Why is everyone afraid of the dead?

[Safari Mike]

Sorry if this causes anyone apoplexia but why are the dead so scary to so many? And yes Im a Romero fan, not a hater. 1) They are slow so no threat. Trip them and drop a rock on their skull. 2) Even in great numbers you can walk around them at a Richard Simmons trot. 3) They are afraid of fire, thats the easiest weapon in the world to yield. 4) They are stupid and you can herd them into a killing zone forever and just pop them in the head with a rock to thin the herd. 5) They are instincutally retarded and seem to hunt on sight so stay low and you are fine. 6) They congregate to areas important during their lives so avoid common areas and head for the hills instead of malls. 7) They have no higher motor skills so if you can climb a tree, they can't catch you. Lets face it, your biggest risk is falling asleep and they stumble up on you. With even the most generic of vertical encampments and a couple guys with pikes you could withstand an army of zombie attackers. Factor in a couple guys with .22 rifles who can shoot the white off a kitchen match top and you are invincible. So....why the fear?

[bassman]

Well some people don't see the zombies as the "bad guy". So you would be right with them. I'm one of those people. The dead rising is a fairly simple thing to keep under control. The real problem and fear is that we couldn't work together to get it done. Thats the theme of Romero's films...

[sandrock74]

Sorry if this causes anyone apoplexia but why are the dead so scary to so many? And yes Im a Romero fan, not a hater. 1) They are slow so no threat. Trip them and drop a rock on their skull. 2) Even in great numbers you can walk around them at a Richard Simmons trot. 3) They are afraid of fire, thats the easiest weapon in the world to yield. 4) They are stupid and you can herd them into a killing zone forever and just pop them in the head with a rock to thin the herd. 5) They are instincutally retarded and seem to hunt on sight so stay low and you are fine. 6) They congregate to areas important during their lives so avoid common areas and head for the hills instead of malls. 7) They have no higher motor skills so if you can climb a tree, they can't catch you. Lets face it, your biggest risk is falling asleep and they stumble up on you. With even the most generic of vertical encampments and a couple guys with pikes you could withstand an army of zombie attackers. Factor in a couple guys with .22 rifles who can shoot the white off a kitchen match top and you are invincible. So....why the fear? I'll play counterpoint: 1. One at a time, sure. How do you do that with a mob? 2. Good point, so long as you have room to manuver. 3. I wouldn't call fire "the easiest weapon in the world" to use. Without a lighter or matches, its not as easy to come by. Also, all sorts of chaos can ensue from people being careless with fire. 4. Day and Land would argue that point. Besides, how do you kill a horde of zombies by hitting them in the head with a rock? Get them to line up and wait their turn? 5. They also hunt by sound. 6. Good point! 7. Granted, they can't climb the tree after you, however they won't go away either. They can outlast you.

[MoonSylver]

Well some people don't see the zombies as the "bad guy". So you would be right with them. I'm one of those people. The dead rising is a fairly simple thing to keep under control. The real problem and fear is that we couldn't work together to get it done. Thats the theme of Romero's films... That's a good point. I awould also say it's not so much the zombies THEMSELVES that people fear, but the IDEA of them, what they REPRESENT. They're a remorseless enemy. One (to borrow from another film) that you cannot bargain with or reason with. He does not stop. He does not rest. He will not give up EVER. And if he catches you, he's not going to just kill you, but rip you apart & devour you ALIVE. Anybody around you could suddenly become one (if he dies in his sleep or w/ no one around for example). All it takes is one careless moment & one bite & YOU'RE gonna become one. And his numbers are growing all the time. Every one of us that dies becomes one of them. A zombie or 2 by themselves might not freak some people. But 10? 20? 100? Legion? That gets to be a scary concept. Plus, he used to be one of us. A lot of people would be unnerved at having to shoot Aunt Petunia or Old Man Jenkens from next door. Just the fact that's a DEAD guy out there staggering around would freak a lot of people out. He's also a reminder of our own mortality. The end of the road. A lot of people are uncomfortable with death as it is, much less having it take on this new, horrifying dimension. Which leads me to another point. At the same time, he represents an overturning in the natural order. Dead ain't dead anymore. Plus, there's the whole metaphysical angle. What if this is God's wrath? If we are being punished by the creator? That's a pretty scary implication in & of itself, on many levels. Not only does this speak of the creator himself, but THIS is the judgment he chose?!?! All of this is based on emotion & gut instinct, not reason. You're a pretty practical guy CB, one who could detach himself from all of the emotional & philosophical implications of the situation & deal with the situation ITSELF. There are probably a lot of people who couldn't.

[Rancid Carcass]

I think the main threat zombies pose is their sheer weight of numbers – fear you can learn to deal with, overwhelming odds is something else entirely, and I don't think the dead rising would be quite as easy to contain as people think. Just to add some numbers to one of MoonSylvers points... I believe the official figures of the global death rate of people dying from natural causes is somewhere in the region of 145.000 per day, so that's potentially a hundred forty five thousand new zombies rising every single day. If each of those bites at least one person and if each person that got bit bites at least one person then is not hard to imagine you could be looking at a conservative ball park figure of easily a million plus zombies reviving on a daily basis. I don't think any government anywhere in the world has the kind of resources needed to contain a problem on such a massive scale – and that's before we factor in all the people that die from accidents, suicides and murders. And if all that wasn't enough you should also consider that it's the bodies of the recently deceased that are returning to life, then that's pretty much everyone who died in the 4 or 5 months (not sure how long it takes for the brain to decay, so that 's a vague estimate on my part), prior the crisis starting, that's going to give the zombies a standing army of truly epic proportions. No wonder that Dr. Rausch wanted to nuke the cities – he'd obviously worked out that a couple of guys with .22 rifles wasn't nearly enough to deal the situation!

