Well survivors I have fallen quite behind in my duties but I have a lot of information gathered. I just need to find time to sort through it and then you will have a stream of zombie guidance unlike ever before.
At this moment I am waiting for a flight to Romania. Romania, home of Dracula, not a zombie but I believe a small tribute to him and a look at what a vampire is and some myths of undead might be in order.
It is easy to confuse old stories of vampires with old stories of zombies. After all the word zombie comes from Haitian voodoo and West African mythology. Just as the word Vampire comes from the Russian word Umpyr. In Romania the undead were known as Strigoi, and how much of the Strigoi are real zombies and how much are the basis for many of our modern vampire myths? Romania has had undead myths ever since it had people to tell the stories. They even have two specific dates for the observance of the undead, St. George's Day (April 23) and the Eve of St. Andrew's Day (November 29.) On these two days, especially Nov 29, it is advised not to go out at night or be near any crossroads. November 29th is reputedly a special day for the Strigoi at which they must all return to their living homes before travelling to crossroads at which they will do battle with other vampires.
The Romanian Strigoi are interesting creatures in that they are not all equal. Here are a view things from accounts of Strigoi:
When dorment (in coffin/during the day) blood pooled in the mouth or eyes.
Killed by a silver steak through the chest.
Killed by having heart burnt.
Killed by decapitation.
Dead looking, decaying purple toned flesh.
Bloated with the consumion of blood and flesh.
Feed on living family members.
Torment living family members.
Come to full strength 40 days after death.
Must be killed by family.
Put garlic in the mouth.
Place iron coins on the eyes and tongue.
The Gypsies also believe there are many forms of undead. The Romanian Strigoi could not harm the Gypsies according to their believes but they did fear the Mules. Demons who took the bodies of the living and returned to demand a wife. If the chosen woman was not given the mule would reek havoc on the village. The only ones able to kill mules are the Dhampir, mortal children of mule who had enhanced strength and speed because of their mixed blood and could see the mules true forms even when the mule was invisible to others. These mules sound a bit more like the vampires of legend. But where does that leave the Strigoi? This "other" form of undead that the Gypsies did not fear. Perhaps the average Romanian simply couldn't tell the difference between a Strigoi (zombie?) and a mule (vampire?) and over time and with retelling and extraction the myths blended together completely. This would explain why the Strigoi in the Romanian vampire tales don't always follow the same rules.
These myths still prevail in many areas which with all of our "modern" science and technology one has to wonder how much we are hidden from the truth here in North America. After all there are many accounts of many mystical and supernatural things all over the world and it is not hard for most people to believe in spirits, demons or the undead. Yet we in North America can't even decide for ourselves if we think there is a God or not. In 2004 the family of Toma Petre cut out his vampiric heart and made tea from it's ashes to heal his niece. Or in 1988 a 13 year old girl was found to be a vampire and killed by her family. These are only two examples of reported cases, that the media got a hold of and was aloud to make public. We know from zombie research how much the media is censored and in the case of other supernatural myths I have no doubt it is similar.
If it is so easy for the Strigoi and Mule to be confused as one monster and then converted into the generic "vampire" how hard would it have been for the official vampire plague of the 18th century to have actually been a zombie outbreak? An event the Catholic church publicly declared and supported but now will not let anyone view records of. Many modern scientists have theories about a strange form of rabies or a mental disease brought on my poor living conditions and food. But are those not possible causes of zombies as zombie researchers have proven? The biggest proof to zombies may actually be based in the confusion of undeniable vampire reports which science tries to explain away when the simplest answer is sitting right in front of us.
Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.
