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Filmmaker George Romero turned zombies into movie icons in his epic "Night of the Living Dead" horror series. But to say he "invented" them is giving the guy too much credit. The truth is, these lurching, brain-crazed creatures have deep roots in Haitian folklore. HowStuffWorks explains that Haitian zombies are quite different than the American pop-culture version. According to Haitian legend, dead bodies are brought back to life by sorcery. They aren't self-aware and are relatively harmless unless they're fed salt, "which restores their senses." A 1945 article titled "The
Story of Zombi in Haiti" goes into further detail. Apparently, in remote areas of Haiti, some people were believed to be more "fortunate in their undertakings" because they were assisted by beings who stole for them, traveled at fantastic speeds, and flew through the air. The article explained, "These are supposed to be former dead men and women who were brought back to life" via a special powder. Over the years, scholars have attempted to prove or disprove the existence of zombies. Today, folks are still obsessed. Many cities have zombie parades where fans dress like the living dead. Additionally, zombie movies like "28 Days Later" and
video games like Resident Evil are extraordinarily popular. All these take some artistic license, but the essence (people caught between life and death) is still there. And it's still terrifying.
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