Voodoo Zombies are creatures of lore people are terrified of, but what is the real truth about them? Find out how to become a zombie and who the people are who can turn you into one. Read zombie stories and find out if zombies are real or just creatures in fictional tales.
The film starts showing a group of happy people having a normal day. Suddenly, crazed, bloody people run maniacally about, biting everybody, and eating people alive. It’s zombies! Despite what some popular films and tv shows portray, zombies are not flesh-eating monsters who have died and arisen from the grave…or are they? What is the truth about zombies, and what are the chances of becoming one? Who are the traditional holy people of Voodoo who can raise the dead to serve them? Are Voodoo people the only ones who believe in Zombies? Join us at SpiritualBlossom to learn all these things and find out for sure if Zombies are real or just a thrilling creature on the movie screen.
What’s a Zombie?
Zombies are believed to be the dead whose bodies are reanimated somehow and have returned to the world of the living. Different from the vampire, zombies are not blood drinkers, but are believed by some to eat human flesh. The word “zombie” comes from the French and Creole languages and refers to someone who died but was revived with the use of dark magic. Haiti has extensive lore telling what a zombie is as do parts of Africa. Surprisingly, Mesopotamian folklore discusses such creatures. Find out the truth about vampires here: Are Vampires Real?
Haiti
Haitian belief in zombies appears to come from both enslaved Africans and the native Taino First Nations people who lived there Pre-Contact with Europeans. They aren’t the only ones. About 120 miles away from Haiti lies Jamaica, and it was there that American Anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston learned about creatures like zombies from a man. He told her, “ ‘One day you see a man walking the road, the next day you come to his yard and find him dead. Him don’t walk, him don’t talk again. He is still and silent and does none of the things that he used to do. But you look upon him and you see that he has all the parts that the living have. Why is it that he cannot do what the living do? It is because the thing that gave power to these parts is no longer there. That is the duppy, and that is the most powerful part of any man. Everybody has evil in them, and when a man is alive, the heart and the brain controls him and he will not abandon himself to many evil things. But when the duppy leaves the body, it no longer has anything to restrain it and it will do more terrible things than any man ever dreamed of. It is not good for a duppy to stay among living folk. The duppy is much too powerful and is apt to hurt people all the time. So we make nine night to force the duppy to stay in his grave.” Read about Samhain, a holiday that venerates the dead here: All About Samhain
While actually in Haiti, Hurston met a woman people told her had died, been buried, and was walking around among the living. Hurston investigated stories that drugs made people appear dead, and could not get much information from people about it. She said “ "What is more, if science ever gets to the bottom of Vodou in Haiti and Africa, it will be found that some important medical secrets, still unknown to medical science, give it its power, rather than gestures of ceremony.” While in Haiti, it is believed that a priest known as the Bokor often turns people into zombies, in slavery times, people would talk slaves out of committing suicide, telling them they would turn them into zombies if they did. Read more from an article about the Taino and zombies here: Times of the Islands – Talking Taino: Obeah and Zombies (timespub.tc)
Mesopotamia
Ancient writings in Akkadian and Sumerian tell a story about the goddess Ishtar, in a story called Ishtar’s Descent to the Underworld. Ishtar, goddess of love, journeys to the Underworld, which is ruled by her sister, Ereshkigal. Some say she went to the Underworld to get her deceased husband, and others say Ishtar went to the Underworld to gain power. To gain access, she had to threaten to unleash the dead unto the earth to devour the living. Written originally sometime between 1000 BCE and 600 BCE, The writings say that Ishtar said, ” "Gatekeeper, ho, open thy gate! Open thy gate that I may enter! If thou openest not the gate to let me enter, I will break the door, I will wrench the lock, I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors. I will bring up the dead to eat the living. And the dead will outnumber the living." Needless to say, she admitted, but writings like these show belief the dead can rise again and devour the living- just like zombies. To read the entire writing see here: DESCENT OF THE GODDESS ISHTAR INTO THE LOWER WORLD (sacred-texts.com)
Africa
In parts of Africa, indigenous lore points to beliefs in zombies. The very word nzambi is a word for “god” and zumbi means “fetish”. Nzambi a Mpungu is the supreme god and the god of the Sun in Kongo religious beliefs and he is also a god of fire who created the spark of life that created all life. This very use of this word means the word Zombie probably originated in Africa. Haitian Voodoo, and other African diaspora religions brought their beliefs with them. Researchers can trace some roots to their source, but the fact European, First Nations American, and African beliefs blended over the years means it is difficult to trace precisely where the first belief in zombies came from. In South Africa, however, it is believed someone can bewitch someone, possessing them, forcing them to be enslaved against their will. Some adults and also small children are believed to naturally have this power.
Zombie Stories
Besides the movies, fiction, and tv, multiple stories of real zombie cases exist. One man and a woman only called “FL” were in Haiti, one was in the Philippines, another in Brazil.
Clairvius Narcisse
Clairvius Narcisse, who lived from 1922 to 1994 was believed to be turned into a zombie and forced into involuntary servitude. In 1962, he admitted himself to a hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti, and was pronounced dead three days later. In 1980, someone claiming to be him approached who he said was his sister, Angelina Narcisse in L’Estere, Haiti, and he convinced her and others it was him. He said he had been dug up after his funeral and given a paste, and then forced to work on a sugar plantation until the death of his master. He said the paste was some form of drug regularly administered and once the one administering was not alive to do so anymore, Narcisse said he became lucid again. He happily returned to his family for 16 years until he died- for good that time.
