainment is about the loss of societal control.