Folklore or Fiction

When you think of a zombie, your thoughts might first go to an undead creature out to eat your brains, right? It’s a creature from your nightmares, hellbent on eating you alive! What would you do if I told you, it hasn’t always been that way? Truth be told, the Zombie we know is far from the original “Zombi” of Haitian folklore. In fact, the zombie has been used throughout the years for deeper meanings than one might originally think. But to understand this, we must first discuss why the Zombie is a folk creature, and not just a fictional monster of pop culture.

Zombies have lore. Whether it is lore describes in a video game, or a television show, or a comic, there is lore behind what created them. However, there is deeper lore under that. Since the beginning Zombies have had a deeper meaning behind them. This is what sets them apart from a fictional monster and makes them a folk creature. They are put into a story as a reflection of an idea the story teller is trying to portray. In Haiti they embodied the loss of free will and individuality (Vuckovic and Romero, 2011 ,20). In Dawn of the Dead, Romero wanted to bring to light the horrors of economic instability and unchecked consumerism (Bishop, 2010, 10). As stated in the book Living Folklore, “Folklore has artistic, creative, or expressive dimensions (Sims and Stephens, 2011, 7).” Zombies are a creative way to express a view on society or societal issues.