The undead in culture and science

The undead have a significant role in mythology, religion, folklore, and literature. In the 1800s, the word zombie was used to describe reanimated corpses in the Caribbean who often worked on plantations doing long, arduous field work. The movie White Zombie was released in 1932 and exploited this folklore, but it ignored the fact that zombies represent one outcome in Vodou religious beliefs regarding death and the migration of spirits following death. The interest in zombies eventually led to sociological and medical investigations into zombification. Wade Davis reported that powders used by malevolent priests (bokors) contained tetrodotoxin, which could cause the neurologic changes underlying the zombie phenotype. Recent clinical studies have indicated that synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones can cause bizarre zombie-like behavior. According to Haitian folklore, zombies can develop when bokors reanimate someone who suddenly died from an acute illness or who was purposely poisoned. Recent studies in molecular biology suggest that the sequence of programmed cell death can be reversed when the stressor is removed and that cells, tissues, and bodies (at least in Drosophila flies) can recover. These scientific studies would support the remote possibility that the near dead might recover under certain circumstances but have residual neuropsychological dysfunction. Alternatively, the bokors could maintain control of their victims using drugs with properties similar to those of synthetic cannabinoids. The concept of zombification needs to be considered in the context of culture, religion, and science.