The Undead: Myths and Realities: The Voodoo Zombie through Detection Summary

A "voodoo zombie" is supposedly a dead person brought back to life as a slave by a voodoo priest but these have little to do with viral undead. Voodoo priests, or houngans, use a neurotoxin to paralyze a person so that it appears he or she is dead. The person is buried alive and suffers brain damage from lack of oxygen. Voodoo zombies, however, have emotions, thoughts and feel pain. They recognize fire and their surroundings, and they do not have the enhanced senses of viral zombies. Voodoo zombies can also communicate and can be controlled by other humans.

The author divides zombie attacks into four classes. Class 1 is a minor outbreak in a rural or Third World area, with up to twenty zombies. Up...