Zombie History

The origination of zombies is credited to Haitian voodoo culture. A "bokor" or priest was said to have the ability to transform people into zombies with the use of a powdered poison created from the puffer fish. Relatives and friends annoyed with the victim would often bribe the pokor into administering the zombie cocktail.

Tetraodontidae is the name of the poison extracted from the puffer fish and administered in the zombie cocktail. Tetraodontidae produces acute paralysis causing not only breathing to slow to an almost imperceptible level but also drastically decreases the bodies need for oxygen.

The victim would appear dead, however, be AWARE OF EVERYTHING going on around them; the poison does not cross the blood/brain barrier. Many surviving victims report being able to recall in vivid, horrifying detail the process of being examined, presumed dead, and buried alive.

Although this is definitely not descriptive of the "zombie horde" that we love, it is the most widely accepted story of origination of the modern-day zombie. A good read is "The Serpent and the Rainbow" by Wade Davis. Read the book; please don't watch the movie.

Although what I have described is approximately a total of twenty four hours of "zombification" Davis was convinced after visiting Haiti that bokors/witchdoctors could suspend a human in the zombie state for a prolonged period of time. Even years. The case Davis was most interested in was of a Haitian man named Clairvius Narcisse. Narcisse was said to have been pronounced dead 2 May 1962. Narcisse returned to his home in 1980; eighteen years later!