"Dawn of the Dead" in real life?

isnt it true that there have been reported cases of zombies being created through some sort of voodoo practice? I've heard stories of farms being worked by mindless "zombies" not too much more i know about the subject.

Additionally wasnt one of those living dead movies, one of the older ones, based off of a true story?

Here's info on a study done on "zombies".
"In 1985, Harvard University botanist Wade Davis traveled to Haiti in search of the poison powder called coupe poudre, allegedly used to cause the death-like trance state induced in the process of zombification. His sponsors believed that if such a drug existed it would have valuable pharmacological usage. In essence, Davis claimed that yes, there are indeed "zombies," and that they are created, at least in part, by a poisonous powder"

Link

Also I've read a few Police reports about Police Officers drawing and firing there weapons on people affected by coccaine and speed. One person who was killed had three bullets 9mm, through the heart yet he stayed alive for at least 10 minutes before he died. I'll try and find the report. Pretty intreasting stuff.

One question please,


Supposing this theory went according to plan, and by some strange chance everyone was eaten alive, now I'm assuming theres going to be a backup plan here, who is the head of the research, who's going to organize civil defence, and lastly..if ur all zombie food...was it worth it?

Great!

Originally posted by CaptainMooPoo

Additionally wasnt one of those living dead movies, one of the older ones, based off of a true story?

Yes,

Return Of The Living Dead -

"The events portrayed in this film are all true.
The names are real names of real people and real organizations."

... any Dan O'Bannon fans on here?

i think its possible to make a Zombie, but there isn't any isolated example of the virus in nature. So you would really really need to do research.

To the OP, for starters- You didn't "Ask" a question.
All you did was give us the justs on the Resident Evil games/movies.
But, as for "Zombies" they could never exist as living dead- The only type of "Zombie" that could ever truly exist, is the 28 days/weeks later version.
For an "Undead Zombie" to exist, like in Land of the Dead (Worst zombie movie, ever) it would need to live, for starters. If a "Zombie" were to walk, move, chase you, eat you- Whatever, there would need to be blood flowing to the muscles, and from the muscles. The heart would need to work. Having said that, "zombies" would have no advantage over humans. Though they may feel not feel pain, they could still die from a loss of blood. If a zombie's heart didn't pump blood through the body, the body would stiffin, it couldn't move- Let alone chase you for your precious flesh; not only that, but the muscles would deteriorate and rot.
If a zombie's heart wasn't pumping, it wouldn't have a metabolism; and therefore wouldn't need to eat. So your flesh would be perfectly safe.
A movie like 28 days/weeks later brings a more "Realistic" idea of the zombie to the table- An actual infection, driving the person mad, insane- Making them more animal than human.
The constant need to feed could be some sort of beef'd up metabolism, and the psychotic aggression could be a large factor of things- Maybe just reverting us back to a strictly primal way of thinking.

Anyhow- The idea of zombies roaming your streets if a far cry from today's reality; so no point in planning for an outbreak any time soon.

i was talking about this with my roommate last night. hes haitian, and was explaining to me how they make real "zombies". supposedly witch doctors take the poisen from a fish (i think a puffer, im not sure though), and dilute it so its not deadly, and then inject it into a person. this slows down their heart so much that it appears as though the person is dead. then they are buried in a coffin. the witch doctor then unburied the person and gives them some syrum or antidote that cures the poisen, but due to a lack of oxygen from being buried, the person is mentally retarded or partially braindead; like a drone or zombie. you can then teach them to do virtually any task since they are like little babies and are mentally handicapped. so, while its not the flesh eating undead you think of with the term "zombie", i still think it qualifies, whether its true or not.

On 'Resident Evil', they use some sort of pulse o nthe brain when the body dies, and when the person is clinicaly dead, but the pulse restarts the major organs and starts to produce new living tissue so that the 'zombie' can live again, im not so sure how you could create a simple need and implant it into the brain though.

Originally posted by Opulisum
On 'Resident Evil', they use some sort of pulse o nthe brain when the body dies, and when the person is clinicaly dead, but the pulse restarts the major organs and starts to produce new living tissue so that the 'zombie' can live again, im not so sure how you could create a simple need and implant it into the brain though.

No they don't, where did you get that from?
It's a virus.
It's called the "T virus" and it was designed by the "Umbrella Corporation", which the OP seemed to try to take creative credit for.

reply to post by Dewm0nster


Yeh, thats what im talkign about, the virus effects the brain, I just called it a pulse because it seems similar, and then the virus starts the growing tissue system again, and so the corpse comes back to life.

