Zombies are Among us Still?

by Natalie Bright

This is a topic that I should defer to the horror writer of our group, Nandy Ekle, but I read a zombie novel, TRUE NATURE, and it blew me away. I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading about gory, flesh-eaters.

Which got me to wondering, why is everyone so fascinated with zombies?  It seems like they’ve been around forever.

A Classic Flesh Eater

The classic Night of the Living Dead started it all in 1968, so yes, they have been around for a while. The director, George A. Romero, and co-writer John A. Russo, redefined modern horror at the cinema. This classic can be found on YouTube.  Romero went on to expand this classic into a trilogy, and returned in 2000s with three more flicks (Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead).

The famous deathlike stupor, typically after death, has roots in various cultures throughout the world. Africa and Haiti repeat tales of wakening the dead, past relatives coming back, or witches that can inhabit bodies. Even as recently as 1982, a Harvard ethno botanist claimed his research in Haiti resulted in the discovery of two special powders with the ability to turn a living person into a walking-dead zombie-like state.

The zombie remains undead to legions of fans through movies and books.

eBook Debut

The author of TRUE NATURE, Jere Ellison, met with our writers critique group several years ago and I knew this novel in its infancy. I was intrigued then by the characters and writing style, and I couldn’t wait to see how it would develop into a full story. I wasn’t disappointed.

Jere kept writing and kept polishing, and thank goodness, shared this story with the world as an eBook. It’s available now on Amazon.com.

Writers who Stretch and Grow

For the New Year, I’ve decided to stretch out and consider reading genres that I normally would never spend time on; horror is one of those categories.

Writers write, and in order to have a greater appreciation for the flow and order of words, I think that it’s imperative that writers read too. Even zombies can teach us a thing or two.