White Walkers: Birth of a New Zombie

Nothing is so haunting as the creatures from George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Zombies are used in fiction and cinema as a metaphor for death. Their great numbers make the solitary human feel insignificant and small, just as imagining the greatness of time and space can feel overwhelming. In Romero's films, the slow zombies represent impending doom. They surround the survivor's sanctuary and whittle away at their defenses, signifying that one can only run and hide for so long before death catches up.

The White Walkers are similar in this respect. Their name is synonymous with winter, and winter, it turns out, is the oldest metaphor for death in the history of humanity. Warmth connotes the presence of life. Living without it, as we see with the Night's Watch, leads to a very depressing course of existence. The presence of death is always felt by the Crows, and they often worry about the White Walkers.

"They're never far, you know. They won't come out by day, not when that old sun's shining, but don't think that means they went away. Shadows never go away. Might be you don't see them, but they're always clinging to your heels." - A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 58

"Winter is Coming." The Stark words remind every generation of Northerners that they must never let their guard down. Even through many years of sunshine and happiness, the people must prepare for inevitable hardships. As death is a part of life, winter is a natural part of the changing seasons.

We find White Walkers so terrifying because of our own instincts about winter. In winter, resources are scarce, spring can be unpredictable and the weather can weaken or even snuff out entire communities. In the HBO series, they used a monologue delivered by Old Nan to reinforce our subconscious fears. Bran prefers the scary children's stories to regular ones, and so Old Nan prattles on about prolonged darkness, inescapable cold and women who would "smother their babies rather than see them starve."

"Fear is for the winter, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides for years, and children are born and live and die all in darkness. That is time for fear, my little Lord, when the White Walkers move through the woods." - Game of Thrones, Season One, Episode Four

There are some key differences between White Walkers and your typical zombie. They are supposed to be elegant and otherworldly. They are intelligent warriors, capable of necromancy, swordplay and horseback riding. The return of the dead can be prevented if you burn the bodies, we learn from the wildlings' customs.

The people killed by White Walkers are susceptible to becoming wights, a type of undead slave. They appear dead for a period of time, but they do not decay; Suddenly, they get up and kill. They acquire the same glowing blue eyes of the White Walkers. When a wight kills a person, that person may then become a wight. In this sense, the formula of their multiplication is very similar to that of traditional zombies. But they don't bite. They're too cool for that.

I like how the wights look in the show, but the mummified White Walker on the skeletal horse at the end of the second season looked ridiculous: like a villain from a video game made in the 1994. Yo, HBO! They are supposed to be beautiful. I envisioned something more like an anemic Targaryen with the eyes of a Djinn and the wan facial features of a heroin addict.

White Walkers truly capture the imagination. They are the perfect example of how a writer can take zombie lore and extrapolate on it to invent unique monsters. They have aspects of magical warriors, spirits, zombies and even human beings. These creatures, with their blue eyes that burn like ice as bright as stars, frighten me in a new and exciting way.

Survival Tip of the Day

Samwell Tarly strikes you as the type of Crow who would have been dead his first day North of the Wall. He survives, however, and becomes a leader and protector of others. How does he do it?

He is a well-read and scholarly young man. He has acquired experience from every ranger who survived the North long enough to write a book. Knowledge is power.

The Power of Voodoo

Who do? You do.

Searching for the source of the word "zombie" will bring you into the terrifying world of voodoo. To provide a summarized history, I will share with you my trip to the Voodoo Temple of New Orleans, which incidentally, is where my husband proposed to me. I apologize for the quality of these images. These pictures were taken on a disposable camera. Alas, we were poor.



In the center of this photo, you can see an alligator head mounted on a body. This is a depiction of the swamp creature Rougarou. Like a zombie, he is a victim of witch doctor manipulation, and he is deathly afraid of frogs (just like me). In New Orleans, adults use Rougarou to scare their children into good behavior.