The Philippines
In the Philippines, a heartrending funeral of a small child was taking place. She had been taken to the hospital on Friday and was declared dead Saturday. A neighbor lifted the coffin lid and saw the child move her head. She was given water and taken back to the hospital for treatment. She survived and this story is a testament to the importance of good medical testing- to avoid premature burial.
Brazil
A little boy in Brazil was pronounced dead, was in a body bag for three days, and his family was attending his funeral. During the funeral, he sat up, asked for water, and died again- for good that time.
FI
FI lived in Port Au Prince, Haiti, and in 1996 or 1997, she was walking around, three years after her death and interment in the family tomb. She was identified by her mother, daughter, husband, and other people from her village because of a distinguishing mark on her face. Her mother accused her husband of drugging her after he believed she cheated on him, and the courts authorized exhumation of the tomb. Indeed, FI’s body was not there, only some rocks. Her family took her to a psychiatric hospital, and it was decided she had catatonic schizophrenia. FI survived.
The Role of the Bokor
Bokors are a kind of traditional holy people in Haitian Voodoo. It is said that Bokors do good and evil magic, and can be paid to do spellwork. They are known to use potions to create zombies. These potions make people appear dead, so they will be buried. After a few days, the Bokor digs the people up, calls their names, and assumes control of them. They are usually made to do some form of manual labor jobs and are mentally incapable of making decisions for themselves. Some stories say the person’s soul is released from their body by the Bokor’s potion, and the reanimated person has returned from the dead as a soulless zombie.
How Do You Make Zombies?
Drugs are just one form of becoming a zombie. Any intoxicating substance that renders the mind numb can make somebody live as a zombie. However, you don’t necessarily have to be drugged. People can manipulate you psychologically, and sometimes, your own mind or body is so compromised, and you become as a zombie.
Drugs
Researchers have identified multiple toxic substances traditionally used by Bokors to make people into zombies. Datura stramonium, also known as jimson weed, is one of the substances. It produces hallucinations and long-lasting delirium. Another is tetrodotoxin found in the pufferfish, which causes irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, paralysis, convulsions, difficulty breathing, and can be fatal. Those who have survived zombification spoke of being in a state of suspended animation, where their body’s natural functions shut down so much, they were assumed to be dead. Extensive research on what substances Bokors use has been documented by Wade Davis who authored The Serpent and the Rainbow and Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie. Read about doing magic with herbs here: Using Magical Spices and Herbs
Psychological Control
Someone can manipulate you psychologically to the point that they have complete control of you. Abusers who want you to hate your body will constantly say how awful they think you look, and soon, you will be putting yourself down, so they don’t have to anymore. Brainwashing is controlling people’s minds so much they are completely unable to think for themselves. Political propaganda is an effective use of brainwashing, and religious cults effectively brainwash people into following them blindly. Being programmed to allow someone else to make every decision for you might not be done with drugs, but words. You become like a mindless servant when you are unable to do anything on your own or think for yourself. Read about one-sided relationships here: What to Do About Relationships That are One-Sided
Illness
Schizophrenia and different mood disorders can have a symptom called catatonia. When catatonic, people’s behavior changes. Catatonia can mean you are completely immobile, unable to move, and you can also be withdrawn or just start exhibiting abnormal behaviors. Some people’s disappearances and unexplained returns to their family or hometown can be due to this. Developmental disabilities can account for confusion and psychotic disorders can cause hallucinations, leading people to believe they have died but are reborn somehow. It’s not just mental problems that can cause such symptoms, though. Strokes, head injuries, and certain autoimmune disorders can result in catatonia. The human body is a complex thing, and disease can account for so many strange and terrifying experiences. Read about crystals to help ease symptoms of anxiety here: The Best Stones for Anxiety
Are There Real Zombies?
Zombies won’t unleash their fearsome powers upon humanity, devouring the living and turning anybody who survives such an attack into another zombie. A virus won’t turn the population into zombies, and chances are, you won’t wake up in your coffin at your funeral, because most people are embalmed today. However, zombies, or the reanimated dead- are indeed real. You can survive an illness or murder attempt and live, or you can be drugged by someone who wants you as their human property. If Clairvius Narcisse was telling the truth, there is a chance to recover from being turned into a zombie and live a normal life for many years after such an experience. You may end up like FI, though, and never be the same.
So just what can you do to avoid becoming a zombie? If you live amongst the people whose traditions have Bokors, be respectful, and resolve any conflicts quickly- lest the Bokor drug you to quench someone’s desire for revenge. Watch your health, and head straight to a hospital if you feel ill. Symptoms of poisoning should not be ignored, but immediately taken seriously. You won’t turn into a flesh-eating monster, but being drugged or illness could create bad enough brain damage that you can lose your will to resist the orders of those who would possess you.
Zombies might terrify on the movie screen, but they are the least frightening “undead” creatures known to us. Instead, becoming a zombie is terrifying. Enslavement or revenge are reasons people are turned into zombies and you can become like a zombie from illness or being psychologically manipulated. Protection spells are believed to work against malevolent magic, but if you are drugged, magic won’t protect against that. May you never meet a zombie, and may you never become one- unless you do so acting in a movie!
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About the Author: Lady Saoirse has studied magic and lore for most of her life but started walking her own Magical Path after being spiritually reborn in the desert. Today she is a High Priestess for The Temple of the Goddess, she is a psychic advisor and spiritual counselor, she shares her gifts as a Psychic and Content Writer for SpiritualBlossom and Mysticsense, and she writes for The Green Egg Magazine and PaganPages.Org emag.
