What Type of Zombie Are You? The Six Categories of Zombie

My awesome friend Amie Kaufman had a write-in at her house last week, and since I've been out of writer mode lately and more in work and study mode, I knew it was going to be difficult.

So we didn't ACTUALLY write anything new, but we discussed our books and plotting problems and writers blockages. The last couple of years I haven't really been one to believe in writers block, but after realising that yeah - I've been stuck in the same scene for at least a month, I now concede that sometimes writers block DOES exist. 

Anyway, we were talking about my zombie book, and the TYPE of zombie I choose to make them will influence the events in the book.

Type of Zombie, you ask? Well you can't just say "zombie" and everyone knows what you're talking about.

TYPES OF ZOMBIES

1. SLOW ZOMBIES

Slow zombies shuffle and moan and aren't really that big a threat unless they're up close, don't you think?

Slow zombies can be found in the traditional George Romero Dawn of the Dead movies (or so I hear because I am appallingly uninitiated in 70s zombie chic), as well as Shaun of the Dead, The Walking Dead and Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands & Teeth books.

28 Days Later Zombies

2. FAST ZOMBIES 

Fast Zombies are super-scary because they'll be on you, ripping out and chowing down on your intestines in an instant.

28 Days Later and the newer Dead movies (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead etc) are full of fast zombies that chase you down until they get you. Charlie Higson's The Enemy also has fast zombies, and in Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands & Teeth there are fast zombies called Breakers.

Shaun and co. attempting to blend in with
mindless zombies

3. MINDLESS ZOMBIES

There's nothing going on in this type of zombie's head, except that they want to kill and eat you.

Shaun of the Dead, The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, Zombieland. They're empty-headed eating machines.

4. INTELLIGENT ZOMBIES

In my short story eBook I, Zombie, my zombie is alert and thinking and functioning, he's planning things. In The Enemy, some of the zombies use weapons and hunt the kids down in packs. In the Dylan Dog movie and graphic novels (I assume), zombies are just like humans but a bit decayed with bits falling off. Maybe intelligent is the wrong word to use here...

Positively DEAD Zombies

5. DEAD ZOMBIES

Dead people brought back to undeadly life. The Walking Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Forest of Hands & Teeth all have dead people walking around hungry for braaaaaaaiiiiinnsss.

6. ALIVE ZOMBIES

Humans that are ALIVE but have some sort of disease that makes them rabid for human flesh and the desire to kill.

In 28 Days Later the zombies are alive, but infected with the incurable Rage Virus, Quarantine some sort of biological weapon has been released with zombieriffic consequences and I THINK The Enemy (are the grown ups dead or just sick? I can't remember.) is swarming with sick adults intent on killing and eating the children as well.

CONCLUSION

Deciding on which category(s) of zombie you wish to write about will have a big impact on the way your story unfolds. If they're mindless - they're unlikely to set traps for your characters, if they're slow, they'll be easier to avoid if you have good cardio fitness going on, but your characters may underestimate them.

Underestimated Slow Zombies

I have been making decisions in regard to MY zombies and its really helping to shape my book. I love writing!

Ciao for now,

Sairz