Above you will see the famous priestess Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo. She has been called a witch, a sorceress, even a Satanist, but in New Orleans she is revered as a major figure in Voodoo history. She was born in 1794, the free daughter of a white planter and a Creole woman of color. Historians have little concrete evidence on the details of her career in Voodoo, but there is a wealth of folklore surrounding her life. She was a benevolent woman whose practice combined Catholicism and Voodoo. She is said to have had a pet snake named Zombi. Legends of a serpentine deity called Zombi came out of West Africa. The word also referred to the human spirit.

The brain eating monsters of Hollywood have become a very different animal from the original source of the word zombie. The original zombie folklore comes from the Congo, a product of the word "nbzambi" which refers to the soul. These legends came over to America during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In Voodoo, it is believed that a witch doctor can control the body a recently deceased individual, literally raising the dead. Sometimes this is done with incantations and others times, poison and an antidote are used. A person who becomes a zombie, becomes a slave to the witch doctor for all eternity. It is considered a fate worse than death.

On the other hand, in Voodoo, one can willingly yield his soul to a priestess for safe keeping. In effect, he becomes her zombie. His soul will remain under her protection until she dies.

Everybody's favorites are the dolls! We've all heard about these little effigies or as I like to call them: vengeful pin cushions. The dolls can bring the target love, happiness, luck and in some cases, despair. I keep my Voodoo doll of myself in a soft little bed, and every night I dab her lips with ice cream. See! Not all Voodoo is malicious!

The Voodoo priest had a baby python. As I handled the elegant creature, the priest told us that he had a python that was twenty feet long on his farm. One day, his pig went missing, and he found a "big ole lump" in his snake. I'm not sure how much I believe that.

Survival Tip of the Day:
If you go to New Orleans, bring a buddy.

The Saddest Moments in Zombie History

On a serious note... zombies are no laughing matter. Every good zombie movie has a scene of intense emotional turmoil. The scene makes you think about your own loved ones and your greatest fears. In the comments, I welcome everyone to share scenes from zombie movies that affected you deeply.

There may be SPOILERS, but I tried not to give too much away. An interesting point to make, knowing who dies in a zombie movie doesn't make watching it less enjoyable. It actually relieves tension during those uncomfortable close call scenes.

Dawn of the Dead when Peter drinks alone. They bury his buddy in the shopping mall's garden. I found something about the scene so utterly heart-wrenching. His friend was always laughing, poking fun at zombies and making up games. There is no sound in this scene except the pop when he opens the champagne.

28 Days Later. Dad gets zombie blood in his eyes that drips down from a corpse. He is rubbing his eyes as his daughter approaches.
"Hannah. I love you very much."
"What?"
"Keep away from me."
"Dad?"

"KEEP AWAY FROM ME! KEEP AWAY FROM ME! KEEP AWAY FROM ME!"
"DADDY NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Walking Dead Telltale Games. Clem.... You're gonna be ok. Just get out quiet. But before you do, you gotta shoot me, Clem.

"Oh, Linda," Ash sobs over her body when sees the necklace he bought for her. He cannot bear to dismember his girlfriend with a chainsaw, even if she is the Evil Dead.

Truly the saddest scene in television history, unless you've been a guest at the Red Wedding... oh crap. There are no zombies in Game of Thrones. Wait... actually... THERE ARE!!! I forgot about the white walkers. Welcome to the ranks of zombie popular culture, George R. R. Martin.

Walking Dead. "You're gonna be fine. You are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong and you are so brave. And I love you. You gotta do what's right. Promise me you'll always do what's right... don't let the world spoil you. You are so good my sweet, sweet boy. The best thing I ever did." A farewell between a mother and son.

Possibly the saddest moment in all zombie history is in I am Legend, when Robert's dog Samantha, his only companion for the last three years, gets bit. He takes her home, gives her a shot, cradles her in his arms and sings her a lullaby. When she turns, he looks away and smothers her, tears rolling down his face. I hate it when they kill the dog.

