Zombies have been around in fiction for a long time, with the first references to them in books like W.B. Seabrook’s The Magic Island in 1929 and films like White Zombie in 1932. These early offerings led to countless other films and television series exploring the possibility of this sort of end-of-the-world scenario.
The big question on people’s minds as they consume zombie-themed entertainment is whether there’s a chance it could happen. According to science, the concept of the dead rising is impossible, but there could potentially be other diseases that lead to zombie-like behaviour.
Entertainment Has Brought Zombies to the Masses
Zombies have been a hugely popular theme for entertainment over the years, with films like Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead helping to establish the lore surrounding the undead. In recent years, zombie-themed offerings have become mainstream, and The Walking Dead was a huge factor that contributed to that.
The AMC series completely immersed viewers in a bleak zombie apocalypse and was so popular that it lasted for 11 seasons. It also led to numerous other spinoffs on television that helped to expand the universe in different locations.
Part of The Walking Dead’s success was thanks to the franchise’s expansion into other media such as games. The Telltale Games The Walking Dead roleplaying game was praised as a way to add depth to the series. On top of that, The Walking Dead LuckyTap is listed among the best bingo slots online, and opened up the franchise to the bustling iGaming market.
Some Known Diseases Could Have Inspired the Concept of Zombies
There is a chance that the concept of zombies may have been inspired by real-life diseases that cause an alteration in an animal’s behaviour. One of the most famous of these is rabies, which can cause extreme aggression and confusion. It can also lead animals to bite without warning and the virus spreads in this way.
Another real example comes from Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that infects many mammals. In rodents, it changes behaviour in a way that makes them less afraid of cats, increasing the chance they will be eaten and allowing the parasite to complete its life cycle.
The Last of Us came up with the Cordyceps virus, which is a fictionalised version of a real fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, often nicknamed the zombie-ant fungus. In nature, it infects insects and causes them to display zombie-like behaviour.
Traditional Zombies Deemed Impossible
Scientists have said that the idea of people rising from the dead is impossible, as without a brain, there’s no mechanism for movement or coordination. The human body needs blood flow and oxygen, so The Walking Dead-style zombies aren’t going to be happening any time soon.
However, there is a chance that there could be a zombie-like outbreak. For example, a highly contagious disease that affects the brain could, in theory, cause confusion, aggression, or loss of inhibition in large numbers of people. Combined with panic and social breakdown, it could replicate the scenarios seen in some of the most popular zombie films and television shows out there.
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