[Mr.G]

I'll play counterpoint: 7. Granted, they can't climb the tree after you, however they won't go away either. They can outlast you. To me this is the key. They don't get tired, they don't need sleep, they don't need food...

[DubiousComforts]

With even the most generic of vertical encampments and a couple guys with pikes you could withstand an army of zombie attackers. Factor in a couple guys with .22 rifles who can shoot the white off a kitchen match top and you are invincible. So....why the fear? Fear is irrational. This is the point behind Romero's dead being depicted as weak, slow-moving and pathetic. It serves to magnify the irrational fears, behavior and prejudices of the living. For example, I would agree with you that fire is the most logical and effective weapon to wield against the living dead, yet there have been many discussions where the overwhelming consensus is to cling to guns, the bigger the better. Do you believe that it's a viewpoint based on logic or irrational fear?

[Thorn]

Fear is irrational. This is the point behind Romero's dead being depicted as weak, slow-moving and pathetic. It serves to magnify the irrational fears, behavior and prejudices of the living. For example, I would agree with you that fire is the most logical and effective weapon to wield against the living dead, yet there have been many discussions where the overwhelming consensus is to cling to guns, the bigger the better. Do you believe that it's a viewpoint based on logic or irrational fear? I really agree with this, to some degree I think you want to go with the weapons you yourself find "cooler". Ultimately you can not go wrong with fire in most cases (obviously not on the porch of your own safe house if it is made of wood or in really dry conditions in a forest setting) I think a good mix of guns, melee weapons, and fire would all be great. I am personally fond of melee weapons as many of you know, but I do not think there is one right answer. I think it would come down to a mixture. Fire being a first line of defense seems to make the most sense, it even works as a deterrent. Now as for why people are afraid of them. I have theories. 1) We all for the most part are afraid of death, and here it is up and walking around. You are forced to face your own mortality. 2) You as a person like to think you are special, that you matter. That you are important. To die in a gruesome way and to become simply "lunch" robs you of that illusion. 3) They are visually unpleasant to look at, most men have an aversion to looking at gore, rot, and decay. When it is banging on your front door it becomes a little too real. 4) They have no compassion. No remorse. At all. They would eat a child in front o a mother, they would eat you alive. You can not bargain with them, negotiate, you simply either live or die. As has been said fear sinks in and affects us all differently. Ever hear of someone working "high steel" getting a death grip on a beam? The could have worked skyscrapers for YEARS and never been afraid. All the sudden something triggers in their mind and they clamp onto a beam with irrational feat and people have to break their fingers to get them down.

[MaximusIncredulous]

There's no quick death at the hands of these things and that's when they just want to eat someone. By Day they were practically playing with their food. Seems reason enough to justify the fear.

[DubiousComforts]

I think a good mix of guns, melee weapons, and fire would all be great. I am personally fond of melee weapons as many of you know, but I do not think there is one right answer. I think it would come down to a mixture. I agree with this point, as well. Logically, you would make the most of the resources available to you, and it would be irrational not to use a gun if it was available.

[fartpants]

Because they want to eat us and that seems more than enough reason

[DEAD BEAT]

Sorry if this causes anyone apoplexia but why are the dead so scary to so many? And yes Im a Romero fan, not a hater. 1) They are slow so no threat. Trip them and drop a rock on their skull. 2) Even in great numbers you can walk around them at a Richard Simmons trot. 3) They are afraid of fire, thats the easiest weapon in the world to yield. 4) They are stupid and you can herd them into a killing zone forever and just pop them in the head with a rock to thin the herd. 5) They are instincutally retarded and seem to hunt on sight so stay low and you are fine. 6) They congregate to areas important during their lives so avoid common areas and head for the hills instead of malls. 7) They have no higher motor skills so if you can climb a tree, they can't catch you. Lets face it, your biggest risk is falling asleep and they stumble up on you. With even the most generic of vertical encampments and a couple guys with pikes you could withstand an army of zombie attackers. Factor in a couple guys with .22 rifles who can shoot the white off a kitchen match top and you are invincible. So....why the fear? a Romero fan? yeah right! only in a perfect world would those be the anwsers to survive your balls being ripped off! btw: try tripping a zombie when there are so many you can't even move your elbows!

[MagicMoonMonkey]

It is hard to imagine anything but a freak out frenzy in the beginning, then a WWZ Response, in the event of the Romeroesque dead rising. Oh, and what Fartpants said too... Wow... Now if Young Paul Annette (Proddy+Hun+3IAR) comes back, my post count will rocket to the giddy 100 mark by next summer! Tis great to have you back CB. Do you remember the clown that was on the old forums demanding the US Government spend real money monitoring space radiation from satellites to ensure the world did not suffer the same fate as the one in NotLD? All those years ago, and the lad still makes me laugh when his rant pops in to my head...

[hadrian0117]

I ...And if all that wasn't enough you should also consider that it's the bodies of the recently deceased that are returning to life, then that's pretty much everyone who died in the 4 or 5 months... I was thinking more like 4 or 5 days. Except for the odd murder victim or elderly recluse most bodies would already be buried or burned within less than a week. Night 90 did a zombie escape his casket as it was being buried; if a body could go a few days without reanimating then stuff like that would happen alot.

[SRP76]

I'm not afraid of the dead, when they're just lying there. It's them getting up that worries me.