Terminology of zombies

Zombies have been confused with many other monstrous creatures. Monstrous will try to make a clear distinction between the different entities that proceed from death.

To study the zombie as a creature, it is important to understand exactly what a zombie is. First, we need to differentiate between two common terms used for zombies, Undead and Zombie.

1. Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies. Undead are featured in the legends of most cultures and in many works of fantasy and horror fiction.
2. A zombie is a dead person that is brought back to life through a curse (voodoo, necromancy) or a mutation and has recovered some vital functions like movement. They are speechless, near-mindless, possessing little reasoning power, though many can perform automatic movement and "remembered behaviors" from their mortal existence.

Zombies are omnipresent in the folklore of Haiti, where they are created by voodoo, an African type of black witchcraft. More recently, zombies films have exposed new theories according to which man-made virus or genetic experiments are held responsible for the creation of zombies. Such films put a strong emphasis on flesh and blood: rotting bodies and their attendant maggots, as well as the still-warm gore resulting from savage, often cannibalistic attacks upon the living.