Originally posted by Opulisum
reply to post by Dewm0nster

 

Yeh, thats what im talkign about, the virus effects the brain, I just called it a pulse because it seems similar, and then the virus starts the growing tissue system again, and so the corpse comes back to life.

How is a "Pulse" similar to a virus?
Wait- Wait.
I know how.
It isn't.

Lol dude, seriously.

I think of it as a pulse, now your telling me how to think of things? Please..
if i want to think of it as a pulse, I will

reply to post by jrod


Uh... No it didn't. They kept it nice and ambivielant, one character theorised that Hell had filled up. Night of the Living Dead is the top end of this genre and they made it with that in mind. Do you even realise that it was a subversive social comentary on the state of America in the early 70s? All the 'of the Dead' movies are made with social comentary as thier focus, with one core as the base. Night - Rasism, Dawn - Consumerisim, Day - can't remember, Land - Classism.

Return of the Living, Night of the Comet, etc. These were just made for fun and profit.

I think an even more realistic situation than 28 Days and 28 Days Later is from the movie Jacobs Ladder.

In that movie they do explore the whole Vietnam mind control thing and it's quite interesting.

As for Voo Doo, I too have heard of practices where they consume a natural drug or even drill holes in the heads ala that nut serial killer that poured acid into peoples brains.

It is said curare (

I cant really see how Voo doo is a more 'realistic' way, but how do people become zombies in 28 days later? Ive never understud it.

Originally posted by Opulisum
I cant really see how Voo doo is a more 'realistic' way, but how do people become zombies in 28 days later? Ive never understud it.

Who said voo doo was more realistic? It's what they do and it has nothing to do with the occult. They use a substance on their victims, nothing magic about it.

In "28 days later" a chimpanzee dosed with a rage virus is released from a lab by a PETA type group and infects both the leader and the researcher. "28 weeks later" is the sequel and is just a twist on the original that continues the zombie fest.

Now I see they are coming out with that Will Smith movie which looks to be another zombie film. Zombies seem to be making a big comeback.

It's possible to create a zombie-like person who appears dead at first glance but is still capable of a limited mental capacity - all it would take is for the body to continue through the stages of necrosis and for something to provide energy to those areas of the brain still active (human flesh, for example.).

As for how this is done, i imagine that the virus, or 'Zorganism', would pump around the human body the same way our blood cells do, providing oxygen to those areas of the brain still active via the still-oxygenated blood that is consumed in the act of feeding.

So, brain activity is essentially reduced to basic motor functions and some respitory activity will remain.

If zombies ever do come to be - it would be folly to assume that they have 'come back from the dead', they are merely existing as an extremily low example of life.

Poetically, one could say that they are standing at Death's Door, unable to open it.

reply to post by jbondo


Ah, right, but how do they create the virus? do they just make the carrier very angry? and it affects the virus?

reply to post by Opulisum


They don't really get into the actual production of the "injected rage". I think you would do well to rent "Jacobs Ladder" and it will give you an idea of what I think the lab in 28 days was trying to produce. A super soldier of sorts that would just kill anything in it's path, have no feelings and have to be literally torn apart to stop. I am of the opinion that this and similar situations really happened in Vietnam and on other battlefields where real life tests were the rule of the day.

As for reducing brain activity I believe curare does just that and in the right dose causes a zombie slave state of mind.

reply to post by Opulisum


Even though the question is not directed at me, i do enjoy the speculative thought behind this rather jovial line of creativity.

The virus in itself may not nessecarily be introduced to the human body via an external source, we are aware of how when DNA is exposed to radiation or certain chemicals it can mutate, and form a cancerous cell.

This is an example of our own bodies turning against us.

I have stated before on this site that if such a organism were to evolve on this planet that it would probably come to be in a deep-sea environment, in the nutrient bath that exists at the sea-bed; I believe that the conditions there are similar to that of the primordial ooze, or at least the closest thing on earth to it.

As such, we came from that ooze, and therefore other things can too - perhaps some deep-sea research vessel would take some of the contaniment on board the ship and a salty sea-dog would be unfortunate enough to be infected in some way by it.

These theories contain a lot of maybes, but in saying that our very existence contains a lot of maybes.

The fact is that many of the conditions that could give rise to the virus NATURALLY evolving and infecting humanity could be re-created in a lab, however i sincerely doubt that even if the containment procedures failed the personel on-site would not have the required counter-measures to deal with the threat.

I believe the virus would have to evolve naturally, as opposed to synthetically, in order for it to have an effect portrayed in hollywood movies.