Survival Tip of the Day:

Zombie Burger

"It's been two months since patient zero took a bite out of a contaminated burger at a Gas & Gulp. Just two months, and I might be the last non-cannibal freak in the country" - Zombieland (2009)

Ladies and gentlemen, Zombie Burger is here. Your post-apocalyptic pit-stop resides in Des Moines, Iowa, sporting an adorable slogan "Eat burgers, not brains." I'm assuming they grind their own beef if they're promising that.

For your average zombie who is ready to kick the habit of munching human flesh, Zombie burger offers an assortment of "GORE-met" burgers. They have quirky names like "They're Coming to Get You Barbara" and "George Romero's Pittsburger". Salads are cleverly listed under Soylent Greens. They also offer veggie patties for those vegan zombies who wish to give up meat altogether.

This burger joint's track lighting and mismatched walls compose a sleek and modern look. It has a few retro touches like the swivel bar stools. Painted zombies throw themselves against nailed down plywood. It's a cute idea, and the zombie fans don't seem to find the portraits of rotting human corpses unappetizing.

The restaurant stays open until 2 AM on weekends, leading me to think that they cater to stoners and gamers, both of whom tend to shuffle in late at night with pink, irritated eyes. Perhaps the success of this restaurant provides social commentary on our resemblance to the zombies of popular culture. Maybe all we need to be happy is our next dose of junk food. To tell the truth, I am a cookie zombie. At 1 AM last night, I literally ran to my own late night snack stop.

"Give me five M&M cookies!!!!!"
"We only have two left."
"OK. Do you have chocolate chip? Throw in three of those."
"We have one oatmeal, and one peanut butter."
"......."
"Ma'am? Do you just want the two M&M?"
"......rrrrrrRRRRrrrrrrRRRR."

New York city offers a vast assortment of horror themed restaurants, from vampire speakeasies to the pub from American Werewolf in Paris. And yet, we don't have any zombie restaurants!  We throw zombie parties, we chase people in Macy's while dressed as zombies and yet we've neglected to open up a restaurant to feed our zombies. I never thought I'd go to Iowa, but I must plan a trip. This restaurant could be the only thing keeping zombies from eating all the good people of America.

Survival Tip of the Day:
Get educated on what is going into your food. If you're eating at a restaurant, ask if the meat is grass-fed, organic, free of antibiotics, etc. E. coli = not fun, especially during a zombie outbreak... but even beyond e. coli, you don't want to be the person referred to as patient zero.

Top Five Building Projects for the Zombie Apocolapse

The most useful people to have in your post-apocalyptic party will be an engineer, a handyman and a doctor. The engineer and the handyman can hook you up with generators, running vehicles and some hardcore weaponry like a flamethrower. The doctor will patch you up in case you hurt yourselves building these things.

Many of these projects are inspired from the reality TV show The Colony. They take a group of strangers, insert them into a post apocalyptic environment and watch them rebuild society. They have to deal with marauders, beggars and the constant scarcity of resources, using their knowledge of engineering to survive. I watched the first season and picked out the builds that would have highest priority for me.

Water Filtration

The most important resource in any survival situation is water. Since you won't be wanting to face the zombie masses outside, you will need a large reserve of water and a method of filtration. In a 55 gallon drum, punch small holes in the bottom and fill with layers of sand and charcoal. When water goes through the layers will filter out dangerous bacteria, lead and other impurities. Store filtered water in a cistern. Boil before using for drinking or cooking. 

Zombie Wall

Just throw something together with barbed wire, long wooden stakes and graffiti ridden walls that say creepy shit like, "ALIVE INSIDE" or "TURN BACK". I am a fan of Morgan's wall in AMC's Walking Dead. His scattered debris catches zombies and he can snipe them from the roof. His simple design keeps riff-raff from shuffling in.

