I’ve been doing some research tonight, and came across an interesting story, whose sources I will look into more deeply for personal gratification. It turns out that there were (and possibly still are) real life zombies. I will post a link to an article later, but for those who don’t want to wade through the information, here’s a synopsis:
As far as the more common story goes, It is a voodoo practice that takes place in Haiti, performed by a Bokor (a kind of witch-doctor). The process is quite intriguing (even though it is extremely inhumane-no pun intended). Essentially, someone gets drugged by a salve made from toad skin. The highly toxic skin of this toad penetrates the skin, then drastically reduces heart-rate and breathing, to the point where the person looks and feels dead. These people are buried to prove their “death”. Within 8 hours (before the person dies of asphyxiation), the bokor unearths the person, then gives him a drug which is created from the poison found in puffer fish (tetrodotoxin). This drug almost completely destroys memory, including identity. Drugged as they are, these people have no concept of time, no concept of who they are, and have virtually no will of their own. They are at the complete subjugation of the bokor. These people are most often sold as slave labor on sugar plantations. The drug made from the pufferfish neurotoxin is administered if and when the person begins to show signs of awareness. To add to the legend, these zombies are usually poorly taken care of, in other words are malnourished by their owners and worked hard. They take on a very pale and gaunt apearance, essentially looking like zombies.
This story is what I will base my model on…not the movie zombie, with torn flesh and holes all over him, but a gaunt, pale, droopy-eyed zombie. I believe that I will get the best psychological contrast with this type of character demonstrating various expressions.
Here is a quote I found intriguing from the article:
The story begins in 1962, in Haiti. A man called Clairvius Narcisse was sold to a zombie master by his brothers, because Clairvius refused to sell his share of the family land. Soon after Clairvius “officially” died, and was buried. However, he had been later secretly unburied, and was actually working as a zombie slave on a sugar plantation with many other zombies. In 1964, his zombie master died, and he wandered across the island in a psychotic daze for the next 16 years. The drugs that made him psychotic were gradually wearing off. In 1980, he accidentally stumbled across his long-lost sister in a market place, and recognized her. She didn’t recognise him, but he identified himself to her by telling her early childhood experiences that only he could possibly know.
and here is a link to the article:
Real life Zombies
-RAge
