'Living zombies': Truth and legend

Today, 'living zombies' is no longer strange to people. Stories about them appear everywhere, on television, movies, books and newspapers, .

But is the "living zombie" real in real life still a controversial mystery?

'Living zombies' began to be known more than a few decades ago, especially thanks to the classic film Night of the Living Dead in 1968 by American director George Romero.

The quoted page of Blake Smith, a "zombie living" fan and co-owner of monster-themed podcasts MonsterTalk said: 'Although people think Night of the Living Dead is about zombies, director Romero never called them that. He wants to call his characters vampires'.

Though many consider 'living zombies' to be a fantasy, entertaining product of contemporary culture, others believe they are real.

Haitian culture, like many other cultures in Africa, is immersed in the belief in magic and witches. Belief in the existence of 'living zombies' is related to Voodoo religion and spread throughout Haiti for decades.

However, unlike the evil "living zombies" in today's Hollywood movies, the original " living zombies" in Haiti are not gods but victims. They are enchanted corpses for rebirth and are controlled for specific purposes (usually working as laborers).

Many people believe "zombies live" are real but there is almost no evidence of their existence.(Photo: Discovery)

Historically, fear of 'living zombies' is used as a social and political control measure in Haiti. Those who were supposed to have magic turned people into "living zombies" (mainly witches, in Haitian culture called "bokors" ) who always had respect and fear in society.

The 'bokors' are also thought to belong to the Tonton Macoute force - the evil and frightening secret police force, serving the political regime of suppressing Duvalier (1957-1984). Those who dare to resist these brutal authorities are threatened to turn into living zombies - something that the Haitian people at the time did not take lightly.

In fiction, fictional films, there are many ways to destroy living zombies (often beheading or shooting in the head), but according to Haitian folk tale, the goal is to free people from the state of "living zombies." ' , not directly killing that person. Haitians often gossip about ways to release live zombies, such as giving zombies live to eat salt or letting them see the ocean to awaken their minds and desire to return to the tomb.

Rare evidence

So far, very little evidence of the existence of zombies living in real life. Of the few that are believed to be living zombies, it is necessary to mention the case of a mental man named Clairvius Narcisse .

In 1980, the man declared he was "dead" in 1962, then became a living zombie and forced to work as a slave to one of the sugarcane plantations in Haiti .

A photo of Narcisse after a year back

Narcisse is said to have been turned into a corpse by his own brother, because Narcisse did not sell the land to him. The man said he died in 1962 at Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Desxchapelles, Haiti and said he was conscious but his body was paralyzed.

He was later revived by a bokor to become a "living zombie " and forced to work as a slave to one of the sugarcane plantations in Haiti. He worked unconsciously like a living body for 16 years. It was only when bokor died that he was released from slavery.

Later, Narcisse gradually returned to his senses and returned to his village. At first, people did not believe and asked him about childhood memories that only relatives knew.

In the end, Narcisse's family recognized him as a revival zombie. The case is extremely difficult to explain in the direction of science, because in fact the doctors examined the corpse of Narcisse when he died and officially declared that he was dead.

Even so, Narcisse did not provide evidence for his claims, nor could he show investigators where he claimed to have done hard labor for nearly 20 years.

Another case was discovered by American anthropologist and researcher of folklore - Zora Neale Hurston in 1973 about a woman named Felicia Felix-Mentor .

The locals here explained that the woman died in 1907 and 20 years later she came back as a living body. This woman has a limited mental state, is unable to function flexibly, very similar to the description of living corpses.

The corpse Felicia Felix-Mentor.

In addition to Haiti (and some other places with Voodoo religious worshipers), the crowded 'living zombie' is attributed to being a 'bugaboo' - a vampire-like legend. However, this belief changed in the 1980s when Wade Davis, an expert in ethnobotany of Harvard University, claimed to have discovered a mysterious 'zombie powder'. while working in the field in Haiti. The main active ingredient is defined as a neurotoxin , which can be used to poison, push the victim into a zombie-like state.

Mr. Davis wrote many books on the topic, about the relevance of Voodoo magic, including the popular book 'The Serpent and the Rainbow' later adapted into a horror film script directed by Wes. Craven.

However, many scientists are skeptical of Davis's findings and claim that they have been exaggerated. According to them, the amount of nerve toxins found in Mr. Davis's strange powder samples is not identical and not high enough to cause live zombie effects .

Although in theory, 'live zombies' can work in specific ideal conditions, but in real life, it is difficult to use this powder to form a 'living zombie' . Using too little poison can only cause temporary effects, while too much use can easily kill the victim.

In addition to pharmacological doubts, there are many other reasons to doubt the claim that people have been turned into "living zombies" of hard labor for decades. For example, the process that can turn people into zombies (assuming not killing them) will leave consequences such as brain damage, slow and uncooperative, or in other words not tuberculosis. ideal slide.

Moreover, the economics of turning people into zombies are not worth it: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, without a shortage of cheap labor to make farms and plantations. In a country where the average annual income is less than 2,000USD, there are countless people who are willing to work and almost do not require any work.

'Living zombies' who do not require remuneration (if they exist) will still need to be fed, clothed and sheltered, costing nearly as much as living labor. So, who will be interested in turning people into zombies when this job takes time, trying to kidnap someone, faking their deaths, using poison to revive and turn them into slaves ?

There are some easier ways to get someone to have brain damage. And even if the use of 'zombie powder' is effective, there is no guarantee that the victim will become obedient or obey the order because they can simply fall into the plant state.

And of course, in fact, people have never discovered any empty sugar cane farms or plantations that have 'living zombies' working in the fields. Therefore, even though 'living zombies' have a film and television sweep, the existence of 'living zombies' in real life is just an unproven anecdote.