Solar Energy

Generators require gasoline, but solar power is completely renewable and self-sufficient. Once you get this set up, you won't have to worry about going on suicidal recon missions for gasoline (a serious problem I discussed at length in my last post).

Daisy chain twenty 12 volt car batteries in parallel to create a battery bank. Use an inverter to create alternating current. Before they lose their charge, use batteries to run power tools to install solar panels on the roof. Line up solar panels on a stand outside that can rotate on motorized swivel to follow the sun during the day. You can watch them do it on The Colony in Season 1 Episode 5.

Flame Thrower

Create a flame thrower fueled by a propane tank. Use a solenoid valve to open rapidly when charged with an electric current. Charge the solenoid valve with a car battery. It will release rapid bursts of propane, creating clouds of fire. John Cohn builds this in The Colony in Season 1 Episode 4.

If hordes overwhelm your walls, weed them out with good old fashioned fire. Zombies hate fire. Well known fact. Just watch Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. You'll see.

Armored Vehicle

Everybody needs an escape plan. Equip a bus or a flat bed truck with a plow, razor wire, gun holes or spiked hubcaps. Let your imagination run wild. Store tools inside the vehicle so that when you escape, you can fix anything if it breaks down.

My favorite armored truck is from Vampire Hunter D. Ha! You thought I was going to say Dawn of the Dead (2004), but that piece of crap barely got them where they were going and using the chainsaw through the windows caused an accident and made a huge mess. They were slipping in blood.

The mercenaries of Vampire Hunter D have a sweet tank complete with living space, arsenal and sick bay. The windows are cross shaped slits in steel panels reinforced by wrought iron cage beneath. Whether one were keeping out zombies, vampires or even people, this would do the trick.

Unfortunately, only futuristic bounty hunters have the funds to invest into such a sweet ride. We'll probably have to fix up whatever we can find. Check out the Chop Shop app to see some other baller zombie trucks or design your own. The best lesson I took from that show The Colony was that if the world were overrun by the undead, we would have to keep busy with endless shop projects. We'd better start accumulating knowledge now. 

Walking Dead: Suicidal Instinct (a review on a game that is as evil as the zombie apocalypse itself)

The video game Walking Dead: Survival Instinct verges on greatness, but the gameplay falls short... devastatingly short. During the first two levels, I was having a great time. I was the super sexy Daryl Dixon on my way to save my brother Merle. I could choose to take backroads, streets or highways. I delegated which survivors to send out for supplies and I equipped them with their preferred weapons. This game is so realistic, I started sweating every time I had to search a dark room with my flashlight. The game manages provides a very realistic zombie simulation... and that is why it is not an enjoyable game. I now understand why characters on the show sincerely want to kill themselves.

It is so friggin easy to die, it's ridiculous. You take out every zombie in the yard. You have a pinch of life left and then a biter spawns behind you and takes a swing. You're dead, Daryl. I wouldn't be so upset, except the game has no save system. It rarely autosaves, and the autosave never happens when you want it. It's always right after you just used all your healing supplies. You just found a legendary katana! And then you died. Oh well. Legendary katana doesn't spawn. You have to play through twenty minutes of zombie killing all over again. (There is no katana in this game. I know.... it sucks.)

There is no reason to ever pick up gasoline, because if you take the highway to conserve gas, you will break down no matter what and have to find a radiator hose. It doesn't matter if your car was built in 2009. Every car in this world is a piece of crap that can't handle driving on the highway. If you take the back roads, no matter how much gas you picked up, you will run out and have to do a recon mission to find gas. The game always provides you with enough gas canisters in this mission, so it is way easier to just leave a free slot in your inventory and wait until the recon mission to gas up. Speaking of gasoline, you have to use up a slot to carry it in your inventory. That's inconsistent with realism. Just load the tank and dump those empty canisters. It makes you hold the gas in your inventory, when you could just PUT IT IN THE CAR'S GAS TANK THAT IS VERGING ON EMPTY. Sorry for the rant. The whole gasoline thing really drove me crazy.

Some other annoying factors, we're only a few days into the outbreak and everything in the world in ransacked. I got so frustrated with never having any health, I restarted my game just to play through the beginning without using any pots. You can search every grocery store in town and find nothing but empty glass bottles. It's such a waste of time searching every nook and cranny. While you're desperately searching for that healing sports drink, a zombie will grab you and it's game over.

The iconic crossbow used by Daryl Dixon in the show doesn't come into play until the end of the game. Jeez, that would have been useful. The game may have even been fun. Doesn't it make sense for Daryl to have his crossbow from the beginning? I mean, he WAS on a hunting trip when things went down. Whoever made the call on giving you the crossbow at the end of the game deserves to be put in a pit full of biters.

What I hated the most, more than the autosave, stopping for gas, breaking down or being punished for looting, was the horrible minigame you have to play each time a zombie grabs you. Ninety percent of combat in this game involves aiming a cursor at the zombie's face and executing right trigger. It's like trying to push two magnets together. The cursor does not want to be on the zombie's face at all. If you get overwhelmed by a herd, you must systematically stab each one of them in the face. You can face stab for five minutes, and then go down anyway because the zombies keep spawning. It's the most evil concept I've ever encountered in a video game. Their zombie faces still haunt my dreams.

That said, I'm not recommending that you stay away from this game. It tells a good story and has a few memorable lines. The anger and frustration that I went through was very similar to the emotions of the survivors on Walking Dead. At one point, my husband experienced a simulated mental break down. He just started punching a zombie over and over again, cursing at it endlessly until I told him that was enough. My husband and I, when we took turns playing, soon found our relationship in a similar state as Rick and Lori's.

He would chastise me for wasting ammo and I would get mad at him for criticizing my choices.
"Stop messing around! That's how you'll get yourself killed and then where will we be?"
"Your negativity makes it impossible to get through this!"
Once we realized we were Rick and Lori, we started laughing and making a joke of it.
"Don't ever challenge my authority in front of the group!"
"I wish Shane was alive instead of you!"

The game allows you to do a second playthrough with unlocked relics. I happened to get the silenced rifle and silenced handgun. With these, I actually had fun playing. Still, I mailed it right on back to Gamefly. If I played video games to experience the true hardship of the apocalypse, I wouldn't be playing video games. I would join the red cross or something.

Survival Tip of the Day
Keep your head together. If you start to fall apart mentally or goof off, you'll make mistakes and get bit. - in reference to Roger from Dawn of the Dead (1978).

Top Ten Zombie Costumes

Whether it's Halloween, Zombie Con or Cosplay, the following ensembles stood out to me over the years. Let me know if they inspire your own costumes. I would love to do a blog about making an awesome undead disguise from scratch. It might come in handy when I need to get out of the city alive.

#10 - Zombie Gypsy. I saw this girl at Dracula's Ball in 2012. In the red lighting of the club, she was extremely spooky.

#9 - Unlucky Scientist. He was probably the reason the zombie strain was released into the public. I took this photo at Zombie Con in New York City in 2006.

#8 - Zombie Bride. And they told you you'd only wear that dress once. Ha!

#7 - Zombie School Girl. This is also Zombie Con 2006. The school girl with no eyes is actually a man who I ended up being friends with for many years.

#6 - Old World Zombie. I am particular fond of the severed head she is sporting.

#5 - Zombie Children. They get extra points for cuteness.

#4 - Audrey Hepburn from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". "How do I look?"

#3 - Left 4 Dead Cosplay. From left to right, we have a Hunter, a Witch and a Smoker.

#2 - Redneck Zombies. Love the hats. Their faces are definitely vomit worthy.

#1 - Boney Zombie. I greatly admire the amount of work that went into airbrushing this man. It is truly a work of art.

Survival Tip of the Day:
If you see these guys and it isn't Halloween, don't try to figure out what is wrong with them. Just run...